19-year-old goalkeeper Vītols made his debut in the goal of the Riga team affected by Covid-19, repelling 33 shots in his first KHL game.
“The feelings in the first game were really great. It’s a pity we lost, but I definitely enjoyed my first KHL game,” the club quotes a hockey player. “It remains to stop the first puck and the excitement passes. Thanks to the coaches for giving me the confidence to prove myself. I hope there will be more opportunities.”
The goalkeeper was surprised by the 36 shots on his goal: “I didn’t expect so much before the game. But I felt good – I was ready for the game. The teammates supported and helped all the time.”
Vītols, comparing KHL with the Youth Hockey League (MHL), where he plays in the ranks of the hockey club “Rīga” on a daily basis, is the first to note the wisdom of the players on the field.
“Every mistake is noticed, everything happens at a very high speed. You should not relax for a moment, because then an error will follow,” says the hockey player. “And here the players are very masterful. The scoring moments are created in a flash. In most games, the passes are accurate and a very strong throw follows. However, I really enjoyed the match.”
For the people of Riga, this was the sixth loss in a row.
“The game was equal. Of course, we had not played for a long time. We were waiting for a painful goal and we were not able to use our opportunities ourselves,” the experienced striker Miķelis Rēdlihs told the club’s press service.
“We may not have been able to throw because we haven’t played for a long time, but maybe we just had to play colder. I can only say good words about the new players, including the goalkeeper, who had a great game in his debut.”
It has already been reported that the team of the Latvian capital has not recovered from the second Covid-19 outbreak in the team, and on the first trip after the quarantine the Rigans were not accompanied by several regular players, who were replaced by hockey players of MHL unit “Riga”. Although there are six goalkeepers in the team, 19-year-old Vītols had to enter the goal on Wednesday, but Artyom Leshchenko, who is two years younger, was in reserve.
The opponents were also caught by a young goalkeeper – only 18-year-old Alexei Kolosov.
Also, the team’s head coach Pēteris Skudra, whose duties in this section are performed by Dmitrijs Parhomenko, did not leave, but he was assisted by Andrejs Kudins and “Rīgas” head coach Valērijs Kuļibaba.
On Tuesday, the team went on a tramp trip for the fourth trip of the season on the route Riga – Minsk – Chelyabinsk – Ekaterinburg – Nursultan – Riga.
Goalkeepers from Riga “Dinamo” went on an outing: Ēriks Vītols, Aleksandrs Lazušins, who will join the team in Chelyabinsk, as well as farm club “Zemgale” / LLU puck catcher Artyom Leshchenko; guards – Morgans Eliss, Kristaps Sotnieks, Kristaps Zīle, Ondržejs Vitāseks, Anddrū O’Braiens, Ernests Ošenieks, Rīss Skārletas, Tony Sunds; attackers – Mikēlis Rēdlihs, Zeks Mičels, Gints Meija, Emīls Ģēģeris, Daniels Bērziņš, Patriks Zabusovs, Denis Paršins, Jaisis Lipons, Jevgenijs Gračovs, Jānis Švanenbergs, Rūdolfs Polcs, Kārlis Bucenieks, Deniss Dajodor
Riga “Dinamo” with seven points in 14 games takes the last place in the KHL championship among 23 teams.
Last season, “Dinamo” took the penultimate place in the Western Conference and in the entire league, not qualifying for the Gagarin Cup for the sixth year in a row.
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