• Lausanne will host the sixth game of the final series of the Swiss championship on Saturday evening, but tonight a duel between the national teams of Switzerland and Latvia is expected.
• The Latvian national team trained in Riga on Thursday, but left in the evening after the plane landed in Zurich.
• Head coach Harijs Vītoliņš took three goalkeepers, nine defenders and 15 forwards with him to the two test matches. Defenders Artūrs Andžans and Sandis Smons and forward Kristaps Skrastiņš stayed at home.
• After two test matches against Finland (2:3 in overtime and 2:3), bronze medalists Kristaps Zīle, Jānis Jaks, Oskars Cibulskis, Andris Džeriņš, Kaspars Daugaviņš, as well as Elvis Merzlikins, Kristofers Bindulis and Eduards Tralmaks have added to the Latvian national team.
• In yesterday’s training, the first shift consisted of Daugavins, Roberts Bukarts and Haralds Egle. Egle and Daugavins also played in the first majority team – together with Tralmak, Jak and Tom Anderson.
• Latvia’s games against Switzerland are the only away tests. The second duel will take place in Klotene tomorrow at 18:30.
• On May 3 and 4, duels against the Norwegian national team await in Riga. Tickets for both games are sold out.
• The World Championship in Prague and Ostrava will start on May 10, but Latvia will play its first match on May 11, when it will face Poland. Battles against France, Kazakhstan, Germany, Sweden, Slovakia and the USA await.
Latvian national team in Switzerland
| Position | Player | Year | Club | Statistics | PS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goalkeeper | Elvis Merzlikin | 1994 | Blue Jackets (NHL) | 41; 89.7% | 5 |
| Ivars Punnenov | 1994 | Lakers (Switzerland) | 6; 90.3% | 4 | |
| Eric Vitols | 2001 | KeuPa (Finland-2) | 33; 90.4% | ||
| Defender | Oskars Cibulskis | 1988 | Blue Fox (Denmark) | 38; 2+11 | 9 |
| Ralf Freiberg | 1991 | Mountfield (Czech Republic) | 52; 1+8 | 7 | |
| Jānis Yaks | 1995 | Litvinov (Czech Republic) | 44; 4+25 | 6 | |
| Kristaps Zile | 1997 | Litvinov (Czech Republic) | 50; 4+7 | 5 | |
| Robert Mamcic | 1995 | Nove Zamky (Slovakia) | 45; 7+19 | 2 | |
| Arvil Bergmanis | 1999 | Alaska Fairbanks (NCAA) | 31; 2+17 | 2 | |
| Christopher Bindulis | 1995 | Michalovce (Slovakia) | 32; 2+5 | 1 | |
| Marcus Komulus | 1998 | Trois-Rivieres (ECHL) | 48; 2+5 | ||
| Robert Kalkis | 1998 | Marseille (France) | 43; 1+10 | ||
| Attacker | Andris Džeriņš | 1988 | Blue Fox (Denmark) | 31; 5+14 | 12 |
| Kaspars Daugavins | 1988 | Michalovce (Slovakia) | 47; 11+43 | 11 | |
| Robert Buckart | 1990 | Vitkovice (Czech Republic) | 51; 14+7 | 10 | |
| Richard Buckart | 1995 | Vitkovice (Czech Republic) | 18; 7+4 | 6 | |
| Oskar Batnia | 1995 | Jukurit (Finland) | 59; 20+18 | 4 | |
| Rihards Marenis | 1993 | Nybro (Sweden-2) | 45; 13+20 | 3 | |
| Renard Krastenberg | 1998 | 99ers (Austria) | 30; 13+9 | 3 | |
| Tom Anderson | 1993 | La Chaux-de-Fonds (Switzerland-2) | 45; 18+32 | 1 | |
| Dan Lochmelis | 2004 | UMass (NCAA) | 30; 7+7 | 1 | |
| Harald Egle | 1996 | Liptovsky Mikulas (Slovakia) | 49; 11+28 | ||
| Filip Buncis | 1997 | Vastervik (Sweden-2) | 52; 9+8 | ||
| Eduard Tralmak | 1997 | Rytiri Kladno (Czech Republic) | 52; 21+11 | ||
| Oskar Lapinski | 2002 | Tigers (Switzerland) | 52; 3+1 | ||
| Felix Gavar | 2002 | St. Lawrence (NCAA) | 39; 13+12 | ||
| Martins Lavins | 2003 | New Hampshire (NCAA) | 35; 5+9 |
Latvian national team test match calendar
| The date | Opponent | The result |
|---|---|---|
| April 4 | Latvia-Austria | 3:2 PM |
| April 5 | Latvia-Austria | 3:2 PM |
| April 10 | Latvia-Finland | 2:3 p.m |
| April 11 | Latvia-Finland | 2:3 |
| April 26 | Switzerland-Latvia | |
| April 27 | Switzerland-Latvia | |
| May 3 | Latvia-Norway | |
| May 4 | Latvia-Norway |
Tags: Latvia compete Swiss Hockey Sportacentrs .com
