It has already been reported that the Latvian junior national team lost 1:5 to one of the main favorites, the Americans, in the second match of the tournament on Saturday, but the day before, they sensationally beat the Canadian U-20 hockey players 3:2 in the shootout.
“Today we went to the arena, we moved. Another pleasant thing – Elvis Merzlikin invited the team to lunch, let’s say, in a very nice restaurant with very tasty food,” said Zirnis. “There was also a video call with him and Elvis wished him luck [nākamajos mačos]. I think it cost him quite a lot, thanks to him for taking us out of the hotel.”
The Columbus “Blue Jackets” of the National Hockey League (NHL) represented by Merlikin lost to the Boston Bruins 0:4 (0:1, 0:2, 0:1) on Saturday with the Latvian on the bench. 24 shots, contributing to the team’s victory with 6:2 (1:1, 4:0, 1:1).
The Latvian U-20 national team will compete with their peers from Germany tonight at 10:30 p.m. Latvian time, and the match will be available live on TV6.
“It was a good performance against the USA, but the next game is the most important, like any next game. We know where Germany is in the table and where we are,” Zirnis, assistant to head coach Art Abolas, said about the upcoming game. “We don’t play hide and seek here, we know, and I think the Germans also know, that this game is very important.”
As the coach pointed out, the Germans also fought well against the USA (loss 4:10), but there were a few minutes in the middle of the match when they lost the game, the result went from 2:3 to 2:6. The Germans also played well against Canada and only five minutes before the end of the regular time, the Canadians made it 2-0, and in the end they put the puck into an empty net.
“Maybe they don’t have that result or points, but they play very stable, similar to our style,” Zirnis described the next opponents. “It will be an exciting game.”
In order to ensure a place in the quarter-finals, the Latvian national team will need one point won in the match against Germany.
In last year’s championship, the Latvian national team defeated their peers from Germany with 6:2, which allowed them to reach the quarterfinals.
In the last match of the subgroup, Latvian hockey players will compete against the Finnish national team 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.