It was the third out of four games that Slovakia has extended past regulation time. Their 4-3 loss to Denmark in their last game came in a shootout. Germany was hoping to get back on the winning side of the ledger after losing 6-3 to Russia on Monday. 

"It wasn't easy from the start and Slovakia got off to a good start and we had to fight our way back." Moritz Muller said. "I think we had a very strong second period and put a lot of pressure on them. For sure we deserved the two points in the end."

Things were made more difficult for Germany as they were missing two of their most potent offensive weapons in forwards Tobias Rieder and Patrick Hager.

Rieder is out with a foot injury sustained in their game against Russia. Hager is suspended two games for slew footing Russian forward Sergei Mozyakin. He will not be eligible to play again until Saturday.

Tonight's game was played before another capacity crowd at LANXESS arena.

At 9:23 Slovakia’s Tomas Matousek scored when a puck was chipped in front of the net and he whacked it mid-air sending it past Thomas Greiss. After video review, the goal stood and Slovakia was officially on the board. Tomas Zigo and Eduard Sedivy picked up assists for their first tournament points. 

German head coach Marco Sturm took Greiss out of the game and replaced him with Danny Aus den Birken. For Aus den Birken this was only his third game played going back to the 2014 tournament.

Slovakia almost scored again when Marcel Hascak found himself along in front of the net with plenty of room between the goaltender and the post. Hascak rang a shot off the left post. The Slovakia forward went back to the bench and threw down his stick, frustrated that he missed the opportunity.

Slovakia extended their lead when Libor Hudacek scored at 1:58 of the second period off a wide angle shot that went between Aus den Birken’s pads, between his legs, and into the net.

Germany enjoyed a good flurry six minutes into the period with Brooks Macek and Patrick Reimer getting quality chances. Reimer redirected a puck on net that Julius Hudacek muscled away with a one-handed clear using his goalie stick.

Then Gerrit Fauser took a pass that sent him in on the attack with Matthias Plachta on his wing as they bore down on the Slovak net. Fauser’s pass to Plachta was at a tough angle and he was not able to work out a high percentage shot.

When Andrej Stastny was called for high sticking, Germany set up well. They moved the puck and created pressure down low. And then finally a goal. The crowd erupts. Germany cut the lead in half as Reimer came through on the power play. His slapshot beat Hudacek on the glove side at 16:11.

Perhaps a bit shell shocked, Slovakia gave up another goal :27 later as Yasin Ehliz sent a backhander through Hudacek’s legs. In less than a minute, Germany was back in the game.

Whereas Slovakia mounted a major comeback last night, they were on the receiving end tonight.

"Yesterday was the same kind of game and we tried to play how we did in the third period against Denmark." Lukas Cingel said. "We wanted to play simple hockey and wait for our chance. But unfortunately we gave up those goals and that hurt us."

Third period chances on both sides were turned away to send the game into an overtime. The best chance came as Andrej Kurdna found Cingel streaking towards the net for a shot in the last seconds of the overtime. Aus den Birken held his ground and the game even.

In the shootout, both goaltenders were strong. Dominik Kahun, Germany's first shooter, scored the only goal. Slovakia's final shooter Michel Miklik missed wide.

Germany now has two wins and six points in the tournament whiel Slovakia has dropped its third straight game.