Archive for the ‘Hockey’ Category

Face off in Vancouver


2010
02.16

RIGA – My earliest memory as a child is the 1980 Summer Olympic Games in Moscow. I was three years old, caring more about a giant mascot of the games, Misha the Bear, flying up into the sky at the Closing Ceremony then about the United States’ decision to boycott the games because of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

Politics often takes over sporting events. Boycotts are in the past, but for a country like Latvia, the first hockey match against Russia in the Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver is as much about politics as it is about the game of hockey. Hockey for Latvians is like a religion, though sometimes, we’re overcome by our religious zeal. People here still talk about a 2000 Russia-Latvia game at the Ice Hockey World Championship in St. Petersburg, Russia. Ten years ago, the tiny Baltic country beat its former overlord and the all-star team.

“We are a small country, but we are tough. We have proven that over the centuries. We still exist.”

“I have the same feelings that I had 10 years ago when we stood on the barricades and pulled for independence. That was fantastic, and I think most people now have the same feelings,” people said at the time.

The inferiority complex would suffer a major blow if Latvia wins. Latvia’s victory over Russia could render Latvians incapacitated to mope in their own sorrow. Statistically speaking, Latvia is not doing too badly. The two teams met five times on major tournaments. Russia won 3 games; Latvia won two. In the last two games, Russia crushed Latvia with scores approaching double-digits. Most recently, Russia beat Latvia 6-1 at the Ice Hockey World Championship in Bern, Switzerland.

Now perhaps it could turn the same, if Latvia wins. If it doesn’t, Riga might turn into a loud chorus of “Rossiya, Rossiya.”

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Face of the Day


2009
05.02

IHOCKEY-WORLD-2009-FRA-LATFrench goalkeeper Fabrice Lhenry looks dejected after his team lost at the end of his Group E qualification round game versus Latvia at the 2009 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championships on May 2, 2009 in Bern. Latvia won 7-1. AFP PHOTO / FABRICE COFFRINI

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Liveblogging Latvia v. Canada at Ice Hockey World Chamionship


2008
05.04

We liveblogged the most awful hockey game I have ever seen. The Latvian National team might as well have stayed at the hotel.
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Pucked Luck


2008
05.02

Latvian hockey fans during the IHWC in Riga in 2006RIGA – Latvia is getting sick with a fever.

A recent survey revealed that 75 per cent of Latvian residents plan to follow a hockey contest. Most of them will be in front of their TV screens, waking up the remaining 25 per cent. The Ice Hockey World Championship starts today in Halifax and Quebec City in the far-away land of Canada. The time difference between Latvia and Canada pushed two of Latvia’s three games to the 2 a.m. time slot. Not that it should deter true fans.

To mark the centennial of the world championship, teams have been asked to wear jerseys from the days of yore. Latvia plans to wear the 1936 Olympic Games jerseys (fingers crossed for a swastika!) which they will don on Sunday, the restoration of independence day.

In hockey – as in politics – Latvia’s victory lays in its own determination against the world’s heavyweights. Latvia will face off against the United States, Canada, and Slovenia, the country that coincidentally currently holds the EU presidency. So, it’s only reasonable that the country’s chances to become the next world champion are slim – 1 in 250 according to the betting agency William Hill.

The host country, however, is “cautious“. For Canada, it’d be foolish to feel overconfident. In 2000 at St. Petersburg, Russia lost to Latvia – much to the joy of Latvian patriots – Switzerland to Belarus. Canada lost 4-1 to France and tied Italy 2-2 in 1995.

While across the pond coaches focus on Canada rather than some obscure European countries, back at home, the controversy already erupted over the very important issue for every hockey player on the eve of the tournament: The state language. At the last press conference before the departure for Halifax, the coach Oļegs Znaroks allegedly asked reporters to “speak in a language I can understand.” The language skills of the man who gave up his Latvian citizenship for the German one in 2001 were made fun of in this video after his inaugural stint as Latvia’s coach in 2006.

In a swift response to the politically incorrect remark by the man who’d lead the national pride and joy into the battle, the language center called Znarok on the carpet for a chat. “(We’ll) check whether he can speak Latvian and knows terminology,” the head of the language center Antons Kursītis told Diena newspaper on April 25.

So, if the team fails, it would likely force Latvia out of the elite division and prompt the search for a new coach, the seventh in the 11 years.

For the next two weeks, though, you could get so much hockey fever that you’d be sick until next year.

Sarauj, Latvija!