Latvia went from being two goals behind to win the game with 7-3. Thereby they ended up in 5th place in the tournament.
– I’m definitely happy with the 5th place. Previously we were in the B-division so it’s a great outcome for us, says Jūlija Rozīte.
The first period would turn out to be fairly calm. Both teams created a few chances each, but none of them were really threatening. After sixteen minutes Poland scored the first goal of the game when Nikola Kotelnicka all of a sudden were left alone in front of Latvias goal.
Poland would then start off the second period really strong and increase their lead to 2-0 after just 27 seconds. The period would then develop into a quite physical one, where both teams started to seem a bit frustrated. Eventually it caused a two-minute penalty for team Latvia, but they managed to sort out the disadvantage and captain Jūlija Rozīte would score 2-1 shortly after. Just seconds later they would equalize too.
Six minutes into the third period, Rozīte would strike again and Latvia had now turned the game around. And they would not settle. Shortly after they had scored 3-2, they would extend their lead to 4-2 in power play, and then 5-2 by a wonderful goal from Anna Ankudinova.
– I think it was important for us to score the first goal, then the other goals would come more easily, says Rozīte.
Poland would not surrender without a fight, and Dominika Buczek would cut the lead to 3-5 in power play. But Latvia would not let go of the lead and extended their lead to 6-3 in the seventeenth minute. Seconds later they would also score 7-3 on a free hit, which would be the final result of the game.
MVP Poland: Dominika Buczek
MVP Latvia: Jūlija Rozīte
You can follow all the games of the tournament at IFF:s YouTube channel, click the link here.