MightyTips expert Eugene Ravdin from Riga: Here's my take on tonight's Latvia v Canada game. Of course, Canada are (and always will be) clear favourites against Latvia. But even though Canada's roster is packed with NHL players, they have a young squad that got together several days ago and played just one friendly beating Hungary 5-2. Latvians, on the other hand, gathered for their training camp over a month ago and put in some effort to glue things together, not to mention they are playing in front of their own fans. With their next-to-optimal roster, Latvia stand a good chance to take points off Canada. Remember how these teams played their opening match at the 2021 World Championship? Latvia won 2-0! It did not stop Canada from claiming gold that year.
The fan zone is swarming with Czech and Slovak fans. Some are celebrating, others wash down a bitter 3-2 defeat with a pint of Bauskas beer. Well, may be two.
