International Ice Hockey Federation

Macek thrilled with home fans

Macek thrilled with home fans

Germany inspired by their many followers

Published 08.05.2017 16:07 GMT+2 | Author John Sanful
Macek thrilled with home fans
Brooks Macek plays his second IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship on home ice. Photo: Andre Ringuette / HHOF-IIHF Images
Forward Brooks Macek shares his thoughts about Marco Sturm, German fans, and his move to Munich.

Last year in St. Petersburg, Brooks Macek made his debut with the German senior national team and scored three goals in eight games. It was an impressive debut as Germany finished seventh in the tournament. In the offseason, Macek signed with EHC Red Bull Munich, leaving the Iserlohn Roosters, a team he spent his first three years in the German Hockey League after coming over from Canada. After two games so far, Macek is averaging almost twelve minutes of ice time per game. IIHF.com caught up with Macek to talk about Germany’s opening-day win against the United States, fan support, and prospects moving forward.

What are your thoughts on beating the United States to open the World Championship?

Brooks Macek: We knew they weren’t going to take us lightly. We beat them last year in St. Petersburg and we knew that they were going to come out hard and they did. I thought we did a great job of keeping our composure. We were doing all the right things, the little things like putting pucks to the net and eventually one went in for us.

How important was the fan support for that game?

The fans were amazing. It was a sold out rink. It was loud and definitely translated into our play. It certainly gives us some extra energy and keeps us going out there. It is so much fun to play in front of a crowd like this.

What was the game plan coming into this tournament and how to start? 

We came in with the idea that we will stick to our game. We knew we wanted to skate, finish checks and block shots. Essentially, we wanted to do the little details right. I think we did a good job of that and it worked out in the end.

Marco Sturm seems to have the respect of everyone on the team. Could you share some of what you think he’s done since taking the reins of national team head coach?

Marco is awesome. As someone who used to play, he knows what that is like and it translates into his energy and attitude in the locker room and on the bench. He’s been my only coach with the national team and it has been an incredible experience playing for him. We all want to play for him. 

In the offseason, you left Iserlohn and since with Munich. How did you handle that?

There was a learning curve going from my former team to the current team and that is expected. I think during the year I improved quite a bit and my game improved and coming into this tournament feeling even better than I did last year. 

 

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