Before the world championship, you should always believe in success / Article

Matulis encourages the hockey championship to be perceived more as an exciting carnival that repeats itself every spring, and it is very good if it gives positive emotions. Before the start, he always considers himself a pessimistic optimist, and would love to record points for Latvia for victories in the first three games against Poland, France and Kazakhstan, however, he is cautious before painting rosy pictures.

If the team lacks concentration or hockey players approach battles too easily, they may lose in one of the first three games. The head coach of the national team Harijs Vītoliņš and the team hopefully understand this, said Matulis. He emphasized that one should always believe in the possibilities of success before the championship.

“First chance [Latvijas izlasei] is to reach the quarterfinals, and then we’ll see,” said Matulis.

On the other hand, Lūsiņš emphasized that the Latvian national team does not have an equivalent replacement for striker Rūdolfs Balcers, who stayed at home due to injury, and defenseman Uvi Balinskis, who is at the disposal of the National Hockey League (NHL) club Florida “Panthers” in North America. Balinski has a special role in most games due to his opposite stick grip, so his absence could be especially felt. Matulis also named defender Kristians Rubinas and goalkeeper Artūras Šilovas as important omissions in the Latvian national team.

Artur Irbi, the goalkeeping coach of the Matulis national team, is considered a supporter of one-keeper tactics.

Lūsiņš clearly foresees the role of the first goalkeeper in the national team for Elvi Merzlikin, while Kristers Gudlevskis will be useful in situations where games are expected for several days in a row. Gudlevskis is ready for any role in the national team, and his goal in the national team is to go to the Olympic Games, Lūsiņš added.

Fans have high expectations before the championship and more faith in success than last year, Lūsiņš admitted. He reminded that the bronze championship started with two losses a year ago, but at the end there were medals. Lūsiņš expects that this year could be off to a good start, and the fourth match against Germany will probably become decisive in the battle for future prospects.

Both experts agree that the championship game calendar is grateful to the Latvian national team, but this alone does not guarantee success.

The World Championship in the Czech Republic starts on Friday, May 10, and the Latvian national team will start the group tournament on May 11 in Ostrava with a match against Poland.

In the continuation of the group stage, Latvian hockey players will have to play against France (May 12), Kazakhstan (May 14), Germany (May 15), Sweden (May 18), Slovakia (May 19) and the USA national team (May 21). . The four strongest teams in the group will advance to the quarterfinals.

All world championship matches can be seen live on LSM.lv.