Latvia received huge support from their supporters who traveled to Tampere.
Tampere
Latvian working as an assistant coach of the national team at the World Hockey Championships Petteri Nummelin gave a full-sided match to the head referees after Canada had clinched a finals spot with their 4–2 victory.
The match was judged by Finland Mikko Kaukokari and the United States Sean MacFarlane. Nummelin said he hopes that the duo will not be given any more tournament games.
“I hope they don’t whistle a single game in this tournament. There shouldn’t be bad days like this, no matter how many people there are. I hope it was here,” Nummelin said.
In the third period of the match, Canada came out of the goal chasing position. Nummelin did not identify the situations that angered him, but said he believes referees realize their own mistakes when they look back on the game.
“I don’t know if it would have affected anything. But, if you don’t get mad at the judges, then who do you get mad at? At least you won’t start hitting yourself in the face here. Not to be so depressed yet”; Nummelin said.
Especially the second half of the match was hot and the half-time whistle was blown to eleven. There was only one whistle in the final, when Oskars Batna got into the penalty box three minutes before the end and Latvia’s streak was broken.
Latvia received huge support in Tampere from his supporters who traveled to the city. Although the semifinal loss was disappointing, Nummelin believed that the chance to win the first bronze medal in the country’s puck history is enough to motivate the team for Sunday’s game.
“Hardly many people thought before the game that we have a chance to play against the great and mighty Canada, who just put Finland in the chorus. On the other hand, we were leading 2–1 after the second set and lost, so there are bad feelings,” Nummelin said.
Nummelin has been in the Latvian national team as an assistant coach this season. The home games became their own attraction, but Nummelin believes that Latvia is going in the right direction anyway.
“These stories don’t happen in an instant. I think the head coach (Harjis Vitolins) has done a very good job. What I have noticed myself, the team has grown as a team. There are no longer just individuals who are skilled. Now it feels like there really is a team. That’s why we’re still here,” Nummelin said.
Nummelin has seen puck addiction before. He is the world champion from 1995, when Finland won the first World Cup gold in its history and the whole country went crazy. According to Nummelin, experiencing drugs in the role of a coach is a different experience.
“As a coach, you can listen a little to what people are making noise. As a player, you are so focused on what is happening on the rink that you don’t hear it,” Nummelin said.
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