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On March 20, our bronze team – the Latvian hockey team started preparing for the world championship. That’s what a very optimistic journalist might report. And he wouldn’t have lied at all. Because there were three national team coaches on the ice in the “Daugavas” hall – Harijs Vītoliņš, Lauris Dārziņš and Raimonds Vilkoits. As well as seven hockey players – Tampere bronze players Roberts Mamčić, Arvil Bergmanis, Renārs Krastenberg, as well as goalkeepers Eriks Vitols (Finnish Mestis League), Olivers Bunterson (“Mogo”), forward Oskars Lapinskis (Switzerland NL) and defender Markus Komuls, who spent ten seasons in America (ECHL), who is also known to the hockey public as the cousin of Uvi Balinski.
A more discerning reader, of course, can argue that seven is not a selection… Yes and no. When Riga was first blessed by the new national team coach Ted Nolan, eight hockey players had come to the first practice in Pinkis, giving Ted a reason to joke that he knew that there were not many hockey players in Latvia, but he never imagined that there were so few. If no joke, then we already have quite a lot of players whose not only the season abroad, but also the contract with this season’s club is over. Where can former Graz player Krastenberg, who has been free since February 24, keep his athletic form? A few days less free are Lapinskis (March 5), Vitols (8th) and Mamcic (9th). The once experienced coach Gunārs Krastiņš explained that every day after the season without skating (training!) extends the time until the recovery of the athletic form that was before by the same number of days. In this case, all three coaches, as well as the Latvian Hockey Federation, are engaged in charity.
Students are our future
Basically, charity or showing interest is also training for our hockey players studying in America, which will start on Monday. We had 14 (!) representatives in America’s strongest student championship (NCAA) this season, and several of them are either already in Riga or will be there at the beginning of the week. I mentioned the Alaskan Arvil Bergman, there should also be Ralf Bergman (Vermont), Dan Lochmeli (Massachusetts), Martin Lavin and Kristaps Skrastiņš (New Hampshire), Klaav Weinberg (Colorado) and maybe also Felix Gavar (St. Lawrence). Jānis Vizbelis will come from Elmira College (NCAA III). In principle, the hockey season is over for almost all of our students, but… studies continue. Some universities were strictly against going to Europe, but a large part agreed to remote studies. For a time.
#Latvian #hockey #team #cutting #ice
– 2024-03-25 14:58:16
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