Latvia’s Olympic Hockey Team Returns Home to Ovation
Latvia’s Olympic hockey team received a hero’s welcome upon their return home, greeted by enthusiastic fans and supporters. The team competed in the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, finishing group play with a record of one win and two losses.
The Latvian squad faced tough competition in Group C, taking on the United States on February 12th, falling 22:10, followed by a 13:10 match against Germany on February 14th and a 20:10 contest against Denmark on February 15th. The team’s performance in the tournament, which featured 12 men’s teams, was described as “satisfactory” by head coach Kalvītis, according to reports from Sportacentrs.com.
The 2026 Winter Olympics men’s hockey tournament, held from February 11th to 22nd, featured games played on NHL-sized rinks in two arenas in Milan. The tournament included 30 total games. Latvia was placed in Group C alongside the United States, Germany, and Denmark. The Latvian Hockey Federation released the full schedule prior to the games.
The return of NHL players to the Winter Olympics for the first time in 12 years added significant excitement to the tournament. Latvia’s Olympic team was also joined in Italy by alpine skier Bondari, who also received a celebratory welcome home, as reported by LA.LV.
Although the team’s performance didn’t result in a medal, the experience and the enthusiastic reception upon their return highlight the growing passion for hockey in Latvia. The IIHF President assessed the team’s performance as “satisfactory,” according to liepajniekiem.lv.
The women’s tournament also took place alongside the men’s, with several group stage matches already completed as of February 22nd, including Sweden vs. Germany (13:10), Italy vs. France (15:40), and the United States vs. Czechia (17:40). More information on the tournament, including schedules and results, can be found on LSM.lv.
The 2026 Winter Olympics hockey tournament, encompassing both men’s and women’s competitions, ran from February 6th to 22nd, with a total of 22 teams participating and 530 athletes competing, as detailed on Wikipedia.
Despite a promising start, some analysts, as noted by LHF, believe Latvia could have capitalized on a significant opportunity during the tournament.
