France2 – Italy veterans 1:2 (end) | Germany2 – Latvia 3:2 (end) | Norway – Denmark 4:3 (end)
Belarus – Kazakhstan 4:1 (end) | Sweden2 – Czech Republic 4:3 (2:1 after SO) | Finland – Russia 2:4 (end)
final
Germany2
3:2 (1:1, 1:1, 1:0)
Latvia
Sunday 11.05.2014, 12:45 • Minsk-Arena, Minsk, Belarus • World Championship
     
    German national anthem will follow and that is it for now from the Minsk-Arena. (14:53:21)
     
    Mikelis Redlihs (LAT) and Frank Hordler (GER) are named players of the game.
     
    The Germans prevail following a strong showing here today against Latvia and take a great position in the standings after two games. Latvia will have no points tonight, but that is understandable following a very tough win over Finland.
     
    60:00
    Game over.
     
    59:36
    Kulda set up Daugavins for a one-timer, Vasiljevs was looking for the rebound, but Grubauer has got it as some pushing and shoving ensues.
     
    59:14
    Timeout called by Ted Nolan and Team Latvia.
     
    59:14
    Big shot by Galvins, but Grubauer stands tall and keeps his team ahead by one.
     
    59:10
    Gudlevskis goes to the bench, extra attacker on for Latvia!
     
    58:40
    The Germans have been able to keep the puck in the Latvian zone ever since the last stoppage.
     
    57:52
    Huge one-timer by Galvins blocked in front and as you can imagine, the Germans are under pressure now.
     
    56:45
    Indrasis took the puck to the front of the net and tried to backhand it past Grubauer, but the goalie made a great blocker save.
     
    55:26
    Goal for Team Germany!

    And the Germans take the lead with less than five minutes left in regulation time! THOMAS OPPENHEIMER was denied the first time when Gudlevskis stayed with the puck and made a great pad stop, but as the Hamburg Freezer was hooked on the play by Pujacs, the refs called a penalty shot and he executed it perfectly with a shot right through the five-hole. 3-2 Germany.
     
    55:26
    Penalty shot called as Pujacs hooked Oppenheimer on a clear-cut breakaway!
     
    55:18
    Hospelt misplayed a pass and the puck goes back to neutral ice.
     
    54:27
    Great job by Kulda to win a battle behind his own net and turn the momentum the Latvian way.
     
    53:43
    Following a long shot by Pietta, Kink caused trouble in front of Gudlevskis and his deflection almost sent the puck into the net, but it ended up going just wide of the mark.
     
    53:29
    Neither of the two teams able to gain the zone.
     
    52:25
    Center-ice faceoff won by Germany.
     
    52:16
    Cipulis with a drive from the left wing, it got deflected a little, but Grubauer was in its way nonetheless.
     
    51:09
    Mikelis Redlihs fired one with Lipsbergs going into the net, Grubauer prevails.
     
    50:44
    Barta threw the puck in front from a tough angle and Schutz deflected it dangerously, it went just inches wide of the net.
     
    49:50
    Two big shots by German captain Hordler, but none of them got to the net as they got deflected aside.
     
    49:17
    Kink took the puck into the offensive zone, dumped it on Gudlevskis and then tripped over the young goalie, Kudla takes exception, but both part ways immediately.
     
    48:58
    Kulda with a wrister from the slot, goes just over the bar.
     
    48:19
    Jekabs Redlihs fired one from the blue line and the rebound got to Dzerins who pulled the trigger, but a great shoulder save by Grubauer prevented a go-ahead goal,
     
    47:50
    Meija touches the puck for an icing following a puck-drop.
     
    47:31
    Latvians got the puck in deep, but didn't manage to get a shot on goal.
     
    47:06
    Schutz took the puck and raced into the offensive zone, but he was stopped hard and now is a little shaken up, but it looks like he will be okay.
     
