Canada defeated Latvia six to ten thousand spectators in front of them.

In some countries, sports are religion. Football in Brazil, basketball in Lithuania, and another football (the one with the oval-shaped ball) in the USA. And while ice hockey itself does not have such a holy stature in Latvia, IIHF World Championships are indeed sacred here. Latvia have never been relegated since gaining promotion to the top division in 1996, and every year since then May is the time when office employees take a vacation, beer sales hit the roof and life stops as team Latvia take the ice.

However, a statement is made where there is holiness. These goes mine. Please pardon me, readers; I have sinned. Despite being raised in Riga, I had my doubts about the tournament’s divine nature this time. With all that COVID-19 and that battle taking place right in the middle of Europe, I was no longer as enthusiastic about sports. I did my hand washing. Lord, was I mistaken?

Just like one rediscovers the love for life when the bright green leaves start to pop up in spring, every roster news in Latvian media, every Hockey World Championship banner on Riga streets, every hockey-related interview on the radio show co-hosted by me, brought excitement to life and made me eagerly wait for May 12.

And now I’m deciding which shirt to use for the Latvia vs. Canada game in Arena Riga, which is only a 20-minute trek from my home. Is it the most recent a? When did Latvia defeat Canada 2 — 0 in their opening game in 2021? Or if I put on the one from 2006, when Riga second hosted the Worlds? It is hip and classic, but Canada defeated us 11-0. I can still hear the shouts from the sold-out industry. Coins began to fall on the snow, and one especially irate fan also removed his shoe and threw it onto the surface.

To honour that, one of the big sportsbooks even offered a bet on whether a boot would be thrown onto the ice again tonight at the odds of 50!

Mris, a large Romanian enthusiast who has his face and hair painted in carmine red and white, is in the kind of reflective mood that hockey fans hardly ever experience. He tells me,” Trust is a fool’s comfort.” ” I have never in my career hoped for everything.” But this year, Team Latvia will have everything under control. Everything depends on how the people perform and how well we support them.

Fans of Latvia hoped for a successful start given that Canada’s crew only recently gathered. But as soon as Punnenovs conceded a smooth objective between the pads after 52 seconds, the visitors began to celebrate. It was 2 &— 0 in five days, and Punnenovs made room for ilovs. Latvia came to life but was unable to convert, and Weegar ended the game 3 — 0 with a precise wrist shot midway through the second period.

Even the most upbeat Romanian fans knew the game was over when Blais scored with a deflected photo off of Ilovs’ again, despite the hosts’ best efforts to take it to Canada’s goal once more. After arriving 6 o’clock slow, Veleno and McBain left Latvia wondering how they would handle” ilovs between the stones from the scrape.”

This is not what Latvia prayed for, in the name of everything that is sports. At least this time, there won’t be any gloves on the ice.