Latvia celebrates an overtime win against Denmark

04 Jan 2012 | Didzis Rudmanis

Today the all-decisive relegation round game between Latvia and Denmark was played. The rules were quite simple - whichever team loses gets relegated. In a tough drama it was Latvia which managed to score the game winning goal two minutes into overtime, securing a place at the 2013 tournament in Ufa.

Although Latvian players clearly had the edge of the game in the early minutes of the first period, it was Denmark who managed to open the score, after Latvian goalie Kristers Gudlevskis let in an easy goal from Oliver Bjorkstrand's hands. The game momentum switched in favour of Danes soon afterwards.

In the second period there was a real battle carried out on the ice, with both team goaltenders Feuk and Gudlevskis playing a crucial role in it. However, in the eleventh minute of the period Latvian team earned a powerplay and, despite struggling with scoring on man advantage the whole tournament, this time it took only a few seconds, before team captain Kristians Pelss found the back of the net.

In the third period the Danish team had a slight edge of the game with Canucks prospect Nicklas Jensen stepping it up. Still, none of the teams managed to score the second goal of the game so that the fate of the game was decided in overtime. With 1:34 into overtime, it was Nikita Jevpalovs who managed to score the GWG. It certainly was a well-deserved goal by Jevpalovs who played a stunning game.

This was the fourth time Latvian team played at the Elite division World Junior Championship, and only the second time the team managed to avoid relegation. For the Danes this was the second WJC Elite appearance.