<p>There were only two games on the fifth day of the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship, but they were both bangers.</p>
<div class="bam-inline-promotion-block" data-max-length="2" data-placement-id="2109" data-context="web-content-promocard" data-property-id="328"></div>
<p>We&#8217;ll go in reverse order and talk first about what happened between Team Latvia and Team Germany at the Canadian Tire Centre on Monday afternoon. The Germans, needing a regulation win to stay in the hunt for a quarterfinal spot, put it all on the line against a Latvian team still riding high after its shocking win over Team Canada three nights ago.</p>
<p>A pair of undrafted skaters, Simon Seidl and Edwin Tropmann, put Team Germany up 2-0 just shy of the midway mark of regulation time, but nobody expected the Latvians to take all that lying down. Eriks Mateiko (WSH), the shootout hero against Canada, brought Team Latvia back within one goal just 32 seconds after the second German tally, and the drama only increased from there.</p>
<p>After Bruno Osmanis (2025) tied the game for Team Latvia at the 6:55 mark of the third period, the Germans went into a frenzy. In desperate search of a go-ahead goal, Team Germany outshot their opponents 17-4 in the final frame. And when Latvia took a delay of game penalty late in the period, Germany elected to pull its goaltender for a 6-on-4 advantage &#8230; with the game still tied.</p>
<p>It took just seven seconds for Latvia&#8217;s Olivers Murnieks (2026) to find the empty net.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">GERMANY PULLS THEIR GOALIE TO GO FOR THE WIN AND IT INSTANTLY BACKFIRES</p>
<p>3-2 LATIVA! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WorldJuniors?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WorldJuniors</a> <a href="https://t.co/JoDUhhKK34">pic.twitter.com/JoDUhhKK34</a></p>
<p>&mdash; TSN (@TSN_Sports) <a href="https://twitter.com/TSN_Sports/status/1873868681857409473?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 30, 2024</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>With the goaltender pulled once again, Team Germany actually managed to restore the tie just 20 seconds later when David Lewandowski (2025) scored his second goal of the tournament. But the Germans needed the full three points to avoid the relegation round, and their quarterfinal hopes were dashed when the Latvians held the 3-3 score until the final buzzer.</p>
<p>As expected, Team Latvia fully took over after regulation, recording all three shots in the extra frame. In the end, it was Mateiko who sealed the deal in overtime to give the Latvians their second win in three games at this year&#8217;s tournament. What a finish!</p>
<p>With one game remaining for both teams, Latvia and Finland will face off on New Years&#8217; Eve in a battle for positioning in the quarterfinals. If the Latvians are able to win in regulation, they&#8217;ll pass the Finns for third place in Group A. Who saw that coming a week ago?</p>
<h2>Best of the rest</h2>
<ul>
<li>Guess what? Team Kazakhstan might end up avoiding relegation, too! The Kazakhs earned their first point of the preliminary round on Monday with a shocking, unforgettable comeback effort against Team Slovakia. Trailing 4-2, it looked like Kazakhstan was done for when Asanali Sarkenov (und.) received a five-minute major penalty and a game misconduct for cross-checking with just 4:39 remaining in regulation. They needed a miracle. They got one. Davlat Nurkenov and Kirill Lyapunov, both undrafted, scored shorthanded goals less than three minutes apart — the latter coming in the final 30 seconds of the third period — to tie the game and force overtime. Maxim Strbak (BUF) ended up scoring the winner in the extra frame, but for the time being, the Kazakhs are one point ahead of Team Switzerland in the Group B standings. And guess which two teams will face off tomorrow: You guessed it: Kazakhstan and Switzerland.</li>
</ul>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">TWO BACK-TO-BACK SHORTHANDED GOALS FOR KAZAKHSTAN AND WE ARE HEADED TO OVERTIME! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WorldJuniors?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WorldJuniors</a> <a href="https://t.co/VnohNnm7AG">pic.twitter.com/VnohNnm7AG</a></p>
<p>&mdash; TSN (@TSN_Sports) <a href="https://twitter.com/TSN_Sports/status/1873830404685267386?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 30, 2024</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>


There were only two games on the fifth day of the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship, but they were both bangers.
<div class="bam-inline-promotion-block" data-max-length="2" data-placement-id="2109" data-context="web-content-promocard" data-property-id="328"></div>
We'll go in reverse order and talk first about what happened between Team Latvia and Team Germany at the Canadian Tire Centre on Monday afternoon. The Germans, needing a regulation win to stay in the hunt for a quarterfinal spot, put it all on the line against a Latvian team still riding high after its shocking win over Team Canada three nights ago.

A pair of undrafted skaters, Simon Seidl and Edwin Tropmann, put Team Germany up 2-0 just shy of the midway mark of regulation time, but nobody expected the Latvians to take all that lying down. Eriks Mateiko (WSH), the shootout hero against Canada, brought Team Latvia back within one goal just 32 seconds after the second German tally, and the drama only increased from there.

After Bruno Osmanis (2025) tied the game for Team Latvia at the 6:55 mark of the third period, the Germans went into a frenzy. In desperate search of a go-ahead goal, Team Germany outshot their opponents 17-4 in the final frame. And when Latvia took a delay of game penalty late in the period, Germany elected to pull its goaltender for a 6-on-4 advantage ... with the game still tied.

It took just seven seconds for Latvia's Olivers Murnieks (2026) to find the empty net.

https://twitter.com/TSN_Sports/status/1873868681857409473

With the goaltender pulled once again, Team Germany actually managed to restore the tie just 20 seconds later when David Lewandowski (2025) scored his second goal of the tournament. But the Germans needed the full three points to avoid the relegation round, and their quarterfinal hopes were dashed when the Latvians held the 3-3 score until the final buzzer.

As expected, Team Latvia fully took over after regulation, recording all three shots in the extra frame. In the end, it was Mateiko who sealed the deal in overtime to give the Latvians their second win in three games at this year's tournament. What a finish!

With one game remaining for both teams, Latvia and Finland will face off on New Years' Eve in a battle for positioning in the quarterfinals. If the Latvians are able to win in regulation, they'll pass the Finns for third place in Group A. Who saw that coming a week ago?
<h2>Best of the rest</h2>
<ul>
 	<li>Guess what? Team Kazakhstan might end up avoiding relegation, too! The Kazakhs earned their first point of the preliminary round on Monday with a shocking, unforgettable comeback effort against Team Slovakia. Trailing 4-2, it looked like Kazakhstan was done for when Asanali Sarkenov (und.) received a five-minute major penalty and a game misconduct for cross-checking with just 4:39 remaining in regulation. They needed a miracle. They got one. Davlat Nurkenov and Kirill Lyapunov, both undrafted, scored shorthanded goals less than three minutes apart — the latter coming in the final 30 seconds of the third period — to tie the game and force overtime. Maxim Strbak (BUF) ended up scoring the winner in the extra frame, but for the time being, the Kazakhs are one point ahead of Team Switzerland in the Group B standings. And guess which two teams will face off tomorrow: You guessed it: Kazakhstan and Switzerland.</li>
</ul>
https://twitter.com/TSN_Sports/status/1873830404685267386

World Juniors Day 5 Recap: Latvia continues miracle run with dramatic win over Germany

Recent articles from Mike Gould

Breaking News