The Latvia national ice hockey team, composed of players under 18, reached the semifinals of the elite division of the World Championship for the first time in history on Wednesday in Bratislava.
In the quarterfinals, the Latvians defeated their peers from the USA with a score of 5:2 (1:0, 1:0, 3:2). Interestingly, three goals in this match were scored while the American net was empty.
More than five minutes before the end of regulation time, the USA team replaced their goalie with a sixth skater, and just a minute later, they conceded a goal into their empty net — 4:1.
Shortly after the fourth goal conceded, the Americans pulled their goalie again and this time capitalized on the advantage — 4:2.
In the last minute of regulation, the Latvian hockey players again hit the empty net of the USA team, setting the final score at 5:2.
The victory of the Latvia team was promptly acknowledged by President Edgars Rinkēvičs.
In Group A, the Latvians started the tournament with a loss to Canada (0:6), then lost to Finland (0:2), crushed Norway (8:1), and in the final match lost to Slovakia (2:5), finishing fourth in the group.
Head coach Oleg Sorokin is assisted by Herbert Vasiliev, Maxim Shirokov, and Raimonds Vīlkaits, with Raivis Miezans responsible for physical training. This year, the goaltending coach is Edgars Masalskis, who also works with the Latvia U-20 national team.
The World Championship for juniors in the elite division is taking place until May 2 in the Slovak cities of Trenčín and Bratislava.
The Latvia U-18 team has been competing in the elite division since 2019, marking its eighth consecutive season.
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