Yahoo Sports 2025 World Junior Championship: Canada Loss To Latvia More Stunning Than Most Realize
EDMONTON -- Nobody saw that coming.
Latvia defeated Canada at the World Junior Championship yesterday in a stunning turn of events. Canada didn't get blown out of the water, but the team they lost to makes it feel like they were.
Matthew Schaefer had been injured after playing just 2:08. In his stead, Edmonton Oilers prospect Beau Akey stepped up and played 14:34 for Team Canada. He fired one shot on the net and didn't play at all in overtime.
But that wasn't enough to pull the team to victory, and they lost 3-2 in a shootout.
Latvia Is Not A World Juniors Powerhouse
Latvia had never won against Canada before last night. Before the 2022 World Juniors, they had never won a game, sporting a 0-27 record in round-robin play. That all changed with a 5-2 victory over Czechia.
Bruno Bruveris goaltended them to victory back then, and Linards Feldbergs led them to victory last night. His 55 saves on 57 shots, plus his perfection in the shootout led them to their sweet, sweet victory.
LATVIA BEATS CANADA IN THE SHOOTOUT 😱
Eriks Mateiko scores the game winner!#WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/oIVP2ddA89— TSN (@TSN_Sports) December 28, 2024
Canada Embarrassed Latvia One Year Ago
In last year's competition, Latvia defeated Germany in their final round-robin game by a score of 6- 2. This victory came after three blowout losses: 6-0, 10-0, and 4-0.
That 10-0 loss to Team Canada happened exactly one year ago yesterday. Certainly a full-circle moment for both clubs.
Team Canada will regroup before playing Germany tomorrow night. Latvia will be tested again today with a game against another powerhouse in Team USA.
Judging by last night's performance, this Latvian team could pull off another upset. That would also be something that nobody sees coming.
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