    46:20
    A shot by Kenins from the right side is blocked and the puck goes back to the neutral zone.
     
    45:57
    Noebels and Oppenheimer got the puck on goal quickly after the faceoff, Gudlevskis stays stellar.
     
    45:52
    Plachta went hard to the net and Pujacs took exception, that draws a crowd, but it's interrupted quickly.
     
    45:11
    Shot by Kink from pretty close to the net is blocked even before it could get to the doorstep.
     
    44:50
    Lot of neutral-action and no chances on either side.
     
    43:57
    One-timer by Maris Jass stopped by the pad of Grubauer.
     
    43:31
    A drive by Nizivijs is blocked by a German defender.
     
    42:57
    Pujacs threw the puck on net looking for a bounce, blocked by a German and carried out.
     
    42:51
    Grubauer covers the dump-in as Latvians force a faceoff.
     
    42:34
    Latvians had the puck in the offensive zone, but made nothing happen and now they're back in their own end.
     
    41:35
    Pietta fired one from the left circle, deflected aside by Galvins.
     
    41:14
    Kink with a slapper from the left circle, good butterfly stop by Gudlevskis.
     
    40:54
    A German dump-in is deflected and goes out of play.
     
    40:31
    Galvins dumped the puck on net with Mikelis Redlihs providing the screen, Grubauer comes up with the save.
     
    40:01
    Start of 3rd period.
     
    Georgijs Pujacs with 9:28 and Constantin Braun with 6:54 were the ice-time leaders for their respective teams in the second frame.
     
    The third period will begin at 3:17 PM EET.
     
    Another fun period just went by and the score is tied at two apiece with twenty left to play. 15-2 were the shots in favor of Team Germany in the second and 25-10 are the shots after forty in favor of the Germans. The game is much more even-sided on the ice in fact and besides a couple of minutes of huge pressure against Latvia, it has been a tight game.
     
    40:00
    2nd period finished.
     
    39:58
    The Latvians were under huge pressure and I don't know how they survived the last two minutes, but they did as the Germans weren't able to get many shots on goal.
     
    38:52
    Big pressure by Team Germany finally dealt with by the Latvians.
     
    38:30
    It looked like a goal after a shot by Seidenberg, but the puck ended up wide.
     
    37:40
    In the meantime, a Mexican wave is going around the stands so the fans have something fun to do.
     
    36:40
    Not much happening now with a lot of neutral-ice action going on.
     
    35:25
    Both goalies get to play the puck, but no saves needed.
     
    34:44
    The powerplay is over.
     
    34:06
    A shot by Kulda took a good deflection in front with Mikelis Redlihs on the doorstep, altercation ensues as Seidenberg was angry at the star KHLer.
     
    33:25
    Girgensons had a wide-open net after a tic-tac-toe, but his one-timer went over the bar!
     
    32:57
    Muller clears after a shot block.
     
    32:44
    Matthias Plachta will serve the minor penalty.
     
    32:44
    Too many players on the ice against the German bench and so Team Latvia will be back on the powerplay.
     
    32:24
    Girgensons took the puck on the German blue line, but was all alone against three defending players so there was not much to do.
     
    31:35
    Now Latvians have the puck under control and the crowd is nuts.
     
    31:10
    Big-time pressure by the Germans but all shooting attempts by Krueger and Akdag are taken care of by Gudlevskis.
     
    30:35
    Schutz made a great move around Sotnieks, but passed the puck instead of shooting it and so nothing came out of that chance.
     
    30:00
    Germans have gained the zone and the Latvians are on the defensive now.
     
    29:25
    Following a one-timer by Sotnieks that was deflected aside by Grubauer, Mikelis Redlihs took the puck and was looking for a perfect feed, but it ended up going through the doorstep and out.
     
    29:00
    Now Germany is able to get the Latvians to play the puck in the Latvian zone.
     
    28:20
    It looks like the Latvians have the momentum now as last minute has been played in the German zone despite the fact that the shots are 10-2 in favor of Team Germany so far in the second.
     
