Latvian hockey players beat the Austrians in “bulls”, hopes for the quarterfinals remain. Highlights / Article

Rūdolfs Balcers scored two goals in the regular time for the Latvian national team, but one accurate shot was at the expense of Rihards Bukarts. Nikolai Jeliseyev and Robert Bucharest were the winners in the post-match litters. Rihards Bukarts was named the best in the Latvian national team.

The first third of the teams ended empty, but in the second result period, the Latvian national team played one goal deficit and gained a 3: 2 advantage. In the third period, the Austrian team was able to draw.

Artūrs Šilovs takes care of the safety of the Latvian national team goal when he goes to the starting line-up for the first time in the World Championship. Elvis Merzlikins was given a chance to change things around.

The Austrians were a little more active in the attack in the first third, but there was not much of a sharp situation at the Latvian gate. There were several clashes at the Shilov goal, with Latvian players trying to prevent the opponents from operating freely. The Latvian national team also had a chance to make quick attacks, but goalkeeper Bernhard Starkbaum dealt with the individual shots. At the end of the third, the initiative belonged to Latvian hockey players.

Conversation with Mārtiņš Dzierkala

The striker Mārtiņš Dzierkals admitted after the first third in an interview on Latvian Television that a difficult and similar game was going on, but it was already clear before the match that an easy walk was not waiting. Dzierkals stressed that the team should create a more dangerous situation, but so far the attack did not really succeed.

The first goal is scored by the Austrian national team

The Austrians revealed the result of the counterattack at the beginning of the second third. Benjamin Nisner made a very precise shot in the top corner.

Rudolf Balcher restores the draw

Until the middle of the period, the Austrian defense organization was attacked by Latvia, and Balcers restored the draw with a throw from a comfortable position.

Richard Bucharest puts Latvia in the lead

Not keeping up with Latvia’s attacks, the Austrians accumulated rejections and Rihards Bukarts successfully corrected Kārlis Čukste’s litter in the majority.

The Austrians reach 2: 2

After taking the lead, the Latvian national team remained in the minority in the top three against five, and Dominik Heinrich turned Austria into a big goal.

Balcers scores the third goal for Latvia

The Latvian national team did not succeed in the majority game, but Balcers scored his second goal after a perfect match with Rihards Bukarts. The Austrians tried to play back, and in a dangerous situation, Šilov saved Latvia’s goal after Lucas Haudum’s shot.

During the second break, Balcers admitted in an interview on Latvian Television that the Austrians are showing a good game and keeping the pace. As an important task for the third period, Balcers called the equally active work of the team not to get on the defense.

The Austrians are catching up again

The Austrian national team attacked vigorously at the beginning of the last period and scored the third goal. After Kiliana Cindell’s shot, the puck hit Thomas Rafla’s skate in front of the gate and arrived at Shilov Fortress. The Austrians continued to attack vigorously, and Shilov was the savior on several occasions until the end of time.

The Austrians also attacked more in the overtime, but the Latvian team was closest to the goal when Ronalda Ķēniņš hit the puck on both goal posts.

Šilovs played perfectly in the post-match throws, releasing only one puck after Dominik Heinrich’s excellent hit. In turn, Jelisejevs and Roberts Bukarts secured the victory for Latvia with precise shots.

Vote for the best hockey player playing against Austria in the Latvian national team

Towards the end of the group round, the Latvian national team needed a victory to keep up with the chances of still fighting for the quarterfinals. In the previous four games, Latvian hockey players lost to the USA (1: 4), Finland (1: 2) and the Czech Republic (1: 5), but the only victory was won over the Norwegians (3: 2).

Conversation with Oscar Batna

Forward Oskars Batņa emphasized in an interview with Latvian Television before the game that the team will be ready for the game to fight with sports rage at the very beginning and be ready to bite.

Before the match, the head coach of the Austrian national team Roger Bader said in an interview on Latvian Television that the team is trying to improve the game after participating in the world championship at a lower level. Baden refrained from judging whether rest for the Austrians the day before would be a plus, as both options are possible.

Conversation with Peter Schnaider and Roger Baden

In turn, the striker of the Austrian national team Peter Schneider said in an interview on Latvian Television before the game that he hoped for a victory over Latvia. Schnaider called the team spirit the strong point of the Austrian national team, selflessly helping each other.

Conversation with Michael Berger

Austrian television ORF hockey commentator and former hockey player Michael Berger said that the Austrians played a lot of test games before the championship and the team is progressing every day. The Austrian team has high-level hockey players who play fast hockey and try to keep their opponents free from active pressure, Berger explained.

At the World Championships in Finland, the Austrians have proven to be a serious opponent, defeating the Czechs in the post-match litters (2: 1), only conceding in overtime in the USA (2: 3) and showing relentless fighting in Sweden (1: 3) and Norway (3: 5). . In addition, Austrian hockey players are playing in the elite world championship in Finland only because Russia and Belarus have been barred from participating.

Both Latvia and Austria have three points each after four rounds of play in Group B, with both units four points behind the fourth place holder Czech Republic.

After the game against Austria, Latvians will have two matches left in the group – against the British on Sunday and against the Swedish national team on Tuesday, May 24.

In Friday’s first game in Group B, the Finns beat Britain 6: 0, while in Group A in Helsinki, the Germans were 9: 4 ahead of the Italian national team. At the end of the day, the national teams of Kazakhstan and Slovakia will meet in Helsinki.

In the first stage of the championship, 16 teams are divided into two groups, where a round tournament is played. The four strongest teams in each group will advance to the quarterfinals. The world champions will be announced on May 29.

Vote for the best hockey player playing against Austria in the Latvian national team