The opening game of the Prague’s WFC 2018 was played at the O2 Arena. Switzerland struggled from the start and lost the first period, but turned the game around later on and managed to beat Latvia 7:3.
The Swiss team started the game with high pressure, but it was the Latvians who were far more dangerous from the start. 4:54 was on the clock when the defender Morics Krumins fired and his shot went to the upper corner of the goal like a fireball. The Swiss goalkeeper Pascal Meier could not see a thing and was unable to react. Then Latvians missed a chance to double their lead and the punishment came straight away. Claudio Laely prepared a clear opportunity for Kevin Berry, who calmly equalized. Latvia continued to upset the favorites by scoring two goals in 34 seconds. The Swiss team only managed to reduce the lead at the end of the 1st period.
The frantic pace of the match calmed a little bit in the 2nd period with both goalkeepers dominating the game. It all changed in the 33rd minute. The Latvian defender Morics Krumins was sent out to the penalty box and Manuel Maurer was the director of a very quick turn in the score. At 33:26 he equalized and 28 seconds later he assisted to Christoph Meier’s go-ahead goal. This took the Baltic team by surprise and the Swiss players carried the tight lead into the second intermission.
Switzerland managed to score at the beginning of the 3rd period. Jan Zaugg’s goal gave his team the much needed confidence, which resulted in two more goals in the Latvian net. Latvia’s coach Arto Riihimäki tried to react with a time-out, but it did not improve his team’s performance. Almost 7 thousand loud fans at the O2 Arena saw the Swiss team controlling the rest of the game and securing the 7-3 win. In the next game, Switzerland will face Germany and Latvia will try to conquer the Czech hosts.
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