The moment of fracture was the minority gate / day

It has already been reported that the Latvian national team started the World Hockey Championship with a 4: 1 (0: 1, 1: 0, 3: 0) victory over the French team.

In the first period, the French led by Dylan Fabré, in the second period the Latvian team was in the only minority Mārtiņš Dzierkals, and in the third period Kristaps Zīle with a long shot and Dan Ločmelis with two pucks in the empty goal for the Latvians 4: 1.

According to the head of the state unit, no victory comes easy, especially if it is the first game.

« We seem to know that the French should win, but they also have a strong lineup, » Vitolins said the first opponent in the tournament. « Yes, the game was nervous, but the guys showed character. »

As the head coach admitted, the crucial time was Mārtiņš Dzierkals. « It was a moment of fracture and it gave us extra energy. »

When it comes to the numerical majority, which was not realized, Vitolins noted that it was not bad. This cannot be judged only after the gate scored. « This time there were plays, there were good moments, but we’ll work on it.

The head coach of the Latvian national team also noted that the rejections should not be made, as the next opponents of Canadians use the numerical majority excellent.

Vitolins also did not hide that the team was felt, as there were several debutants. All in all, however, he managed to cope well, and the coach also praised many Latvian fans who have created the feeling that the team would play at home – it helps.

More than 7,500 fans attended the match, of which about five thousand could have been Latvian fans.

It was due to too much excitement at the end of the second period, the change of center players in the first two strings – Gleb Prohorenkov changed places with Dan Ločmeli. « It seemed that too much responsibility for Prohorenkov was disturbing because he did not know who to give the puck or go forward and throw it on the gate. However, he had played with (Kaspar) Daugavins and (Henri) Ravinsky for a whole month, » the coach said. « After that, the game went to both his shift and Ločmelis well understood with (Rudolph) Balcer and (Eduard) tralmac. »

When outlining the next match against the Canadian team, the head coach of the national team emphasized that discipline and defense will be important.

« You must not make rejections, » Vitolins said. « I think we will have moments in the attack, and it was also shown by the Slovenians against the Canadians, who also had moments.

The coach also noted that many players would still have adrenaline in the blood, because once they may have dreamed of taking on the players who are in the Canadian team, but now they would have to play.

« It will be a challenge and it will be an additional motivation to show that we can play at that level, » Vitolins said of the starry Canadian team. « We will have moments, need realization.

Which Latvian national goalkeeper will score against the Canadians, Vitolins has not yet disclosed.

The game against the Canadian team, which defeated Slovenia in the first game with 4-0, will begin at 17.20. The tournament will continue with matches with Slovenia, housewife Sweden, Finnish national team, Slovakia and the final group game with Austria.

The 16 teams start in the tournament are divided into two groups, with eight teams each, which guarantees seven games for each team. The top four teams in each group will continue their battle for medals in the quarterfinals, but the weakest teams in both groups will leave the strongest division, and will be replaced by Britain and Italy next year.

Last year, the Czechs triumphed in the World Championships in their field, beating Switzerland by 2-0 in a crucial match, but Sweden won the bronze medals with a 4: 2 win over the Canadian national team. The Latvian national team ranked ninth, although he won four wins in the sub -group.

The World Championship in Herning and the Swedish capital, Stockholm, will end on May 25. Group B games and two quarter -final matches will take place in Herning, while Stockholm will also host two quarter -final duties, semi -final games and medals.