It’s been a very long time coming for Latvia.
They shocked Germany, 4-3, in males’s hockey on Saturday, marking their first win in the competitors at a Winter Olympics since 2014, when they beat Switzerland.
Saturday was Latvia’s second recreation of these Olympics, after dropping, 5-1, to Team USA in the opener Thursday.
Dans Locmelis celebrates during Latvia’s win over Germany at the 2026 Olympics on Feb. 14, 2026. IMAGN IMAGES via REUTERS
“I think last game, a lot of guys haven’t played against guys of that caliber,” Latvia ahead Zemgus Girgensons said. “It was probably a little more nervousness. Today was more what we want to see. I still don’t think it was our best.”
Dans Locmelis scored twice for Latvia.
They came back from 1-0 and 2-1 deficits, scoring three straight objectives between the second and third intervals to take a 4-2 lead before Germany minimize it to 4-3 with a few minutes left.
But Latvia hung on for a uncommon win.
“Definitely feels good,” Locmelis said. “It feels good to get the first one. It was nice to play against the U.S. in the last game to get the feeling, like NHL-level or even better than NHL-level. So, it was way easier today. We were almost used to the high, high pace.”
It supplies an early actuality examine for Germany, who beat Denmark, 3-1, in their opener before Saturday’s letdown.
Saturday marked Latvia’s first Olympic win since 2014. REUTERS
“I don’t really know any pro athlete that likes to lose,” Germany coach Harold Kreis said. “Ours don’t, either, and especially when you have a good game. If you play bad, and you think, ‘OK, the opponent was better than us today,’ you can live with that. But I thought we were better today, with all respect to Team Latvia.”
Germany heart Tim Stutzle echoed that sentiment.
“I think we were the better team today,” Stutzle said. “Still, we’ve got a lot to clean up. Can’t give them so many Grade-A [chances]. We knew they were going to push out, they’re going to cheat. But we just have to find a way to play better defensively.”
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