Latvian captain Rudolfs Balcers celebrates after scoring a second-period goal in a 2-0 win over Germany at the 2026 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship.
photo: PHOTO: © INTERNATIONAL ICE HOCKEY FEDERATION / ANDRE RINGUETTE
It was bounceback time as Latvia beat Germany 2-0 in Sunday’s late Group A game in Zurich. Martins Dzierkals and Rudolfs Balcers scored as the small Baltic nation secured its first 2026 win.
"It's a very important win for us," Dzierkals said. "When we scored our second goal, Germany pushed very, very hard, so it was a little tougher for us defensively. But our guys are warriors. We try to do everything. We work hard blocking shots to make it easier for our goalie."
Latvian goalie Kristers Gudlevskis was full value for the shutout in his duel with German NHL starter Philipp Grubauer. Final shots favoured Germany 25-22.
Latvia is happy to secure three points after falling 4-2 to host Switzerland in its opener. Germany remains pointless after a 3-1 loss to Finland on Day One.
"I think the effort was there," said German blueliner Marcus Weber. "But if you don't score a goal in hockey, you're not going to win the game. We hoped for a better result, but that's hockey."
Latvia's next game is versus Austria on Tuesday. Blueliner Oskars Batna said: "We know what happened last year in the World Championship [a 6-1 loss to Austria that left Latvia out of the quarter-finals]. So we definitely have to be ready for that game, because we know it's not going to be easy. They are always fast skaters and competing hard."
As expected, Germany-Latvia was a hard-working affair from puck drop. Both teams battled to deny their opponents time and space, keeping pucks along the walls. The question was who would blink first.
With 1:41 left in the first period, Dzierkals opened the scoring with a point drive that whizzed past Grubauer’s left skate. It was the seventh career Worlds goal for the 29-year-old winger, who scored twice at the 2021, 2023, and 2025 tournaments. The drum-pounding, “Sarauj!”-chanting Latvian fans erupted.
"When you score, sometimes you lose the memory a little bit!" said Dzierkals with a smile. "But I remember that I was cutting in the middle, and somehow the guy who took me, he let me go, so I had a little bit of space for a shot. I didn't think much. I just tried to put that puck as hard as I can to the net. My teammate was screening the goalie, and he didn't see anything."
Latvia kept coming in the second period. On the power play, Deniss Smirnovs first rang off the puck off the post and moments later sent it down to Balcers. The Latvian captain skated parallel to the goal line in front of Grubauer and roofed it for his team-leading third goal at 4:56.
Germany had to fight hard to create chances. When Boston Bruins forward Lukas Reichel, making his tournament debut, got a chance from the high slot, Gudlevskis calmly gloved it down. He was likewise dialed in during a late-period German flurry.
Batna hailed Gudlevskis, a two-time DEL Goalie of the Year with Fischtown Penguins: "He's a big, fast goalie, and kind of really calm. Obviously he has so much experience already from everywhere in the world, in the NHL and the Olympics, whatever. He has so much confidence since he has been around, and there's nothing new for him."
Of Germany's offensive woes, Weber said: "We need more shots, more traffic to the net, need those dirty goals. I think that's the main problem right now."
Nearing the four-minute mark of the third period, Grubauer gave his team a chance with a breakaway save on Balcers.
Vying for a breakthrough, German coach Harald Kreis pulled his goalie for the extra attacker with more than five minutes remaining. However, the Latvians kept their composure, and even though third-period shots were 10-3 for the Germans, they couldn't generate anything.
The Germans failed to avenge their 4-3 loss to Latvia at February’s Olympics. In Milan, they had a significant advantage in NHL firepower – including snipers Leon Draisaitl and Tim Stutzle – but blew a 2-1 first period lead.
This result drops Germany’s all-time WM record against Latvia to 10 wins, one tie, and five losses. Paced by two JJ Peterka goals, the Germans romped 8-1 in the last WM meeting in 2024.
Germany faces host Switzerland next on Monday. Weber said: "They're a pretty good team this year, like every year. But we have to focus on us."
Germany and Latvia both can tap into inspirational memories from the 2023 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship in Tampere, Finland. The Germans went on a Cinderella playoff run, claiming the silver medal after a 5-2 final loss to Canada. The Latvians made history with their first medal ever, edging the Americans 4-3 in overtime for bronze and sparking ecstatic celebrations back home.