    27:15
    Goal for Team Latvia!
    And Team Latvia comes back again! About a minute after Daugavins left the penalty box, we're all tied as a beautiful odd-man rush is finished off into the wide-open net by MIKELIS REDLIHS. The Lokomotiv Yaroslavl forward capitalized on a feed by Kenins who managed to make the puck avoid the last defender. What a game here in Minsk!

    Assisted by Ronalds Kenins.
     
    26:00
    And now Latvians are able to clear.
     
    25:53
    Hordler looked for a deflection by Rieder this time around, but the Portland Pirate didn't get his stick on it.
     
    25:28
    Long shot by Hordler into bodies in front, it ends up going wide.
     
    25:02
    Team Germany back in their own zone.
     
    24:23
    Kaspars Daugavins (LAT) gets a minor penalty for holding.
     
    24:11
    Barta was going hard to the doorstep with the puck under control of Gudlevskis, Vasiljevs takes exception, but nothing big ensues.
     
    23:07
    Indrasis led the puck into a two-on-one and found Dzerins with his pass, the latter deflected it on goal and Grubauer came up with a pad save.
     
    22:39
    Now Team Latvia had the puck in the German zone for quite some time, but failed to get a shot on Grubauer.
     
    22:12
    Latvians trying to change the flow of the game in their way, but haven't succeeded at it.
     
    20:30
    Goal for Team Germany!

    The Germans capitalize on a powerplay! The inital shot by FRANK MAUER was stopped by Gudlevskis and so was the rebound, but the Mannheim Eagle stayed with it and found the back of the net on the third try. What a goal to start the period and now the momentum will surely switch to the German side.
     
    20:01
    Start of 2nd period.
     
    Alexander Barta with 6:54 and Arturs Kulda with 8:25 are the ice-time leaders after twenty.
     
    Let's see what changes in the second period that will start at 2:36 PM EET.
     
    We saw a great first period with two goals, one on each side. Team Latvia has a lot of support, but can't quite take advantage of that as the shots are 10-8 in favor of the Germans and the momentum was on the German side for most of the frame.
     
    Kaspars Daugavins (LAT) gets two minutes for roughing and Team Germany will start the second on a man-advantage.
     
    A little fight broke out in the right circle of the Latvian zone as Daugavins had a disagreement with Plachta and it keeps on going on.
     
    20:00
    1st period finished.
     
    19:42
    Gudlevskis makes a save following a counter-attack by Germany.
     
    18:35
    Goal for Team Latvia!
    And the refs say it did! We're all tied here at the loud Minsk-Arena with about a minute left in the first! On the powerplay Mikelis Redlihs had the puck in a point-blank range in front of Grubauer, gave it to Ronalds Kenins whose shot was stopped by the goaltender and so was the rebound by Redlihs, but the puck eventually crossed the goal line as a pileup in the crease ensued and GEORGIJS PUJACS was the one who tucked it into the back of the net.

    Assisted by Mikelis Redlihs and Ronalds Kenins.
     
    18:35
    Mikelis Redlihs gave the pouck to Kenins for a shot and eventually the puck might have been shoved over the blue line.
     
    18:00
    And now the puck is finally cleared by Team Germany.
     
    17:24
    Kulda fired one in from the blue line, it's deflected wide.
     
    16:52
    Torsten Ankert (GER) gets a two for high sticking.
     
    16:52
    Kulda set up Lipsbergs in a great position during a delayed call, the shot is blocked.
     
    16:30
    Schutz fed the puck to Barta in front nicely and Gudlevskis had to make another great stop.
     
    15:55
    Daugavins skated into the zone with the puck, but passed it instead of shooting and that led to no work for Grubauer.
     
    15:16
    Team Latvia carried the puck in, but lost it behind Grubauer's net.
     
