World Juniors Day 2 Recap: Latvia — yes, Latvia — beats Canada in shootout stunner

Team Canada failed to score a single goal in the eight-round shootout after beating Latvian goaltender Linards Feldbergs (und.) just twice on 56 shots through regulation and overtime.

Jett Luchanko (PHI) opened the scoring for the hosts at the 3:28 mark of the second period, stealing the puck at the defensive blue line and beating Feldbergs on a clear-cut shorthanded breakaway.

Mateiko evened the scoring for Team Latvia with just under seven minutes left in the third period, but Calum Ritchie (COL) responded 64 seconds later to restore Canada’s one-goal lead. Crisis averted … right?

Wrong. With Ethan Gauthier (TB) in the box late in the third, Latvian captain Peteris Bulans (und.) rifled a one-timer from the point that beat goaltender Jack Ivankovic (2025) through a screen to tie the game once again.

After an eventful five minutes of three-on-three overtime, the two teams headed to a shootout. The likes of Brayden Yager (WPG), Easton Cowan (TOR), Porter Martone (2025), and Gavin McKenna (2026) all failed to score for Team Canada before Mateiko sealed the deal for the heavy underdogs.

On top of the loss, Canada suffered another setback early in the game when top defence prospect Matthew Schaefer (2025) suffered an injury colliding with his own net. Schaefer did not return and his status is unclear. Could that open the door for Hockey Canada to reach out to someone like Carter Yakemchuk (OTT) or even Zayne Parekh (CGY)? Probably not, but we’ll see.

Best of the rest

• Earlier on Friday, Team Sweden laid out a detailed blueprint on how favourites are supposed to handle underdogs when they defeated Team Kazakhstan by an 8-1 score at TD Place in Ottawa. Anton Wahlberg (BUF) led the way for the victorious Swedes with two goals and two assists. Is there any way to get this guy a Canadian passport before New Years’ Eve?

• The closest game of the day was Team Slovakia vs. Team Switzerland, which featured one of the youngest players in tournament history: 15-year-old Swiss forward Jonah Neuenschwander (2027). He didn’t score, but Eric Schneller (und.) did as the Swiss did all they could to keep the game close (the shots ended up 29-29). Ultimately, Jan Chovan (2025) netted the winner with 3:18 left as the Slovaks prevailed by a 2-1 score.

• The much-awaited FIN/GER matchup saw Emil Pieniniemi (PIT) put his thumb on the scale in a big way. The 6’2″ defenceman opened the scoring for his team late in the first period and ultimately recorded more than 20 minutes of ice time, also taking six shots along the way. This is far from the strongest Finnish team we’ve seen at the World Juniors, but they didn’t mess around against the Germans.