The first quarterfinal game of the 2025 World Junior Championship (WJC) saw Sweden take on the tournament’s surprise team, Latvia. While Sweden seemingly dominated the game offensively, Latvia refused to go down without a fight and kept things close. But in the end, Sweden proved too much for the Latvians, pulling off a 3-2 victory to move on to the semifinals. A few things stood out from the game.
1: Linards Feldbergs Proved to Be the Real Deal
Entering the tournament, Linards Feldbergs was expected to play a key role on the Latvian roster after being a part of last year’s WJC team (he only played in one game.) In the team’s preliminary round play, Feldbergs proved to be a driving force to the team’s success, especially in their upset of Canada on Dec. 27 in their first game of the tournament. His strong play was evident throughout each game Latvia played and he started all of the team’s five games.
His strong play helped keep Latvia in the game once again against Sweden. The offense struggled to get much going outside of a few minutes in the second period and a few chances in the third, but with Feldbergs in between the pipes, they stood a chance until the final horn went. While they lost the game, he was Latvia’s best player on the ice from start to finish, making 47 saves in the loss.
After controlling the first period, Sweden needed to keep their foot on the gas to put a resilient and hardworking Latvia team away, but they failed to do so in the second period. They did control the pace of play for the majority of the period but could not cash in when they had the chance. While Feldbergs was undoubtedly a big reason why, Sweden had three power-play opportunities in the second period and could not convert once. This included not being able to take advantage of a five-on-three opportunity. Latvia killing that off seemingly gave them some momentum and energy, helping lead to the two goals they scored in the period (both by Washington Capitals prospect Eriks Mateiko).
Related: Guide to the 2025 World Junior Championship
For Sweden to make it beyond the semifinal round, they must cash in on the opportunities they are given. They possess the tournament’s top power-play unit, but as mentioned, they could not kick it into high gear in their win over Latvia. Getting better scoring chances will also be key to their further success in the…
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