Jensen Scores Exciting Goal to Lead Denmark to Victory Over Latvia

The quest to stay in the top division of the World Championships for 2016 saw a hard-fought battle between Denmark and Latvia, with Denmark winning the game 3-2 in a shootout.

The first period saw a lot more Danish puck control than Latvian, something that led to the first goal of the game. Denmark had three previous power play goals in the tournament heading into the game, and a goal that was first disputed would eventually result in the 1-0 lead. Nicklas Jensen, a youngster with the New York Rangers, scored after his wrist shot beat Elvis Merzlikins just over his glove hand, getting under the bar and in for the 1-0 goal. The play continued after the puck went in as it wasn't clear that the shot actually crossed the line at first, but a review shortly after allowed Denmark to take the lead after 11:57 of play.

Latvia struggled early on, but they did have a much better second half of the opening frame. With Emil Kristensen in the box for Denmark, Andris Džeriņš took a pass from Roberts Bukarts in the corner, leaving himself with a clear angle for the shot. Džeriņš didn't waste the chance, firing it past Sebastian Dahm for the first goal for Latvia to tie the contest up at one just before the first intermission.

Latvia seemed to want the win a bit more in the second period, starting the period off with an early goal. Bukarts would once again make a great pass in front of the net, with former Ottawa Senators forward Kaspars Daugaviņš finally finding the net for the first time in the tournament to give Latvia the 2-1 lead after 1:57 of action in the second.

Denmark's second goal is one that Merzlikins would probably love to have back. Mads Bødker did a good job of keeping the puck in the offensive zone, shooting it just before it had the chance to go offside. The puck was then tipped in front by Morten Poulsen, who got the soaring puck just in time to put it through the legs of Merzlikins and in. It wasn't an overly challenging shot, but Merzlikins failed to get into the butterfly in time to stop the puck and instead gave up the tying goal.

Denmark was put in a scary situation with about five minutes left in the second. While looking down at a pass, Emil Kristensen was hit in the head by incoming forward Aleksejs Širokovs, who hit him hard and high in the corner. Kristensen would need to leave the game, while Širokovs would see his night come to an early exit.

Both goalies looked rather terrific in net the third, but somebody had to lose. After 65 minutes went by with no winner, the game went to a shootout. Lars Eller scored a nice goal for Denmark, setting the stage for a potential win. Miks Indrašis, however, had something to say about that, using multiple dekes to beat out Dahm to tie things up. But it would be Nicklas Jensen's one-handed Peter Forsberg-style goal that would eventually end the game, 

Latvia will return to action with a game against Kazakhstan on Saturday, another match that could decide who stays in the top division for 2017. For Denmark, they'll meet up with the Czech Republic on Sunday, a team that has yet to lose a single game in the tournament.

 

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