In the continuation of the WC after the first success against the unbeaten Czech Republic / Diena

Counting the world championships and the Olympic games together, Latvia has played against the Czech Republic 14 times and won only one point for a draw, but it happened exactly in Riga in the first game of the 2006 WC. The remaining 13 games have been lost. The last loss a year ago in Tampere was painful. After the first period, the winner was no longer in doubt, as the score was 5-0 (!) in favor of the Czech Republic. As the Czech stars slowed down, the game ended 5-1. Last year, Davids Pastrņāks, who played efficiently in the NHL, came to the game against Latvia, who refused to play for the national team after withdrawing from the Stanley Cup this spring.

This year, the Czech Republic has only four NHL players on its 25-man roster: goaltender Karel Vejmelka (Phoenix Coyotes), defenseman Jakub Zboril (Boston Bruins) and forwards Filip Hitil (New York Rangers) and Dominik Kubalik (Detroit Red Wings). Roman Červenka will be the captain of the team.

The Czechs started the tournament on Friday with a victory over Slovakia (3:2), and on Sunday they also defeated Kazakhstan 5:1.

As you know, the Latvian hockey players scored only one goal in the first two matches, losing first to Canada with 0:6 and losing also to the Slovaks (1:2).

Against the Czech Republic (15.V 20.20)

• In World Championships: 1 draw, 10 losses – 1:3 (2000), 1:3 (2002), 1:3 (2004), 1:1 (2006), 1:3 (2010), 2:4 (2011) , 1:3 (2012), 2:4 (2015), 3:4 “bullish” (2016), 3:6 (2019), 1:5 (2022)
• In the Olympic Games: 3 losses – 2:5 and 2:3 in overtime (2010), 2:4 (2014)
• IIHF ranking: 6th place
• WC 2022: 3rd place