Today in Ostrava, the Latvian men’s hockey team will meet the USA in the last, seventh game of subgroup B of the world championship, and if they win in regular time, they will keep their hopes of entering the quarterfinals, provided that Slovakia loses to Sweden in regular time.
The match “Ostrava Arena” will start at 17.20 Latvian time, it will be broadcast live on the channel LTV7.
Still today in Ostrava at 1:20 p.m., France will fight the USA, and at 9:20 p.m. Sweden and Slovakia will meet. Austria-Great Britain, Canada-Czech Republic and Finland-Switzerland duels will be held in Prague at the end of subgroup A. All matches can be watched on the Latvian public media website “lsm.lv/hokejs”, but the matches of subgroup B will also be shown on LTV7 today.
In subgroup B, Sweden has 18 points and secured a place in the quarterfinals. The USA has 13 points and is also guaranteed the quarter-finals, Germany and Slovakia have 12 points each, while Latvia has nine points. Kazakhstan has scored six points, France has four points, and Poland has one point won in the match against Latvia.
Canada has 17 points, the Czech Republic – 15 and Switzerland – 14 for the leading three in subgroup A, securing a place in the quarter-finals after six games. Ten points have been scored by Finland, seven by Austria, six by Norway and Denmark, but Great Britain is in second place and will leave the top division.
Latvian ice hockey players started the tournament with three victories, defeating the Polish national team 5:4 in extra time, France 3:2 in overtime and Kazakhstan 2:0 in regular time. After that, the superiority of Germany was recognized with 1:8 and Sweden lost with 2:7, but in the previous match, Slovakia was defeated with 3:2 in the penalty shootout.
The Americans, who played very effectively in the championship, lost to Sweden 2:5 in the opening round of the championship, then beat Germany 6:1 and lost to Slovakia 4:5 in overtime. Then three convincing victories – 5:0 over France, 4:1 over Poland and 10:1 over Kazakhstan.
The US team usually participates in the world championships with a team that is mostly made up of college representatives and hockey players playing in the American Hockey League (AHL), but this time almost all of them are under the auspices of National Hockey League (NHL) teams. The team includes such NHL All-Stars as Johnny Goodreau, Seth Jpuns, Zach Werenski and Bradyk Tkachuk.
Goalkeeper Elvis Merzlikins has returned to the Latvian national team after missing the previous championship. Of the players who won bronze medals last year, 17 have remained in the lineup, but seven of this year’s additions have their debut championships – goalkeeper Erik Vitols, defender Markus Komulas, as well as forwards Harald Egle, Raivi Anson, Eduard Tralmak, Martin Lavin and Félix Gavar. .
Among the players brought along, Vītols, Laviņš and bronze medalist Arvils Bergmais were not included in the initial application, but in the course of the tournament they were also included in the team. Striker Dan Lochmel had to miss the first two games of the World Junior Championship due to the suspension he earned.
The best goalkeeper of the last world championship and the most valuable player of the tournament, Arturs Shilov, together with the winner of the last season’s Stanley Cup, Teodoras Blüger, continues to fight in the playoffs of the National Hockey League (NHL) in the ranks of the Vancouver “Canucks”. Defender Uvis Jānis Balinskis is also still fighting for the Stanley Cup in the ranks of the NHL club Florida “Panthers”.
Due to injuries, this year’s national team does not include forwards Rudolph Balcers, Ronald Ķeniņš, Denis Smirnov, Andras Džeriņas, who played in last year’s championship, as well as the author of the winning goal of the game for bronze medals, Kristians Rubin.
The 16 teams participating in the tournament are divided into two groups, with eight teams each, which guarantees seven games for each team. The top four teams in each group will continue the medal fight in the quarter-finals, while the weaker teams in both groups will leave the stronger division, and next year will be replaced by Hungary and Slovenia in the top 16.
Last year, the Canadians triumphed in the world championships, beating Germany in the decisive match, while Latvia won the bronze medals, defeating the USA national team in overtime.
The World Championship will take place in the Czech cities of Prague and Ostrava until May 26.
The LETA team – sports news reporter Aivars Zahārovs and photojournalist Edijs Pālens – also went to the Latvian national team games in Ostrava to follow the progress of Latvian ice hockey players and other important championship events directly from the venue. News of the World Championship can be found in the specially dedicated section “leta.lv/hockey” and on Twitter “@LETAsportsEXTRA”.
The composition of the Latvian national team for participation in the 2024 world championship:
goalkeepers – Elvis Merzlikin (Columbus “Blue Jackets”, NHL), Erik Vitols (Keuru “KeuPa”, Finland), Kristers Gudlevsky (Bremerhafen “Fischtown Pinguins”, Germany);
defenders – Jānis Jaks, Kristaps Zīle (Litvīnovas “Verva”, Czech Republic), Roberts Mamčić (“Nove Zamky”, Slovakia), Arvils Bergmanis (University of Alaska Fairbanks, NCAA), Markus Komuls (Trois-Riviera “Lions”, Canada), Ralfs Freiberg (“Mountfield” of Hradec Králova), Oskars Cibulskis (“Blue Fox” of Herning, Denmark), Kārlis Čukste (“Brynas” of Jävle, Sweden);
forwards – Oskars Batnia (Mikeli “Jukurit”, Finland), Roberts Bukart, Rihards Bukart (both – Vítkovice “Ridera”, Czech Republic), Renars Krastenberg (Graz “99ers”, Austria), Haralds Egle (Liptovski Mikuláš “MHK 32”, Slovakia), Felix Gavar (St. Lorenz University, NCAA), Dan Lochmelis (University of Massachusetts Emerst, NCAA), Kaspars Daugavins (Mihalovce “Dukla”, Slovakia), Eduards Tralmaks (Kladno “Rytīrži”, Czech Republic), Raivis Ansons (Wilks Bar /Scranton “Penguins”, AHL), Miks Indrašis (Jēvles “Brynas”, Sweden), Mārtiņš Dzierkals (Šlelefteo AIK, Sweden), Rodrigo Ābols (Engelholms “Rogle”, Sweden).
The composition of the USA national team for participation in the 2024 world championship:
goalkeepers – Charlie Lindgren (Washington “Capitals”), Alex Nedelkovic (Pittsburgh “Penguins”), Trey Augustine (Michigan State University, NCAA);
defenders – Seth Jones, Alex Vlasik (both – Chicago Blackhawks), Michael Keserling (Arizona Coyotes), Zach Werenski (Columbus Blue Jackets), Luke Hughes (New Jersey Devils), Jeff Petry (Detroit Red Wings”), Matthew Kessel (St. Louis Blues), Jake Sanderson (Ottawa Senators);
forwards – Will Smith, Ryan Leonard (both – Boston College, NCAA), Shane Pinto, Brady Tkaczak (both – Ottawa Senators), Trevor Ziegras (Anaheim Ducks), Luke Kanin (San Jose Sharks), Matt Boldy (Minnesota Wild), Johnny Goodreau, Gavin Brindley (both Columbus Blue Jackets), Cole Coffield (Montreal Canadiens), Michael Eisimon (Tampa Bay Lightning), Kevin Hayes (St. Louis Blues), Brock Nelson (New York Islanders), Joel Farabee (Philadelphia Flyers).
2024-05-21 04:53:25
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