Latvia beats France to escape relegation

French team entered the game in a good position to fight for quarterfinals while Latvia desperately needed points to climb from the bottom of the table and save themselves from relegation. France started as the more active team, but in the biggest chance of the opening minutes, Desroisers failed to find Meunier on a quick breakaway and the chance went begging.

Latvia, however, took advantage of their first powerplay when Martins Cipulis netted a rebound from close range to open the scoring after 15 minutes. Things got even better for Latvia after the intermission as Janis Sprukts got clean through on goal and beat Cristobal Huet on his stick side. From that moment on, Latvia was by far the more dangerous team.

France looked for a way back into the game, but failed to create any major chances until their powerplay early in the third period. Yorick Treille found Julien Desrosiers with a cross pass and the French forward put the puck across the goal line thanks to a quick one-timer. Referee asked for a video review as the puck quickly disappeared under goalie’s body.

The initial review determined that the puck did not cross the goal line, much to a dismay of French bench since a replay on the video screen showed the puck in. A second review was then initiated by the video goal judge and eventually the goal stood.

France, visibly boosted by the goal, pushed forward in search for an equalizer, but Latvian goalie Kristers Gudlevskis stood up to the task and covered all shots going his way. The decisive moment came three and a half minutes from time as Latvia got to a 3-on-1 breakaway. Lauris Darzins eventually slotted the puck into the net and started Latvian celebrations on the ice as they climbed above Austria in standings of the Helsinki group.

Team Austria now needs a miracle to stay in the top division – take at least one point off Team Russia in the evening game.