Just as the early quarter-finals ended with mixed results at the Finnish-Latvian Ice Hockey World Championships, one of the two matches of the evening brought a big surprise, but we knew the other one in advance: the big cannon would definitely go down. Host nation Latvia delivered a massive upset, defeating Sweden 3-1, while in a rematch of the previous three World Cups, Canada beat Finland 4-1, eliminating the defending champions.
| The Riga arena exploded after Bukarz’s (71) victory (Photo: IIHF) |
hockey
World Elite Championship, Quarters
Canada – Finland 4-1 (1–0, 1–0, 2–1)
Sweden – Latvia 1-3 (0–1, 1–0, 0–2)
Canada – Finland
Unlike the previous three world championships, the European and foreign powers did not meet in the final this time, and the fact that they met so early this time was due to the rather poor performance of the Canadians in the group. Theater and thanks for hitting.
However, it was once again proven that the top teams are not worth writing off: Canada scored a goal against the Finns in all three periods, who, on the other hand, used their shots extremely ineffectively. I got on the board in the last five minutes. Tyler Tufoli He restored the three-goal difference with an empty net goal. 4-1
Sweden – Latvia
In the last match of the evening, almost ten thousand spectators, led by the home crowd, performed a miracle for the Latvian national team, causing a huge upset and defeating Sweden. In vain, the yellow blues managed to make 41 shots on goal, and they were successful only once – as did the Finns. On the other hand, Latvia only had 15 shots on goal, and more than half of them were conceded by Janis Jacsis in the first half.
Having taken the lead in the middle of the first half, the Swedes tried very hard, but only managed to equalize in the middle of the second twenty minutes, and despite the last five minutes of the third. Martin Desircals Because of his recent exhibition, the Latvians having spent time with an unfavorable man, the Swedes failed to gain a lead in the forum. Not so in the final third for the Latvians, who only scored one shot on goal in the middle half, but in the last period they tried again six times, of which they scored two goals. Mix Indracis immediately after that oxen that I put 3-1The end result is a homegrown victory.
be joyful
History made!@employee defeats @employee punch their ticket to #IIHFWorlds semi final!
Game story: https://t.co/4SNVeWnt9G pic.twitter.com/KLHUmMkUks
– IIHF (IIHF Hockey) May 25, 2023
The Latvian ice hockey team has undoubtedly achieved the greatest success in its history, reaching the World Cup semi-finals for the first time, where it will face Canada on Saturday.
previously
Switzerland and Germany 1-3 (0–1, 1–2, 0–0)
USA – Czech Republic 3-0 (1–0, 1–0, 1–0)
