MILAN — Team Denmark’s head coach Mikael Gath announced that goaltender Frederik Andersen will not start against Team USA at the Santagiulia Arena on Saturday at 3:10 p.m. ET. This decision comes after Andersen made 23 saves in a challenging 3-1 loss to Team Germany at Rho Arena on Thursday.
Gath explained that the choice to bench Denmark’s number one goaltender is a strategic move aimed at conserving Andersen for a potentially more winnable match against Team Latvia on Sunday evening. The Danish team is labeled as significant underdogs against the U.S., a factor Gath was mindful of leading into the tournament.
With Denmark and Latvia both facing regulation losses, the competition in Group C is fierce. Germany and the United States currently share the lead in the group, each with a regulation win. The format of the tournament allows the top teams from each group, as well as the best second-place finisher, to advance directly to the quarterfinals, while the remaining teams will compete in a qualification round for a chance to reach that stage.
Gath noted the difficulties posed by the tournament schedule, saying, “We have a bad schedule. We’re playing 9 o’clock against the U.S., and then we play early against Latvia the day after. We have three good goalies,” implying a need to manage their resources carefully.
As the tournament unfolds, Denmark will seek to regain momentum and position themselves favorably for the knockout phases. Fans remain hopeful that this strategic approach will pay off, allowing Denmark to leverage their full potential in the coming matches.