• Latvia and Switzerland also competed yesterday, and the home team won 5:1. Renārs Krastenbergs scored Latvia’s only goal in the third period.
• Ivars Punnenov saved 19 of 24 shots. After the second third, the participant of four world championships was replaced by 22-year-old Erik Vitols. Vitols saved seven of seven shots.
• Defender Kristaps Zīles (18:26 minutes) and forwards Kaspars Daugaviņas (18:08) and Harald Egles (18:01) had the longest playing time among the Latvians.
• Couldn’t avoid injuries in this Test match either. Defender Kristofers Bindulis suffered already in the first half of the period, as the opponent received 5+20 penalty minutes. Center Filips Buncis also did not finish the match due to an injury.
• Head coach Harijs Vītoliņš emphasized the importance of double matches – almost all were lost in the second period, so the period was lost with 0:4, but the situation was improved in the third period.
• Yesterday the national teams played in Lausanne, but tonight the match is expected in Kloten. It is located ten kilometers from Zurich, the largest city in Switzerland. Zurich Airport is located within the borders of Klotene.
• Forwards Martins Laviņš and Félix Gavars – the youngest hockey players who were taken to Switzerland – did not go to the field in the first game. Vītoliņš confirmed that both will play tonight, but did not talk about other changes yet.
• Elvis Merzlikins joined the Latvian national team camp this week. He watched the first match against Switzerland from the stands together with the striker of the Lausanne club Ronalda Kēnins, who will fight in the Swiss final tonight.
• After the duels against Switzerland, the Latvian national team will have only two test matches left – on May 3 and 4 in Riga against the Norwegians. Tickets for both games are sold out.
• Latvia will start the world championship on May 11 with a match against Poland. Duels against France, Kazakhstan, Germany, Sweden, Slovakia and the USA will follow.
The composition of the Latvian national team in Switzerland
| Position | Player | Year | Club | Statistics | PS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Elvis Merzlikin | 1994 | Blue Jackets (NHL) | 41; 89.7% | 5 |
| Ivars Punnenov | 1994 | Rapperswil (Switzerland) | 6; 90.3% | 4 | |
| Eric Vitols | 2001 | KeuPa (Finland-2) | 33; 90.4% | ||
| Defenders | Oskars Cibulskis | 1988 | Herning (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 | Nové Zámky (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-Rivières (ECHL) | 48; 2+5 | ||
| Robert Kalkis | 1998 | Marseille (France) | 43; 1+10 | ||
| Attackers | Andris Džeriņš | 1988 | Herning (Denmark) | 31; 5+14 | 12 |
| Kaspars Daugavins | 1988 | Michalovce (Slovakia) | 47; 11+43 | 11 | |
| Robert Buckart | 1990 | Vítkovice (Czech Republic) | 51; 14+7 | 10 | |
| Richard Buckart | 1995 | Vítkovice (Czech Republic) | 18; 7+4 | 6 | |
| Oskar Batnia | 1995 | Mikkelin Jukurit (Finland) | 59; 20+18 | 4 | |
| Rihards Marenis | 1993 | Nybro (Sweden-2) | 45; 13+20 | 3 | |
| Renard Krastenberg | 1998 | Graz (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 | Liptovský Mikuláš (Slovakia) | 49; 11+28 | ||
| Filip Buncis | 1997 | Västervik (Sweden-2) | 52; 9+8 | ||
| Eduard Tralmak | 1997 | Rytíři Kladno (Czech Republic) | 52; 21+11 | ||
| Oskar Lapinski | 2002 | Langnau (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 | The game | The result |
|---|---|---|
| April 4 | Latvia – Austria | 3:2 p.m |
| April 5 | Latvia – Austria | 3:2 p.m |
| April 10 | Latvia – Finland | 2:3 par. |
| April 11 | Latvia – Finland | 2:3 |
| April 26 | Switzerland – Latvia | 5:1 |
| April 27 | Switzerland – Latvia | |
| May 3 | Latvia – Norway | |
| May 4 | Latvia – Norway |
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