The intensity from both sides was palpable from the drop of the puck. It took a Slovak power play to overcome the tight-checking vibe and get the all-important first goal late in the first period.
The Slovaks had a 6-on-4 with a delayed penalty upcoming to Latvia, and they banged away at rebounds around Berzins’ crease until Ciernik finally converted for his second goal of the tournament at 17:52.
Generally, penalty-killing has been a bright spot for the Latvians in Moncton. This was the first power play goal they have conceded at this tournament after killing off seven man advantages in their previous three games.
In the second period, Mesar nearly doubled his team’s lead when he rang the puck off Berzins’ right post on the rush. The 2022 Montreal Canadiens first-rounder hit the opposite post with a power play blast with seven and a half minutes left in the frame.
On the same Slovak man advantage, Dans Locmelis had a fabulous opportunity to tie it up on a shorthanded breakaway, but Gajan coolly took away the five-hole and turned the Lulea forward’s shot aside.
“We said in our meeting before the game that number 11 from Latvia is their best player,” Gajan said. “But I was confident. I think he just hit my pad. So it wasn’t like a tough save.”
Gajan answered the bell again early in a Latvian power play when Dukurs tried to jam the puck past his left pad. The Latvians held a 16-6 edge in shots in the second period but had nothing to show for it.
Just past the six-minute mark of the third period, Latvian blueliner Niks Fenenko was shaken up when a shot from Simon Nemec hit him high. But like the rest of his teammates, Fenenko hung in there and kept on battling.
Simon Nemec gave Slovakia some breathing room with his first goal of these World Juniors at 9:03. Coming late, the captain cruised over the Latvian blue line on the right side, took a nice cross-ice pass from Mesar, and whipped a shot off the inside of the far post.
“There were a couple of good blocked shots in our zone and then I made a rush into the O-zone,” Mesar said. “I saw Simon going straight toward the net from the blue line and I just passed to him. He knows what to do with the puck, so it went in the net.”
Desperate to break through, Latvian coach Artis Abols called his timeout and pulled Berzins for the extra skater with four minutes remaining. It was fruitless, as Mesar scored an empty-netter at 17:03. Sandis Vilmanis hit the goal post with less than two minutes left, but that was as close as Latvia would get.
“I have nothing but respect for our guys,” said Latvian assistant captain Martins Lavins. “They battled as hard as they could. And everyone just came up short. But that’s life.”
Of facing either Germany or Austria in relegation play, Hodass said: “We can’t say they’re bad teams. They’re really good teams. And that’s gonna be tough games for sure. But I think we should win them.”
Slovakia has never lost to Latvia at the World Juniors. This was the eighth Slovakia win dating back to 27 December, 2005. However, the scores have gotten closer in general. The previous four meetings were decided by two or fewer goals, including Slovakia’s 3-2 shootout win at the 2022 World Juniors on Matej Kaslik’s goal.
Slovak forward Robert Baco missed the game against Latvia. He served a one-game suspension for a cross-checking incident that occurred at the end of Slovakia’s game against the Americans.
