GDT: Latvia vs. Norway

[SoundAndFury]

Kinda surprised there was no thread. Latvians played half of the time shorthanded so far so 0-0 at this point is a decent result. Must-win game for both teams to keep slim and even slimmer QF hopes alive, respectively.

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[LKI]

First 5min were good. Then the penalties started.
Batņa penalty totally unececary, Daugavins penalty is on Indrašis. Other 2 were kind of justified.

 

[Czechboy]

Game of the day probably.. good luck to both. I think it'll be close.

 

[Chainshot]

That second goal is huge.

 

[SoundAndFury]

2-1 is not a good result considering how 2nd period went but.. Norway wasted all those PPs in the first so I guess it's somewhat fair.

 

[SoundAndFury]

That was some PP shift by Balinskis... Ices the puck and takes a penalty.

 

[SoundAndFury]

What a BS call...

Good thing Norway's PP seems to be even worse than Latvia's.

 

[LKI]

Unsatisfying performance...

 

[SoundAndFury]

Unsatisfying performance...

I thought they played really well. The only bad things were too many penalties, some of whom however were very suspicious, and not scoring the 3rd goal despite the myriad of chances.

Being definitely outright the better team against Norway isn't bad at all.

 

[ozo]

This hockey thing is bad for my health. Luckily work kept me distracted for the most of the game. At one point in second period we looked simply dominant, but not putting the game to bed almost cost us dearly when ref decided to take the center stage.

 

[LKI]

I thought they played really well. The only bad things were too many penalties, some of whom however were very suspicious, and not scoring the 3rd goal despite the myriad of chances.

More or less non existent PP, bad offense overall, not enough scoring chances. Too many penalties.
3rd period classic LV defensive game with 1 goal lead... lucky we didn't concede as usual.
Overall: Unsatisfying performance.

 

[Heia Norge]

Our PP is so bad

 

[SoundAndFury]

More or less non existent PP, bad offense overall, not enough scoring chances. Too many penalties.
3rd period classic LV defensive game with 1 goal lead... lucky we didn't concede as usual.
Overall: Unsatisfying performance.

To me, as I'd think a more neutral-ish viewer, this seems like a typical glass half-full or half-empty situation. PP wasn't great but still scored a goal, there was plenty of scoring chances: Balinskis had only goalie to beat twice, Indrasis overpassed to Dzerins of all people, Jaks rocketed his shot off the pipe, Abols to Daugavins cross ice pass and one-timer on the PP. Those were all great chances, sure two goals isn't enough but that was definitely not due to the lack of chances.

And again, it was against Norway. Take it whatever way you want but that's not the opponent Latvia can dominate. As I said, complaining about the game after getting 3 points while being clearly the better team is just needless negativity, in my eyes.

 

[Nikolajs Sillers]

Win's a win.

 

[Fjorden]

We really lack a good PP line and a top 1.st offensive line to tip this kinda games our way.
The game is pretty even for long periods with exception of 2nd period.

We have a very young team this year and many of our best players that would have formed a topline are injured or have declined. Like Zuccarello, Rosseli Olsen, Lesund, Emilio Pettersen. So the performance was decent, but we lack a sharp 1.line and PP line.

 

[SoundAndFury]

Norway lacks any kind of high-end talent, that's obvious to everyone. Even Mathis Olimb in his prime would be pretty much twice the player you have on this team.

 

[Chainshot]

Win's a win.

In the pool, they don't usually ask how, just how many. Get the win and figure out what went wrong later.

Norway lacks any kind of high-end talent, that's obvious to everyone. Even Mathis Olimb in his prime would be pretty much twice the player you have on this team.

I am always surprised that Norge is worse at ice hockey. Coaching? Rinks? What's the reason?

 

[Fjorden]

Norway lacks any kind of high-end talent, that's obvious to everyone. Even Mathis Olimb in his prime would be pretty much twice the player you have on this team.

Agree. The lines are very even in strength. No one that really sticks out, and not a clear topline or PP line.

Positive is that we have decent depth among depth players to keep the team afloat, but no one that can be a diffence maker at this level. I think we have better depth than before, but high end talent for a 1.line/PP line is far worse than 5-10 years ago.

 

[SoundAndFury]

I am always surprised that Norge is worse at ice hockey. Coaching? Rinks? What's the reason?

I think to narrow it down as much as possible, is just a general lack of interest. It's pretty much the same across the board. Norway is the wealthiest Nordic country and at the same time worst in every major sport: be it football, hockey, or basketball.

 

[Chainshot]

I think to narrow it down as much as possible, is just a general lack of interest. It's pretty much the same across the board. Norway is the wealthiest Nordic country and at the same time worst in every major sport: be it football, hockey, or basketball.

If only there was a skating version of biathlon.

 

[Namejs]

Again, I watched the game while on a bike, but it was a weird game. The 1st and 3rd period were mediocre. Mediocre is exactly the right word, just uninspiring from both sides. But we dominated the 2nd period and played like against the Czechs.

I have no idea why things just click randomly and we keep carrying the momentum until it disappears, but if we can keep it going, we should have no trouble beating Kazakhstan and Slovenia and we should stand a decent chance against Switzerland as well.

Not qualifying with 13/14 points would probably be a first?

 

[LKI]

To me, as I'd think a more neutral-ish viewer, this seems like a typical glass half-full or half-empty situation. PP wasn't great but still scored a goal, there was plenty of scoring chances: Balinskis had only goalie to beat twice, Indrasis overpassed to Dzerins of all people, Jaks rocketed his shot off the pipe, Abols to Daugavins cross ice pass and one-timer on the PP. Those were all great chances, sure two goals isn't enough but that was definitely not due to the lack of chances.

And again, it was against Norway. Take it whatever way you want but that's not the opponent Latvia can dominate. As I said, complaining about the game after getting 3 points while being clearly the better team is just needless negativity, in my eyes.

Nobody is complaining - unsatisfying performance is not necessarily bad performance.
I expected significantly cleaner game like it was vs Czechia. I am satisfied with the score though.