The Latvia men's national ice hockey team will play against the host team Slovakia today in Banská Bystrica in the second match of the Kaufland Cup, fighting for first place, reports LETA.
The match will start at 19:00 Latvian time and will be broadcast live on the channel TV6.
On Thursday, in the first match, Latvia defeated Norway 4–0. Goals for the Latvia national team were scored by Denis Smirnov, Rihards Melnāksnis, Roberts Bukarts, and Kristaps Zīle.
Slovakia also won against the Norwegians on Wednesday with a score of 7–4.
The Latvia national team for this tournament includes three goalkeepers, eight defenders, and 12 forwards, among whom the team captain Kaspars Daugaviņš is absent this time.
As previously reported, due to injuries, the team will not be able to rely on initially called-up defender Ralfs Freibergs, as well as forwards Tom Andersons, Raimonds Vitolins, Haralds Egle, and Rodger Bukarts.
For the Latvia national team, this tournament is the last test before the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo.
In 2022, at the Kaufland Cup, Latvia defeated Norway in overtime 4–3 and lost to Slovakia 1–6. In 2023, the Latvians won against the Norwegians 5–0 but lost to the Slovaks 0–3. A year ago, Latvia again defeated Norway 3–0 and lost to Slovakia 1–2.
