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Latvia entered its final group stage game of the 2022 World Junior Championship owning an all-time record of 0-27 in the preliminary round. Loss No. 28 will have to wait until December.
The country secured its first preliminary-round win Sunday, a 5-2 victory over Czechia in Edmonton.
Captain Ralfs Bergmanis recorded a hat trick and goaltender Bruno Bruveris stopped 33 shots to get Latvia the historic win. Rainers Rullers and Martins Lavins also found the back of the net.
Not only did Latvia punch its ticket to the quarterfinals for the first time, it also finished as the No. 3 seed in Group A.
Latvia ends the preliminary round with one regulation win, one overtime loss and two regulation losses, for four points. Czechia also finished group play with four points but lost the head-to-head tiebreaker to Latvia.
QUARTER-FINALS BOUND FOR LATVIA!!!!!!#WorldJuniors @lhf_lv pic.twitter.com/RtKCjcjFRk— IIHF (@IIHFHockey)
The moment Latvia has been waiting for. 🇱🇻 #WorldJuniors @lhf_lv pic.twitter.com/WZvHAFxVz7— IIHF (@IIHFHockey)
The win is impressive on its own, but it's an even bigger feat when considering that Latvia wasn't even supposed to be at the tournament It took Russia's spot after the IIHF banned Russia from international competition following the country's invasion of Ukraine.
MORE: Schedule, scores, results for all 2022 World Juniors games
Belarus would have replaced Russia because it finished the Division IA tournament in first place, but it, too was banned by the IIHF over Ukraine. That opened the spot for Latvia.
While Latvia did not own a win during the preliminary round heading into the Czechia game, the country has won at the World Juniors in the past.
Latvia previously secured wins during the relegation round at previous World Juniors competition. The last win came in 2012, when Latvia defeated Denmark 2-1 in overtime on goal by Nikita Jevpalovs.
Latvia won two games in the relegation round at the 2009 tournament. The country also defeated Norway in the relegation round of the 2006 World Juniors.
While teams Nos. 3 through 5 have been determined in Group A, the rest of the field has yet to solidify.
Latvia won't have to wait long to see who it will play in the quarterfinals. As the No. 3 team in Group A, it will go against the No. 2 team from Group B. That will likely be Sweden or the United States, who go head to head Sunday night. The winner of that matchup will be in the driver's seat to secure the No. 1 spot in the group, while the loser will have to settle for second place.
