The hockey players of the Latvian national team arrived in Riga on Monday, but they will hold their first full training session on Tuesday. On Monday, only goalkeeper Jānis Voris, who plays for the Kyiv “Capitals”, defender Artūrs Andžan, who plays in Finland, and unemployed forwards Rihards Bukarts and Miks Indrašis took to the ice. Head coach Harijs Vītoliņš also did not go to the field.
“Most of them still had games on Sunday. Half got up at six in the morning and flew in at 12, half flew in only in the evening. Tuesday to Friday – there will be four days without breaks, then it’s free for those who have played,” Harijs Vītoliņš explained on Monday evening.
Adjustments have been made to the Latvian national team due to injuries – defender Ralfs Freibergs and forwards Toms Anderson and Raimonds Vītoliņš dropped out of the team. On Sunday, Ivars Punnenov did not finish the game in the Swiss championship. “We’ll see. There is no injury, but he felt bad. Hopefully it’s just a virus. If not on Tuesday, then on Wednesday he will be on the strip,” said Harijs Vītoliņš.
“Everything depends on them,” Vītoliņš said when asked if a player without a club could go to Milan. “Those who play will go to the Olympic Games. You have to play. In the Olympic Games, the intensity will be at the highest level. To keep up, you have to play – play at the best level, play intensively, a lot. I told the guys that their playing time in the club is also important to me. These two games will also show something.”
The Latvian national team will play against Norway on Thursday evening, and on Friday they will play against Slovakia. Both games will start at 19:00, live on TV6. The tournament will take place in Banská Bystrica, the fifth largest city in Slovakia.
“I want to see an intense, good, aggressive game. Let us prepare for what lies ahead. I would like to see dynamics, quick transitions from defense to attack. We want to see won duels and neutral battles. The game consists of 50:50 rounds. If we win, then there is a chance to win the game. We want to see the details,” stated Vītoliņš.
The Latvian national team played in a test tournament in Germany in November, losing to the home team and the Slovaks, but beating Austria in the final match.
Did the three test games answer or directly raise questions? “Both, both,” Vitolins smiled. “The process goes forward all the time. There were positive things. It was also visible where we were not enough.”
“The positive – first of all, Kaspara [Daugaviņa] playing. He chose his own path and was not afraid of playing in the Latvian championship, training intensively, training seriously. He showed himself – the most productive, the best +/- balance. After that, he came home and was not afraid to go to the Continental Cup, won a ticket to the finals. Now playing in Germany in the first shift. Yes, it is the second league, but I will even say that it is better to play in a team that is trying to go up, where you are always in a positive mood and there is a lot of playing time.”
“Denis Smirnovs also showed himself from a positive side. Before that, he couldn’t throw, but in the national team – three games and three goals. The national team can be like a little restart. Coming home, different emotions.”
“But in Germany, we also saw that we were not up to speed against the Germans and Slovaks, we thought too long, we were preparing to switch from defense to attack for too long. We have to work there. We are working on it,” said Harijs Vītoliņš.
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