    14:29
    Pietta fired one through the screen, Gudlevskis looks sharp on that one.
     
    13:50
    What a great feed by Plachta for Draisaitl, but the 2014 NHL Draft prospect gets robbed by the glove of Gudlevskis.
     
    13:19
    Pujacs fired a long shot through the crowd, but it goes wide and into the corner.
     
    13:07
    Great acrobatic save by Grubauer to deny a sure goal of Mikelis Redlihs!
     
    12:15
    Goal for Team Germany!

    And the Germans take the lead in what has been a tight game so far! What a great pass by Frank Hordler to spring Thomas Oppenheimer who deked the goalie out, but couldn't get the puck past him. However, MARCEL NOEBELS followed up on the play and found the back of the wide-open net on the rebound. The Adriondack Phantom scores the first goal of the game.

    Assisted by Thomas Oppenheimer and Frank Hordler.
     
    11:39
    Kink dumped the puck in and it took a little deflection, but stayed out of Gudlevskis' net.
     
    11:00
    Plachta backhanded the puck on goal from a bad angle, it goes through the crease.
     
    10:10
    Long shot by Vasiljevs is blocked by the other captain Hordler.
     
    09:43
    A nice tic-tac-toe by Team Latvia, but Cipulis wasn't able to get a shot away.
     
    08:43
    A quick shot by Noebels hits the crossbar!
     
    08:37
    Kink went into the crease looking for trouble after the dump-in and that's exactly what he gets as Gudlevskis had the puck under total control.
     
    08:14
    Seidenberg was under pressure and played the puck for an icing.
     
    07:54
    Daugavins fired one and that was kicked aside by Grubauer, the follow up by Kulda goes too high and up into the netting.
     
    07:16
    Vasiljevs was getting into a big chance, but he got the puck pokechecked away.
     
    06:53
    Vasiljevs is out of the box, powerplay is over.
     
    06:40
    Now a dangerous shot by Muller and that forces a faceoff as Gudlevskis covers the puck.
     
    06:20
    One-timer by Braun blockered away by Gudlevskis, many Germans looked for the rebound, but a Latvian player got to it first.
     
    06:04
    A shot by Braun is deflected by Daugavins into the netting.
     
    05:40
    Latvia clears the puck.
     
    05:10
    A shorthanded break for Team Latvia as Galvins fed it to Dzerins and he looked for the five-hole, but Grubauer closed the door.
     
    04:53
    Herberts Vasiljevs (LAT) gets called for holding.
     
    04:33
    Pietta received a great cross-ice feed on the right circle and hit the side of the net.
     
    03:58
    Pujacs with a low shot from far out and it's blocked by the first defending player.
     
    03:27
    Mauer tried his luck from the right wing, but the drive missed the net.
     
    02:55
    Daugavins gave the puck to Kenins after they crossed the blue line, but the shot of the Zurich-based forward was gloved by Grubauer. A little scrum ensues as Mikelis Redlihs looked for the rebound and Braun told him go away.
     
    02:05
    Hordler fired one wide from the blue line and the follow up by Rieder was blocked by Lipsbergs.
     
    01:28
    Indrasis was racing for a lose puck in the offensive zone, but goalie Grubauer got there first.
     
    01:18
    Team Latvia has the puck in the own zone.
     
    00:42
    Sprung by Barta, Mauer almost got onto a breakaway, but decided to fire the puck and it caught a deflection and went wide.
     
    00:25
    Daugavins dumped the puck in and that led to a shot through traffic by Galvins, but the puck stayed out.
     
    00:01
    Game started.
     
    Hospelt's line will start for Germany instead of the top line.
     
    And now the Latvian fans are chanting loud and letting everybody know who is the favorite of the crowd today.
     
    The top line will be starting for Team Latvia, led by Kaspars Daugavins. That is the case with Team Germany as well with Alexander Barta leading the top line.
     
    Team Germany has entered the ice as well.
     
