Latvian Hockey News Report

Latvian U20 national team with a 3:1 victory over Belarussian U20 team finished it’s triumph at the Division 1 tournament in Babruysk, Belarus, returning to the Elite division for the 2012 tournament.

Janis Kalnins finished the tournament with the best GAA, as well as SVS%, although the best goaltender award went to British goalie Ben Bowns (who reflected a total of 198 shots, three times more than Kalnins did). However, the best defender award went to Ralfs Freibergs of the Latvian team. The top scorer of the Latvian team was Juris Upitis with 8 (3+5) points, closely followed by the 16-year-old talent Zemgus Girgensons with 7 (4+3) points. Head coach Leonids Beresnevs announced Ronalds Kenins as the MVP of the Latvian team.

Latvian U20 results:

Latvian U20 statistics:

(in bold – players eligible to play at the 2012 World U20 Championship)

Yesterday Latvian U20 national team head coach Leonids Beresnevs announced those 22 players, who will set off for Babruisk, Belarus already tomorrow morning, in order to begin the tournament on December 13 and eventually try to return to the Elite Division for next year.

In order to do that, Latvian team will have to beat not only Japanese, Italian, Great Britain and Ukrainian teams, but also its main rivals for the victory in the tournament – Belarussian team, who will host the tournament. Belarussian team this year consists of many already professional players, of whom majority play in the Belarussian league. In combination with the home ice advantage, Belarussians have slightly higher chances of winning the tournament.

Unfortunately, two potential Latvian team participants withdrew from the pre-tournament training camp, as they got injured. Both of them would most likely made the roster – first one of the is HK Riga players Vladislavs Dobrenkijs, but the second one – Rolands Vigners who plays for Reims of the French Division 1 and did magnificently well during the both exhibition tournaments earlier this season.

Yesterday, during the press conference assistant coach Aigars Cipruss also commented that during this season Kristians Pelss (Edmonton Oil Kings) game has improved a lot, and that he has already benefited from crossing the pond last summer.

Tournament schedule:

*- the game starts at 17:00 GMT and will be broadcasted by LTV7, so there is a slight chance that the game could be streamed somewhere.

Latvian U20 roster:

Latvian U20 national team head coach Leonids Beresnevs has announced those 30 players, who will take part in the pre-World Junior Championship training camp in Jelgava from December 6 until December 11.

The final roster of the team will be announced on December 10. Already the next day the team will leave for Babruysk, Belarus, where on December 13 will play already against British U20 national team.

List of the candidates:

Ervins Mustukovs is a 26-year-old Latvian goalie, who is one of the top Latvian goaltenders at the moment. He is currently having a tremendous season with the Sheffield Steelers of the EIHL. For the previous two seasons he served as the third goalie of KHL’s Dinamo Riga, but never managed to gain the trust of the head coach Julius Supler, only playing two games for the club. Earlier this year Mustukovs also made the Latvian Olympic roster at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, but, serving as the second goalie behind Edgars Masalskis back, failed to spend even a minute in the crease.

In this interview Ervins talks not only about the current season with Sheffield, but also touches the issues of Latvian national team, Dinamo Riga, his own future.

You signed the contract with Sheffield already in May, which somehow indicates that you had decided to leave Dinamo already prior the end of the season. Is it true?

- Yes, it is true. Even though I was willing to play for Dinamo Riga and prove myself, I did not manage to see that chance coming. I had no other options but to search for a new club where to play, as I did not want to stay as the third goalie of Dinamo Riga already for the third straight season. Clubs from several leagues (also Kazakh league and French Ligue Magnus) offered me contracts, however, I gave preference to the EIHL and the Sheffield Steelers.

What were the reasons which led you to playing abroad?

- Well, they were all well-known – despite the fact that I wanted to play for Dinamo Riga, I did not gain the trust of the coaching staff. I did not want to stay without playing anymore, and chose to try my luck elsewhere in Europe. Sheffield came up with an offer of decent wage, great city, arena, league and, more importantly, many shots on goals, as well as the ability to play regularly, which, in my opinion, are the most important issues for a goaltender.

