Germany loses another face off in front of the own net but the following shot by Chiho Oawa is blocked by the defense.

Lisa Christine Schuster misses the net with a shot from the left wing.

Maritta Becker with a shot from just left to the net but she can't get the puck past Nana Fujimoto.

Currently the biggest tension is out of the match and the arena is extremly calm. You only hear the players.

Japan is back at full strength without allowing any dangerous shots but also not being able to create danger themselves.

Finally a shot on goal by the Germans but from the blue line Tanja Eisenschmid can't surprise Nana Fujimoto in the Japanese net who blocks the shot with her glove hand.

The German side just fails to force its way into the Japanese third despite the Asians being a player short.

As expected Japan is investing more in this third period as they have a two goal deficit but so far Germany is defending its lead well.

Spielberger tries it with a rush on her own but her shot from within the slot is blocked to the side by the goalie.

After a German clearing attempt from within the own zone, Kanae Aoki tried to cross the blue line with the puck too fast with two team colleagues still being in the German third and the chance is gone due to an offside call.

On the other side of the ice Haruna Yonemaya's shot from close to the blue line is deflected out of play by a defender.

Lisa Christine Schuster goes for a solo inside the Japanese third but without help of team colleagues and with three opponents against her she couldn't get more than a harmless distance shot on target.

A blue line shot by Kanae Aoki is not placed well enough and Viona Harrer has few problems to block the puck to the side.

Icing by Germany.

Monika Bittner is sent by a long pass towads the Japanese blue line but her shot from the left circle goes straight into the gloves of Japanese goalie Nana Fujimoto.

Big solo by Rui Ukita via the right wing but when she tried it with a shot from the right cirlce it was deflected to the side by a German defender.

Germany started with a woman more on the ice into the last period due to the penalty late in the second period against Japan's Haruna Yoneyama but despite having a series of dangerous shots towards the net, the Germans failed to score another goal and now the Japanese are back at full strength.

Maritta Becker almost with a last one-timer opportunity in this period but misses the puck at the Japanese blue line.

On the other side of the ice a shot by Nina Kamenik from the left circle is no problem for Nana Fujimoto.

A distance shot from the left wign is almost deflected right in front of Harrer but the German goalie stays calm and catches the puck.

The Germans are back at full strength.

The Germans get the puck out of their own zone but the Japanese stop it already in the neutral zone. Good penalty killing though by the Europeans.

Shiori Koike wasn't able to locate the puck for a couple of seconds as last defender but just before a German forward could go in between she cleared the situation.

Aina Takeuchi causes an offside call against her team during a Japanese rush.

The next opportunity for the Germans but a shot by Susann Gotz from within the slot is blocked to the left by Nana Fujimoto.

A shot by Sara Seiler from the right wing hit the side netting just next to te goal post!

The Japanese are trying to use the momentum and have a series of dangerous shots on goal.

The Germans are back at full strength.

Harrer with a few problems after a distance shot by the Japanese where she almost allowed a rebound but she covered the puck up in time before an opponent could reach it.

Kanae Hubo with a powerful one-timer from the left circle which wasn't placed all too well but Viona Harrer in the German net even avoided a rebound!

A blue line shot by Kanae Aoki just misses the left bottom corner.

The Germans play it the right way and force Japan back into their own zone.

The Germans had to start with a woman less on the ice but now the penalty against Susann Gotz is over and they are back at full strength.

Blue line shots by the Japanese, glove save by Harrer.

The Germans are losing almost all face offs in front of their own net and allow easy shots on goals for the Japanese women. Something they should change as soon as possible.

A one-timer by Franziska Busch is blocked to the side by the Japanese goalie.

Viona Harrer is able to stop a one-.timer from within the slot and even avoids a rebound by covering the puck up in time!

Japanese forward Hanae Kubo misses the net with a shot from the left circle.

A harmless shot by Lisa Christine Schuster from the left wing just after crossing the blue line only found its way into the gloves of Nana Fujimoto. She had no other option though as no team colleague was near.

Icing by Germany.

The Germans try to use the momentum while Japan wants to give a fast answer.

A counter by the Asians ends with a shot by Yuka Hirano from the right circle that goes behind the net...

Franziska Busch steals the puck from the stick of a defender inside the Japanese third but her shot from the right circle goes straight into the gloves of Nana Fujimoto.

The Japanese power play looked a lot better but they also failed to score a goal yet.

Yurie Adachi almost tips in a pass from the right wing but Viona Harrer is there to block the shot!

Manuela Anwander tried to break through the Japanese defense for a break away but was stopped by the last defender at the Japanese blue line.

Julia Zorn with a long clearance, sends the puck behind the Japanese net.

The Japanese are back at full strength after the Germans weren't able even to get a single shot on goal in power play. What else can you say...?

It's not even visible that Germany has a woman more on the ice. They fail to get their power play formation in position or even to enter the Japanese third.

Julia Zorn tries it with a shot from the left wing that misses the target by a wide margin.

Chiho Osawa intercepts another weak pass inside the German defense but doesn't find a team colleague in the slot, the chance is gone.

Icing against Team Germany who fail to get into the Japanese zone.

Hanae Kubo intercepts a horrible misdirected pass by a German defender right in front their own net but her pass into the slot can't be used by her team mates!

Kerstin Spielberger waited long before she crossed the Japanese blue line in a German rush but her team mate Susann Gotz failed to make a pass in time – offside call against Germany.

On the other side of the ice Rui Ukita tried it from a sharp angle from next to the right circle towards the right bottom corner of the German net but goalie Viona Harrer caught the puck easily.

A solo by Germany's Julia Zorn ends with the first shot on goal in this match but from within the slot her scoring attempt went straight into the gloves of Japanese goalie Nana Fujimoto.

Starting lineups:

Japan: N. Fujimoto (Konishi) – Aoki, Takeuchi, Koike, Hori, Toko, Kondo – Nakamura, Osawa "C", Kubo – Yoneyama, Hirano, Sakagami – Adachi, Ukita, Shishiuchi – M. Fujimoto

Germany: Harrer (Schröder) – Götz, Lanzl, Eisenschmid, Hammerl, Weisser – Fellner, Zorn, Busch – Seiler, Schuster, Kratzer – Anwander, Janzen, Evers – Kamenik, Spielberger, Bittner – Becker

Referees: Bordeleau (CAN) – Bjoerkman (SWE), Girard (FRA)

Both Japan and Germany were able to compete with the favourites in group B, Sweden and Russia, but in the end lost both games after long and hard fights.

Japan was beaten 0-1 by Sweden before losing 1-2 against tournament hosts Russia. The Germans started with a 1-4 against Russia after leading with one goal themselves deep into the third period and lost the second match 0-4 against Sweden after only allowing one goal in the first two periods.

Today both sides want to end the group stage with a positive result to get a moral boost before the games for places 5 to 8.

A close game between two very competitive sides can be expected!

Welcome. Game starts at 03:00 ET / 09:00 CET / 12:00 MSK which is also the local time in Sochi.