Latvia sensationally defeated Sweden in Riga and took the first place in its history in the World Cup semi-finals.
Latvia organized the biggest sensation of the Ice Hockey World Cup tournament, when the team beat Sweden 3–1 in the quarter-finals played in Riga. Latvia advanced to the semi-finals for the first time in its history, previously it had been seventh at best.
Latvia, which also defeated the Czech Republic and Switzerland earlier in the tournament, will challenge Canada in Saturday’s semi-final in Tampere. The second semi-final pair is USA-Germany.
Tre Kronor, who went into the match as a big pre-favorite, had to be the chaser in the opening set, when Dans Mocmelis hit the puck past the net from in front of the goal by Lars Johansson.
Sweden leveled in the second set with a draw. Toronto NHL Help Timothy Liljegren got From Lucas Raymond the puck, and a sharp shot sank into the very top right corner. In the final minutes of the set, Sweden was able to play for another five minutes of superiority, when Martins Dzierkalis made a fool of himself in the shower from hitting on a bat.
The Latvian audience burst into screams again in the final round. Why Indrasis strayed into the crime scene and the irresistible shot found its way into the net in 45:55.
More cold water came down the Swedes’ necks six minutes before the end, when Janis Jaks shot from the blue line and the puck slipped from Johansson’s equipment over the goal line.
Sweden dominated the game and shots on goal clearly 41–15, but with Latvia’s goal Arturs Silovs played a dream game and fired his team into the top four.