When you signed the contract with Steelers, did you imagine that the season would turn out as successfully as it has done?

- To be honest, at that moment I did not really think about that. For me the most important part was to find a club where I could play regularly. Sheffield offered that. I hoped that I would be able to give a taste of my quality, but you could never know, how it would actually turn out.

How would you evaluate the level of EIHL, compared to the Belarusian Extraleague, where you played previously?

- The level is great, I am not complaining. I believe that for a goaltender it is way better and interesting to play in EIHL rather than Belarus – there are way more games, many shots on goals and it is always more breathtaking, when there is a solid Canadian goalie standing in the opposite net. I am not ready to judge the players, however, I know that the hockey is very much different than the one played in Belarus – here the game is more aggressive, all the players are rushing forward, shooting from every angle imaginable, playing with only three shifts. Yesterday’s game between Metalurgs Liepaja and Coventry Blaze [Continental Cup third round, Coventry won 6:1] was not the easiest one for Liepaja. Obviously, we can not evaluate two leagues out of this single game, but, clearly, people in England know how to play ice hockey.

Recently Ben Simon, the head coach of Steelers, announced that he would not trade you for any other goaltender of the EIHL. What does it mean to you? Also, do you believe you would maintain the trust of Simon, if you played several rather unsuccessful games in a row?

- Similarly to every other goaltender, it means a lot, when a coach trusts you. Despite that, I try not to think about that too much. I want to play hockey, and that is currently the most important thing. Coaches in this league avoid saying anything negative to their goalies, it was the same in the ECHL, yet I do not live in an euphoria because of that. After all, you can never know, how the season will develop. The attitude towards you can always change according to your performance.

In early October you had a chance to play against Boston Bruins. Why did the coach decide to  send you in the net just three minutes before the regulation?

- It was a decision made by him. Probably because I took the trip to Belfast and coach gave me a chance to appear on the scoresheet.

If the game was held in Sheffield, would you have started it in the net, not on the bench?

- If the game was held in Sheffield, most likely I would have been standing in the net. Still, it is only normal, as every coach in the most crucial games plays a goalie, who he trusts the most and who he knows the best. Why should a Belfast Giants coach send a Latvian goalie in the net, if he has a solid British national team player Stephen Murphy on the roster?

Sheffield has the largest arena in the EIHL – do they have also the best fans?

- No, I will not state it only because I play in Sheffield. Still, several EIHL teams have really great fans and Steelers is not an exception. Also Nottingham and Belfast have great fans. All these cities have wonderful arenas and a great support, where their fans follow to their team away tours even to the most distant cities. I would really thank them about that. It is always pleasant to play in front of overcrowded arenas.

You made the Latvian Olympic roster at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, however it was Martins Raitums and Edgars Lusins, who made the 2010 World championship roster. Where do you currently see yourself in the context of the national team?

- I am really not willing to recall Vancouver. I was glad that I made the roster, but right there the positive memories about the Olympic Games ended. As soon as the Olympics finished, I knew that Znaroks would not choose me for the World championship in Mannheim. Frankly speaking, currently I do not see myself in the national team at all. Nobody has ever talked to me about that and it does not seem that anything is going to change. I have played in QMJHL, SPHL, ECHL, which somebody might think requires no effort, however I will reveal a secret – for a Latvian goalie on his own it is not that easy – that is why I was never clear, when nobody from the national team took any interest in me. If any of the younger goalies played in any of those leagues, he would be on the national team already for some time now and made a national hero.

How do you evaluate the fact that the Latvian national team did not use the November break to play any exhibition games, in order to test the nearest reserves of the team?

- I do not believe that such tournaments or exhibition games are necessary at all, and they are the least necessary in November. Everything is decided already before these games anyway. If a game would be won, it would be forgotten easily, however if you let in some unfortunate mistakes, everybody would remember it and remember it for a long time coming. A great example – when I had a 1:0 shutout against the Danish team, nobody cared, as ‘they were only Danes – not that much of shots on goal, etc.’, however, when I let four goals in against the Germans [right before leaving to Vancouver Olympics], people were willing to send me home. People came up with the most unrealistic things, saying that I lack attitude, regular playing, that I do not talk to the teammates. After all, who cares in what form a player is in November, if he has to play in April? Until then everything can change.