The odds of either nation medalling again this year seem relatively low. But it’s early days yet, and wilder things have happened in hockey.
"It's a very important win for us," Dzierkals said. "When we scored our second goal, Germany pushed very, very hard, so it was a little tougher for us defensively. But our guys are warriors. We try to do everything. We work hard blocking shots to make it easier for our goalie."
Latvian goalie Kristers Gudlevskis was full value for the shutout in his duel with German NHL starter Philipp Grubauer. Final shots favoured Germany 25-22.
Latvia is happy to secure three points after falling 4-2 to host Switzerland in its opener. Germany remains pointless after a 3-1 loss to Finland on Day One.
"I think the effort was there," said German blueliner Marcus Weber. "But if you don't score a goal in hockey, you're not going to win the game. We hoped for a better result, but that's hockey."
Latvia's next game is versus Austria on Tuesday. Blueliner Oskars Batna said: "We know what happened last year in the World Championship [a 6-1 loss to Austria that left Latvia out of the quarter-finals]. So we definitely have to be ready for that game, because we know it's not going to be easy. They are always fast skaters and competing hard."
As expected, Germany-Latvia was a hard-working affair from puck drop. Both teams battled to deny their opponents time and space, keeping pucks along the walls. The question was who would blink first.
With 1:41 left in the first period, Dzierkals opened the scoring with a point drive that whizzed past Grubauer’s left skate. It was the seventh career Worlds goal for the 29-year-old winger, who scored twice at the 2021, 2023, and 2025 tournaments. The drum-pounding, “Sarauj!”-chanting Latvian fans erupted.
"When you score, sometimes you lose the memory a little bit!" said Dzierkals with a smile. "But I remember that I was cutting in the middle, and somehow the guy who took me, he let me go, so I had a little bit of space for a shot. I didn't think much. I just tried to put that puck as hard as I can to the net. My teammate was screening the goalie, and he didn't see anything."
Latvia kept coming in the second period. On the power play, Deniss Smirnovs first rang off the puck off the post and moments later sent it down to Balcers. The Latvian captain skated parallel to the goal line in front of Grubauer and roofed it for his team-leading third goal at 4:56.
Germany had to fight hard to create chances. When Boston Bruins forward Lukas Reichel, making his tournament debut, got a chance from the high slot, Gudlevskis calmly gloved it down. He was likewise dialed in during a late-period German flurry.
Batna hailed Gudlevskis, a two-time DEL Goalie of the Year with Fischtown Penguins: "He's a big, fast goalie, and kind of really calm. Obviously he has so much experience already from everywhere in the world, in the NHL and the Olympics, whatever. He has so much confidence since he has been around, and there's nothing new for him."
Of Germany's offensive woes, Weber said: "We need more shots, more traffic to the net, need those dirty goals. I think that's the main problem right now."
Nearing the four-minute mark of the third period, Grubauer gave his team a chance with a breakaway save on Balcers.
Vying for a breakthrough, German coach Harald Kreis pulled his goalie for the extra attacker with more than five minutes remaining. However, the Latvians kept their composure, and even though third-period shots were 10-3 for the Germans, they couldn't generate anything.
The Germans failed to avenge their 4-3 loss to Latvia at February’s Olympics. In Milan, they had a significant advantage in NHL firepower – including snipers Leon Draisaitl and Tim Stutzle – but blew a 2-1 first period lead.
This result drops Germany’s all-time WM record against Latvia to 10 wins, one tie, and five losses. Paced by two JJ Peterka goals, the Germans romped 8-1 in the last WM meeting in 2024.
Germany faces host Switzerland next on Monday. Weber said: "They're a pretty good team this year, like every year. But we have to focus on us."
Germany and Latvia both can tap into inspirational memories from the 2023 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship in Tampere, Finland. The Germans went on a Cinderella playoff run, claiming the silver medal after a 5-2 final loss to Canada. The Latvians made history with their first medal ever, edging the Americans 4-3 in overtime for bronze and sparking ecstatic celebrations back home.
The odds of either nation medalling again this year seem relatively low. But it’s early days yet, and wilder things have happened in hockey.