There is something special about Team Germany and the Paralympic Winter Games held in Italy. Until this Friday, Germany’s lone appearance had been at Torino 2006. But now, that chapter has a thrilling new addition. With a commanding 5-2 victory over Slovakia at the World Para Ice Hockey Championships in Buffalo, Germany not only secured fifth place but also clinched a ticket to Milano Cortina 2026.
Coming into the tournament as the lowest-ranked team (No. 8) in the A-Pool Worlds, Germany defied expectations and equalled its best-ever performance – matching the fifth-place finish from the 2008 World Championships, which, coincidentally, was also held in the USA, in Marlborough.
Germany wasted no time making an impact at LECOM Harborcenter on Friday. Just 46 seconds into the game, Felix Schrader assisted Ingo Kuhli-Lauenstein for his third goal of the tournament. Joerg Wedde doubled the lead in the second period – his first goal in Buffalo – before Kuhli-Lauenstein struck again to make it 3-0.
Slovakia, Korea, and Norway will battle it out in the Paralympic Qualification Tournament, joining Italy and the top two B-Pool teams for the final tickets to Milano Cortina! 🥅🏒
The B-Pool World Championships will be held in September in Kazakhstan 🇰🇿. pic.twitter.com/QBHDdpoCUJ
Slovakia fought to stay in the game, with Milos Vecerek finding the net unassisted in the second period. However, Schrader restored Germany’s three-goal advantage early in the third. Vecerek responded once more, narrowing the gap to 4-2, but Franck Rennhack sealed the victory with an empty-net goal with less than two minutes to the end.
Slovakia, seeded No. 6, had hoped to qualify for its second consecutive Paralympic Winter Games. Now, they will need to battle for one of the two remaining spots at the Milano Cortina 2026 Qualification Tournament later this year. Their sixth-place finish in Buffalo matches their best-ever result from Calgary in 2024.
Germany, on the other hand, will head to Milano Cortina 2026, marking a major milestone for their Para ice hockey programme.
Complete scores, stats and schedule from the World Para Ice Hockey Championships can be found here.
USAHockeyTV is streaming all the Bufalo 2025 action live.