Three years ago in an interview you said that the younger goalies should take any opportunity to move to the North American leagues. Now, when your North American career is at least temporarily finished and you have gained more experience, do you still think that way?

- I still believe the younger goalies should go to North America, however they should do it only if they actually have an opportunity to play there at a decent level. It is rather hard to make it even to the SPHL, as they really do not need a Latvian goalie, who they have never heard of. As long as you are not head and shoulders above, they will still prefer a native goalie.

I would like to think that EIHL is not the top of your ambitions? How do you currently look towards the future – where would you like to see yourself playing in three, four seasons?

- I would certainly love to play for Dinamo. That would be very joyful and a great honour, but you can never know, how everything will turn out. A top European league would be fine as well.

I wish you the very best!

During the past two days Latvian U18 national team in Riga played two games against the Austrian U18 team, crushing it both times with 7:1 and 7:2. The top scorer of the Latvian team was 1994-born Roberts Lipsbergs, who scored four goals.

Latvian U18 national team missed several key players. First of all, it was 1994-born Zemgus Girgensons, who is having a superb season in the USHL, also Edgars Klavins, who is one of the leading scorers of the Swedish U18 league, wasn’t in Riga. Edgars Kurmis, who plays for HK Riga, was in Denmark with the Latvian U20 team. Another possible miss-out was Artjoms Dasutins, who is playing for HK Sheriff of the MHL.

Latvian U18 results:

Latvian U18 statistics:

1. Toms Andersons is playing in Switzerland, but the club is unknown.
   
2. Players, whose teams are unknown, are playing outside either Latvian or Latvian U18 league.

Yesterday the 2010 Sino Cup finished, as the last two games were held, despite the fact that Latvian U20 team had already played it’s four games by November 12. Latvian team has finished tournament in the second place, right after Belarussian team.

Latvian team started the tournament with an unconvincing 3:2 shootout win over the hosts – Danish U20 team. On the next day Latvians lost 0:3 to Belarussians, which will be the main contestant for the win at the 2011 World U18 Championships in Division 1, but then Latvians beat Finland 3:2 in the shootout – that wasn’t a huge upset, as the Finnish U20 first team is currently at the Four Nations Tournament in Prague. The last game will probably remain as the most memorable of this tournament – a 9:0 run-over the Austrian U20 team.

In the end, Belarussians had eight points and finished the tournament in first place, while Latvians, Danes and Finns had all seven points, and Latvians ended up in the second place only because of a better goal difference. Ronalds Kenins, who scored 6 (2+4) points, was the leading scorer of the whole tournament.

Latvian U20 results:

Latvian U20 statistics:

Today the Latvian U20 national team roster for the U20 Sino Cup in Rodovre, Denmark, which will begin on November 9 and during which Latvian team is going to face Austrian, Belarussian, Danish and Finnish U20 national teams, was announced.

It is the last preparatory tournament for the Latvian team, before the 2011 First division U20 Championship, which is going to take place in Babruysk, Belarus between December 9-13. The only aim for the Latvian team is to win their main rivals Belarussians and return to the Elite division for 2012.

Announced roster for the tournament:

Let me just remind you that in September the sixth Sergei Zholtok Memorial Cup was held in Riga. Here you can take a look back at the team’s roster in September: U20 roster for the Zholtok Cup announced

This evening Latvian U20 national team played already the second game of the sixth Sergei Zholtok Memorial Cup held in Riga. After winning the Belarusian U20 team 3:1 yesterday, Latvians suffered a loss to Russian U18 team 3:5, with four goals scored by Maxim Shalunov.