    And now the officials are making their way onto the ice, no booing this time around.
     
    Team Latvia is on the ice and getting ready for the faceoff.
     
    Loads of Latvian fans are in the arena or in its vicinity. It looks like another electric crowd will watch this one.
     
    About fifteen minute left until the opening puck-drop so stay tuned as it will be game on soon.
     
    Both starting goaltenders are based overseas in North America. Kristers Gudlevskis, a Lightning prospect who spent majority of the season with Syracuse of the AHL and Philipp Grubauer who played in the same league for Hershey.
     
    While only six of German players play outside of their homeland, Latvia has players based in Slovakia, Czech Republic, United States, Germany, Switzerland and Kazakhstan. Two NHLers are on the Latvian roster – Buffalo forward Zemgus Girgensons and Tampa Bay goaltender Kristers Gudlevskis.
     
    Starting lineups:

    Germany: Grubauer (Zepp) – Ankert, Braun, Kohl, Hordler "C", Krueger, Akdag, Muller – Mauer, Barta "A", Schutz – Hospelt, Oppenheimer, Noebels – Kink "A", Y. Seidenberg, Pietta – Rieder, Plachta, Draisaitl – Weiss.

    Latvia: Gudlevskis (Masalskis) – Galvins, A. Kulda "A", Sotnieks, Pujacs, J. Redlihs, M. Jass, Lavins – Daugavins "A", M. Redlihs, Kenins – Girgensons, Lipsbergs, Indrasis – Vasiljevs "C", Nizivijs, Cipulis – Berzins, Dzerins, Meija – K. Jass.

    Referees: Patafie (USA), Ronn (FIN) – Dehaen (FRA), Kilian (NOR)..
     
    Team Germany faced Kazakhstan in their opener and had a much harder time getting the win. After a 1-1 tie following regulation and overtime, the Germans won the shootout by the score of 2-1 and the game as well, but only took two points from the game.
     
    In their tourney opener, Team Latvia put on a show in front of a huge crowd of their fans and managed to beat Finland. It looked like the Finns might come out victorious for a long time, but a strong third period gave the Lativans a win with defenseman Arturs Kulda scoring the game-winner of the 3-2 game.
     
    The last time these two met was last year in Helsinki, Finland, where Team Germany beat the Baltic country 2-0. Current NHL goalie and then junior Kristers Gudlevskis stopped 32 shots, but was beaten by Christoph Ullmann and Patrick Hager and so it wasn't enough.
     
    An interesting battle is in store ahead of us as Germany meets Latvia in what could be a critical game for both teams on their way to the next round. While Germany has two points for a shootout victory over Kazakhstan, Latvia, mightily powered by their fans, surprised the hockey world with a 3-2 upset win over Finland.
     
    Welcome. Game starts at 12:45.
    Commentary by

    Radoslav Vavřina

    Goals & lineups Match log
    Goals and assists: 13. Noebels (Oppenheimer, Hordler), 21. Mauer, 56. Oppenheimer (p.s.) – 19. Pujacs (M. Redlihs, Kenins), 28. M. Redlihs (Kenins)

    Germany2: Grubauer (Zepp) – Ankert, Braun, Kohl, Hordler "C", Krueger, Akdag, Muller – Mauer, Barta "A", Schutz – Hospelt, Oppenheimer, Noebels – Kink "A", Y. Seidenberg, Pietta – Rieder, Plachta, Draisaitl – Weiss.
    Latvia: Gudlevskis (Masalskis) – Galvins, A. Kulda "A", Sotnieks, Pujacs, J. Redlihs, M. Jass, Lavins – Daugavins "A", M. Redlihs, Kenins – Girgensons, Lipsbergs, Indrasis – Vasiljevs "C", Nizivijs, Cipulis – Berzins, Dzerins, Meija – K. Jass.
    Referees: Patafie (USA), Ronn (FIN) – Dehaen (FRA), Kilian (NOR).