World Juniors: Canada Loses to Latvia in One of the WJC’s Biggest Upsets Ever

The Canadians came into this game as heavy favorites, having never lost to Latvia. In fact, this was just Latvia’s third-ever win at the World Junior Championships. In their previous matchups with Canada, they’d been outscored 41-4. This was never supposed to be a close game. On paper, the Canadians were in a different stratosphere.

That’s why the game is played on the ice though and not on paper. It was a gritty, determined effort from the Latvians, led by their netminder Linards Feldbergs who made 55 saves through overtime and Eriks Mateiko who scored the Latvian’s first goal as well as the shootout winner. The Latvians took down the Canadians in front of their own fans in the nation's capital leaving fans in the building in shock and despair.

The Canadian attackers couldn’t figure out Feldbergs – who plays for the Sherbrooke Phoenix in the QMJHL – in the first period and they looked disjointed, unorganized, and chaotic at times. The period also featured an injury to star 17-year-old defenseman Matthew Schaefer who crashed into the net when trying to create a bit of offense, going shoulder-first into the post right where it meets the crossbar. He left the game and Hockey Canada announced that he will be out for the rest of the tournament.

The second period started with Canada finally getting on the board, with a shorthanded goal from Jett Luchanko, the Philadelphia Flyers prospect who started the year with them. Picking off a pass in the neutral zone, Luchanko flew up ice and put a nice move on Feldbergs before tucking it backhand. Canada being shorthanded would be a theme in this game but scoring wouldn’t be.

Entering the third period with a one-goal lead and a 33-13 shot advantage, it seemed as if the Canadians were dominating and the dam was about to break, but if you were watching the game, there was an eerie haze that sat over the game. The Latvians never felt out of it, Feldbergs made miraculous save after miraculous save, and the Canadians looked uninspired.

With just under seven minutes left in the game, Canadian defenseman Andrew Gibson took an elbowing penalty that sent Latvia to the powerplay. Less than a minute later, a cross-seam pass to Mateiko was buried and Latvia had tied the game. Everyone in the building wearing a maple leaf was stunned. The only noise was shocked murmurs from fans in the stands asking what just happened and the jubilation from the Latvians on the bench and on the ice.

A minute later, Canada regained a one-goal lead on a powerplay goal of their own. Calum Ritchie sent a one-timer on net and beat Feldbergs clean. There was a sigh of relief as fans and the players all felt like they weren’t going to blow the game. That feeling was short-lived.

The Latvians were gifted another powerplay as Ethan Gauthier was sent to the box for hooking with just over three minutes to play. Once again, Canada’s discipline was an issue and the Latvians took advantage. This time it was Peteris Bulans who would blast home a powerplay goal and tie the game. The shock became fear for the Canadians on the ice and in the stands.

Desperation began to set in as the clock wound down. Canada was throwing everything they had at the net. Pucks were flying and bouncing around the Latvian crease, passes were whipping around the offensive zone, and shots were hitting everything but the back of the net. Feldbergs was a wall, utilizing every bit of his size and athleticism to ensure that the game went to overtime.

In overtime, Canada and Latvia traded chances but neither team could score with Feldbergs continuing to stand on his head. Canada managed to take yet another penalty in the overtime frame and Latvia had a few grade-A chances but Jack Ivankovic stood tall and thwarted the Latvians, saving Canada for the time being.

Going to a shootout, this was where Canada’s skill and talent advantage was truly supposed to take over. After eight rounds of shooters, everyone from Gavin McKenna to Calum Ritchie to Berkly Catton were stopped by Feldbergs. Then, up stepped Mateiko for the Latvians, playing things straight up and just firing a shot from the hash marks to beat Ivankovic, who had a very good game in his own right, to give Latvia the win.

The impossible was made possible, Latvia defeated Canada at the world juniors.

The outlook for the rest of the group stage for both Latvia and Canada is now drastically altered going forward. Latvia has effectively avoided relegation and assuming that they can take care of business against Kazakhstan, they will be in the quarterfinals and looking to once again try for an upset. The Latvian hockey program has to be ecstatic with the outcome of last night's game and the likelihood that the tournament will go down as one of their most memorable ever.

Latvia has the youngest roster at the tournament by quite a margin which means they will have the same group coming back next year, a year older and a year better, with the belief that they can take down any team on any given night. They have four 2026 NHL draft-eligible players and a 2027 draft-eligible on the roster, and those players will have another couple of shots at this tournament. We are entering the strongest era of Latvian hockey we’ve seen yet.

For Canada, this year was supposed to be different though. After last year’s quarterfinal exit, Hockey Canada named their coaching staff early, put together a team for the World Junior Summer Showcase for the first time since pre-COVID, and they repeatedly said that they knew this team better than ever before because of the work they put in since last year’s tournament.

With this loss to Latvia, the game against the defending gold-medalist Americans becomes even more pivotal. A loss of any sort to the Americans would prevent them from winning the group and having the easiest path through to the medal rounds. If the game goes into extra time at all, the Americans will likely take the group as well. The only way Canada has any shot of winning the group now is winning in regulation against arguably the best team in the tournament.

That’s not an easy path forward. If they play the kind of disorganized, unorganized hockey that they played for long stretches against Latvia, they have no shot. Over the years, Canada has struggled with discipline and structure at the world juniors and that’s crept into their game once again. They need to clean that up.

This isn’t a result of Canada’s management staff taking the wrong players or leaving certain players off the roster. This team is loaded with talent. They have plenty of scoring options and top-end defenders. All of these guys play huge minutes for their club teams in pivotal roles. This is a Hockey Canada problem that has been evident for years. Unless it changes, the Canadians could be in for yet medal-less result this year.

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