The game set off in a relatively high tempo, with both teams crushing the net, however, in the sixth minute of the game Maxim Shalunov scored already on the first powerplay of the night. Minutes later Latvians took the initiave of the game and tied the score, when Girts Jansons put the puck in after a rebound from Denis Perevozhchikov’s pads, scoring already his second goal of the tournament. Already late in the period Shalunov scored just another goal.

The second period began with two powerplays for the Latvian team, and in the latter of them Latvians crushed the net with many shots, however Perevozhchikov kept the puck out of it. In the middle of the period Shalunov and the only 1994-born player of the tournament Mikhail Grigorenko were put in the same powerplay unit and almost immediately Grigorenko increased Russian lead to 3:1. After a horrible mistake by defender Raimonds Tubelis, Shalunov was left alone in the front of the net and faced no problems beating Janis Kalnins. However, with a couple of minutes left in the period, Edgars Abolins scored a one-timer goal to make it 4:2.

In the third period Russian team had paced down, which allowed Latvians to attack most of the time and led the Russian defenceman to earn several successive penalties. Latvians were down by two goals and the game could have been turned around, if it was not for the admirable performance of Perevozhchikov. When there were only three minutes left in the regulation, Raimonds Tubelis once again forgot about Shalunov, who scored already his fourth goal of the night. With one minute left in a game, during a delayed call, Reinis Demiters managed to shoot a heavy shot, which found its way to the back of the net, but that was the end of it. Russians celebrated a 5:3 victory.

Generally, Latvian first line (Upitis – Bicevskis – Biezais) proved themselves to be capable of surrounding the opposing net and they had many great chances throughout the game. Another notable players was the second line center Ronalds Kenins. As of defenders, Martins Porejs left the greatest impression for me. With around five-six more additions to the team, I feel optimistic about the Latvian opportunity to win their U20 World Championship Division 1 group and once again play in Elite Division in 2012.

Latvian team roster:

Janis Kalnins

Eriks Sevcenko – Martins Jakovlevs; Juris Upitis – Maris Bicevskis – Elvijs Biezais

Reinis Demiters – Martins Porejs; Miks Lipsbergs – Ronalds Kenins – Vladislavs Dobrenkijs

Romans Sevcenko – Toms Taurins; Arturs Mickevics – Edgars Abolins – Maris Dilevka

Raimonds Tubelis – Ronalds Gritans; Egils Kalns – Bruno Zabis – Girts Jansons

Latvian Hockey Federation has announced the Latvian national U20 team roster for the sixth Sergei Zholtok Memorial Cup, which will take place on September 1-4 in Riga, Latvia. This year the tournament will include Latvian, Belarusian, Danish U20 teams, as well as the Russian U18 team.

In December the team, led by Leonids Beresnevs, will play in World U20 Championships Div.1 tournament in Belarus. Latvian team will have only one aim – to win over Belarusians and to return to the Elite division.

Tournament schedule:

September 1, 19:00 Latvia U20 – Belarus u20
September 2, 16:00 Denmark U20 – Belarus U20
September 2, 19:15 Latvia U20 – Russia U18
September 3, 16:00 Belarus U20 – Russia U18
September 3, 19:15 Latvia U20 – Denmark U20
September 4, 15:00 Russia U18 – Denmark U20

The roster includes all the best junior players, currently playing in Latvia. As of players, who are playing abroad, only Ronalds Kenins (GC/Kusnacht Lions) and Girts Jansons (Muik Hockey) will take part in this tournament. It is expected that the World Championship roster will also include Kristians Pelss (Edmonton Oil Kings), Vitalijs Hvorostinins (fighting for a spot on Val-d’Or Foreurs), Rolands Vigners (Reims), Matiss Mezulis (Gotteron U20) and probably also brothers Ralfs and Kristers Freibergs, both playing in Sweden.

Official roster for the tournament:

There is not much time left until the beginning of September, when Latvian U20 team will play already in the sixth Sergei Zholtok Memorial Cup. The candidates list for the team has been made available.

In December the team, led by Leonids Beresnevs, will play in World U20 Championships Div.1 tournament in Belarus. Latvian team will have only one aim – to win over Belarusians and to return to the Elite division.

Candidates list: