Timeout by France.

Last 90 seconds have started, Latvia are through.

Miks Indrasis with a shot from the right circle that goes wide past the crowd in front of the French net and then also the left post.

Long clerance by France, the puck lands on the team benches.

Janis Sprukts won the puck at the French blue line but together with his team mate against four opponents they had no chance and had to break the attack up.

Next opportunity for the French from short distance but again Gudlevskis does a good job.

Julien Desrosiers had won the puck at the Latvian blue line but instead of going for a goal himself he gave a pass back to a team colleague who missed the net.

It's a game into one direction in this third period and the equalizer looks only like a question of time.

After a short distance shot by Bellemare the Latvian goalie Gudlevskis throws himself onto the puck and avoids a rebound.

Commercial break.

Another blue lien shot by the French who increase their pressure significantly and want to force overtime in the remaining minutes.

Damien Fleury with a shot from within the slot, blocked to the side by Gudlevskis.

I am sure all fans of team Austria are now cheering for the French to force overtime as otherwise Austria would have to collect points against Russia later this evening which would leave them with one and a half feet relegated.

Icing by France.

One-timer from close to the blue line by Damien Fleury but Gudlevskis is there with a save.

Latvia looks a bit nervous now after their lead was cut to the half.

The French waited too long with a shot on goal and looked instead for the perfect pass which then went wide and the Latvians have one man back on the ice.

Several scoring attempts from different angles by the Latvians but the French defense makes the clearance in the end.

France's Yohann Auvitu tried to stop Miks Indrasis in his break away and pushed him away from the net just to land in it himself.

Nice pass by the Latvians towards the French net and team captain Lauris Darzins stopped it but failed to get a shot on goal from short distance.

After Jekimovs tried to battle in a rebound at the left corner and hit the pads of Huet several times there was a little tension between several players but everything was solved by the referees without giving a penalty.

Latvia keeps the pressure inside the French third high but the one-timer by Kulda is blocked by a defender.

The Latvians are back at full strength.

Nice combination by the French power play formation. First Bellemare gave a pass towards the slot from the right circle and then the one-timer by Hecquefeuille was stopped by Gudlevskis before Sacha Treille failed to score with the rebound.

Long pass for Desrosiers but he missed it at the Latvian blue line, icing.

Icing by Latvia.

Huge collision inside the neutral zone and Bellemare flys several metres to hit the ice hard!

Yorick Treille with a shooting attempt from the right circle, goes wide.

Fast attack by Stals over the left wing but his shot missed the net.

Arturs Kulda has the next scoring opportunity for Latvia but his shot from the blue line went straight into the gloves of Huet.

Krisjanis Redlihs with a shot from the left wing, easily blocked to the side by Huet.

Teddy Da Costa tries it with a distance shot from within the neutral zone but only hits the glovesof Gudlevskis.

Commercial break.

Long clearance by the Latvian defense, ends with an icing call.

Antonin Manavian with a shot from just right to the Latvian goal but he only hit the side netting.

France came a lot more aggressive out of the dressing rooms and they are looking now for the fast equalizer.

Pass for Desrosiers towards the Latvian blue line but after a hard check he lost controll of the puck.

Not much time left in the period. Both sides look a bit nervous.

Offside call against the Latvians. Miks Indrasis failed to pass the puck to his team mates in time.

Offside call against France.

Both teams battle for the puck inside the neutral zone constantly. No favourites visible by now.

The Latvians are back at full strength.

The Latvians with a chip deep into the French third, get some penalty time off the clock.

Blue line shot by Bellemare but th puck goes wide past the right post.

Early pressing by the French already deep in the Latvian third but the Eastern Europeans are able to make a long clearance.

The Latvians are slowly but steadily trying to take over the initiative in Helsinki but so far the French team does a good job in their defense.

The Latvians with a shot from theright wing, easy pad save by Gudlevskis.

Bertrand and Kulda with a little argument behind the Latvian net but no penalties for them.

Dangerous cross-pass by Ronalds Kenins from the right circle, Huet is in between.

Julien Desrosiers tries it with a blue line shot at height of the left wing that creates no danger at all.

Aggressive start by both teams. It's clearly visible that Latvia and France both know about the importance of this game.

Starting lineups:

Latvia: Gudlevskis – Redlihs, Sotnieks, Freibergs, Kulda, Saviels, Andersons, Jass – Sprukts, Darzins, Cipulis – Kennis, Girgensons, Indrasis – Dzerins, Meija, Jekimovs – Berzins, Pavlovs, Stals

France: Huet – Manavian, Auvitu, Bachet, Hecquefeuille, Janil, Besch, Moisand – Treille Y., Meunier, Desroisers – Fleury, Bellemare, Treille S. – Henderson, Roussel, Da Costa – Ritz, Raux, Guttig

The match between Latvia and France will be a crucial one for both sides regarding staying in the top division (Latvia) and reaching the quarterfinals (France).

Latvia played a rather disappointing tournament so far but with a three point win against France today and in the case of a loss by the Austrians later this evening against the favourites from Russia, they already could save themselves.

On the other side France could improve their situation significantly in the fight for the 4th spot that would give entry to the playoff quatertfinals. At the moment they have one game less played then competitors Germany and Slovakia and they gained one point less.

Welcome. Game starts at 09:15 EST / 14:15 GMT / 15:15 CET.