Fans of the Latvian hockey team | Photo: Eddy Palen / LETA
There is only a little left until the annual ice hockey tournament, officially called the IIHF World Championship, will start simultaneously in two European countries. Regardless of how good the results of the Latvian team are, the interest in this competition is consistently high year after year.
And so, starting from May 12, both in the Finnish city of Tampere and also in the capital of Latvia, Riga, we will pay the most attention to hockey, and of course to its mascot – the hedgehog Spikey, by experiencing a hockey game with him. As we know, Spikey will be seen with the motto WE LIVE THE GAME. A year ago, the championship was played in empty stands, and Spikey did not manage to fully realize his role, so we meet him again this year.
Where and when will the 2023 IIHF World Ice Hockey Championship be watched?
The hockey championship will be held in Tampere and Riga ice arenas from May 12 to 28. This is already the 87th IIHF World Hockey Championship, and it was originally planned to be held in St. Petersburg. Due to the fact that Russia launched a full-scale aggression against Ukraine, the IIHF stripped Russia of the right to host the championship, and also called for a ban on any kind of international sports events in Russia.
As the year before, the Nokia Arena in Tampere is the main venue. This year, there are all the prerequisites for ice hockey fans to experience a real hockey celebration. Also, the bans that were introduced due to the pandemic have now been lifted, so the stands will have to endure a load that has not been seen in a long time.
The quarter-final matches will take place on May 25, while the semi-final matches will be played on May 27. The duel for 3rd place is scheduled for May 28 at 15.20, on the other hand, the match for this year’s IIHF champion title will take place on the same date at 20.20
During the entire championship, come and watch all the games of the Latvian national team at any of the Klondike entertainment and recreation places and get your championship kit at a super favorable price! Go Latvia!
Hockey 2023, subgroup B in Riga
Spectators in Riga will have the opportunity to live with the matches of subgroup B, as well as 2 quarter-final competitions. Each group match is expected to have a capacity of 9,550 spectators. It is reported that a fan zone will be created near the Riga arena.
The following teams start in subgroup B (in alphabetical order): Czech Republic, Canada, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Norway, Slovakia, Slovenia and Switzerland. Subgroup B matches begin on May 12, when the Czechs will first face the Slovaks. On the other hand, in the evening, the game of the Latvian team against Canada will take place.
- Switzerland and Slovenia, Norway and Kazakhstan, as well as Slovakia and Latvia will play each other in May. As we can see, the World Hockey Championship 2023 has been responsible and dynamic for our team since the very beginning.
Subgroup A in Tampere
The IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship 2023 will open on May 12 at the Tampere Ice Arena at 16:20 (Finnish time) with a match between Finland, the current world champions, and the USA.
- Swedish and German national hockey players will also face each other in the May evening game in the Tampere arena. Apart from these teams, teams from Austria, Denmark, France and Hungary also compete in subgroup A.
World Ice Hockey Championship 2023 – Latvian national team match schedule
Latvia vs. Canada – May 12 at 20.20
Latvia vs. Slovakia – May 13 at 20.20
Latvia vs. Czech Republic – May 15 at 20.20
Latvia vs. Norway – May 17 at 16.20
Latvia vs. Slovenia – May 19 at 16.20
Latvia vs. Kazakhstan – May 20 at 20.20
Latvia vs. Switzerland – May 23 at 20.20
How to watch IIHF Hockey Championship 2023 games?
Tickets for the Riga subgroup matches were already available in December 2022, and every fan could buy one ticket for the B subgroup matches and both quarter-final matches. It is expected that some games of the Riga group will also be available during the championship games.
Those hockey fans who for various reasons cannot watch the games in person have an excellent opportunity to watch live broadcasts on their televisions. Everyone will be able to watch the games broadcast from both the Riga and Tampere arenas on TET television channels, such as LTV7, 360TV, Tet Hokejs, 8TV, as well as in the interactive environment of Helio iTV. On the other hand, for users of smart devices, the IIHF World Hockey Championship will be available on the Tet+ platform.
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The prospects of the Latvian hockey team in their subgroup
This year, an extremely energetic atmosphere is expected at the Riga Games, which has several reasons. It is very important that the Latvian national team will play at home and in front of their fans, which is of great importance. It’s not for nothing that fans are considered the sixth player on the field, and as you know, Latvian hockey fans are the best in the world. This means that the Latvian team will try to do everything to show its best possible performance.
It is also significant that due to the restrictions of the pandemic, hockey fans have also longed for the atmosphere created by the players and fans in the hockey hall. It must be thought that the hockey players already feel the encouragement sent by their supporters!
It is more than clear that each of the eight teams will “gnaw the ice” to get out of the group, so that the hockey championship will continue in the quarterfinals and maybe even further. Soon we will see who will be the four best in subgroup B in Riga.
According to hockey experts, with iron discipline, motivation and fighting spirit, the Latvian team has a chance to win practically any of the games. We can consider victories over the national teams of Kazakhstan, Slovenia, Slovakia and Norway as very real.
A brief overview of Latvian and Canadian hockey teams
Canada is represented in international hockey games Canadian ice hockey team. In total, the Canadian hockey team has managed to win gold medals in 26 World Championships and 9 Olympic Games. Canadians have also won the Canada Cup 4 times and have become two-time World Cup holders.
The Canadian ice hockey team is part of the so-called “Big Six”, where the world’s 6 strongest men’s hockey teams are ranked. The other six teams (in alphabetical order) are USA, Czech Republic, Russia, Finland and Sweden.
The country of Latvia is represented in international games Latvian ice hockey team. The Latvian team has played in the Olympic Games 6 times: in 1936, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2022. The best result of Latvian hockey players in the world championships is 7th place, and the team managed to win it in 1997, 2004 and 2009. Unsuccessful starts happened in the 2001 and 2007 championships, and then the Latvian team had to settle for the last places in their regional group. However, the team managed to play well in the elimination round, thus winning 13th place. The Latvian national team had an equally high place in the tournaments of 1935, 2015 and 2016.
This year, just like in 2021, the hockey players of the Latvian national team start the world championship against the Canadians. It is quite clear that the Canadian hockey players are in the mood to make up for the game they lost, so it is expected with great intrigue. In 2021, the goal of the Latvian national team was guarded by Matīss Kivlenieks, who, moreover, only made his debut in the world championship. Despite the lack of experience in games of this scale, he repelled all attacks, and the match ended with a sensational 2:0 for the Latvian team.
What is the Latvian team like shortly before the championship
The IIHF World Hockey Championship in 2023 promises to be full of challenges for the Latvian national team. As it usually happens in hockey, several mainstays of the team have already withdrawn their candidacy to play in the national team this year.
The first of them was goaltender Elvis Merzlikin, who was recently injured in a National Hockey League game against the Montreal Canadiens. This season was already quite difficult for Merzlikin and he has to start preparing for the new one, therefore the club management insists that he does not go to the IIHF World Championship, because there are additional opportunities to get injured.
Zemgus Girgensons has just withdrawn his participation in the hockey championship. He’s looking at the end of his contract with the Buffalo Sabers with some trepidation and wants to deal with the effects of this season’s injuries before the end of the summer.
