The Easter tournament was held in the Talsi hockey hall for the first time, and it is a spontaneous idea of Kristiānas Ziediņš, which had an unexpected response – everyone who was approached agreed, and the sponsors, the DJ, responded to make the event more enjoyable for the audience. With the event, the organizers wanted to create a positive first impression, so that the guests would want to return in the coming years and the Easter tournament would become a tradition.
Four teams participated in the tournament, each playing 3 games, spending 2×15 minutes on the field. “We just had the second game and my legs are already shaking. If it was longer, I think most wouldn’t last. I think they all wanted to go to Tulsi today, because Tulsi always has one cool atmosphere, because the field is smaller than in other halls, and that hockey is much faster and more dynamic. You have to think much faster, skate less, give passes faster and everything happens very dynamically,” says tournament organizer Kristiāns Ziediņš.
Kristians himself played in the team of the Talsu hockey club, which, when TV9 Pakalni visited the tournament, lost to the Talsu NSS/THK team in a fierce battle. “Hockey is no longer like a sprint, it’s a marathon – if we slip, we miss the game. And so it was in the end. But the young are also malachians! Hats off to how they played, helped each other, threw and threw what was supposed to be thrown, and that was also natural,” says Edgars Cgojevs, a player of the “Talsu hockey club” team.
It is because of childhood nostalgia that at least once a year former students try to return to the hockey hall. Edgars Cgojevs admits that none of his team has anything left to prove – they simply enjoy the game with their friends, meeting again, conversations in the dressing room and emotions. And the joy was really evident in their eyes. “It is always important to win, but the first thing is joy. and as Oleg Sorokin still likes to say: “With power and with pleasure!”. That’s how we play,” said E. Cgojevs.
Kristers Krišs Petraškēvičs also took his first steps in hockey in Tulsa, and his desire to train further took him to other Latvian cities and even abroad. In the Easter tournament, Kristers returned with his team “Tërvete backshots”. “It’s a team we made with our friends, we play in the Enthusiast Hockey League. By and large, no one plays seriously anymore, now it’s cool to meet up every weekend and play hockey. And today it was funny to return to Tulsa – the feeling that you played as a child, and now you are a grown man, and you come to play with the guys, meet Imantas Ziediņas, also the children and grandchildren of the wine. That’s why it’s great!” says Kristers Kriš Petraškēvičs.
Jelgavnieki participated in the Easter tournament with two teams, and “Tērvete Backshots black” also became the winners of the tournament. With the event, the organizers wanted to create a positive first impression, so that the guests would want to return in the coming years and the Easter tournament would become a tradition.
The material was created with the funding of the Media Support Fund from the funds of the Latvian state budget. SIA “TV9 Pakalni” is responsible for the content.
