Āriks Mateiko scored two goals for Latvia, but Bruno Osmanis and Olivers Mūrnieks, who also assisted in the first two goals in regular time, beat the opponent’s goalkeeper.
In the overall standings of subgroup A, the Americans are the leaders with seven points in three matches, the Canadian national team also has seven points, the Finns have won five points, followed by Latvia with four points, while Germany has one point in four games.
The German hockey players took the lead already in the first minute, when Simons Seidl sent the puck into the goal guarded by Feldberg after a throw in the Latvian defense zone. In the middle of the first third, the Latvians remained in the minority after too many players had gone on the field, but the Latvian hockey players successfully played in the minority without conceding a goal.
At the beginning of the second period, the Latvians had an advantage in shots (6:2). In the middle of the third period, Pēteris Bulāns earned a two-minute suspension, and after a successful throw with a powerful shot almost from the blue line, German captain Edvīns Tropmans sent the puck into the Latvian goal, making it 2:0 for Germany.
32 seconds after the second goal conceded, the Latvian hockey players won the throw-in at the German goal, and Mateiko beat the opponent’s goalkeeper after a play-off (1:2).
At the beginning of the final third, the Germans attacked more, making four shots on goal in less than three minutes, but four minutes later, Osmanis equalized the result with a strong shot.
Less than four minutes before the end of regular time, Krists Retenais, trying to get the puck out of the defensive zone, threw the puck out of bounds and earned a two-minute suspension.
In the last minute of the Latvian minority, the Germans changed the goalkeeper for the sixth player, and Mūrnieks, sending the puck across the entire field, scored a goal and put Latvia in the lead, but 20 seconds later, the German hockey players, continuing to play in the majority, after Dāvids Levandovskis’ accurate shot from the throw-in circle, tied the game at 3 :3.
Germany played with six field players for the rest of the regular time, but the Latvians saved the draw and got to a point that allowed them to secure a place in the quarterfinals.
In extra time, Mateiko brought victory to Latvia, who beat the opponent’s goalkeeper for the second time in the match.
On Friday, the young hockey players of Latvia caused one of the biggest surprises in the history of the tournament, defeating Canada 3:2 in the shootout, but in the second match they recognized the superiority of the USA team 1:5.
Germany started the tournament with a 4-10 defeat against the Americans, followed by another 1-3 loss against Finland. Before the match with Latvia, the Germans lost 0:3 to the Canadians on Sunday.
In last year’s championship, the Latvian national team defeated their peers from Germany with 6:2, which allowed them to reach the quarterfinals.
Latvian ice hockey players will compete against the Finnish national team in the last match of the subgroup on December 31 at 9:30 p.m.
The top four teams in each group will advance to the quarter-finals, while the fifth-placed teams will play one game to stay in the elite group.
Before the tournament, the Latvian U-20 national team coached by Artas Ābolas played two test matches in Canada, where they lost to their peers from the Czech Republic and Switzerland with an identical score of 1:5.
Latvia U-20 national team:
goalkeepers – Linards Feldbergs (Sherbruk “Phoenix”, QMJHL), Aksels Ozols (Jelgava “Zemgale”/LBTU), Jānis Fecers (Herninga “Blue Fox”, Denmark);
defenders – Viktors Kurbaka (“Ocelari” of Tršinec, Czech Republic), Oskars Briedis (“Zemgale” of Jelgava/LBTU), Darel Uljanskis (Šellefteo AIK, Sweden), Pēteris Bulans (Šikutimi “Sgueneens”, QMJHL), Harijs Cjunskis (Rouen-Noranda “Huskies”, QMJHL), Krišjānis Sārts (St. Cloud “Norsemen”), NAHL), Emil Skeltiņš (Amarillo “Wranglers”, NAHL), Krists Retenais (Aberdeen “Wings”, NAHL);
forwards – David Livšić (Rovaniemi “RoKi”, Finland), Erik Mateiko (St. John’s “Sea Dogs”, QMJHL), Valdis Dommers (Hradeckrálovas “Mountfield”, Czech Republic), Tom Mott (Jelgava “Zemgale”/LBTU), Raul Ozollapa ( Pršerova “Zubr”, Czech Republic), Olivers Mūrnieks (Sucity “Musketeers”, USHL), Bruno Osmanis, Markus Sieradzkis (both – Umeå “Bjorkloven”, Sweden), Rudolfs Bērzkalns (Maskigona “Lumberjacks”, USHL), Daniels Serkin (Bern, Switzerland), Antons Macijewskis, Dmitrijs Dilevka (both – Watertown “Shamrocks”, NAHL), Martins Klaucans (St. Cloud “Norsemen”), Roberts Naudiņš (“Shattuck St.Mary’s”, USHS-Prep).