RIGA - The national hockey team has been bumped from the world championships after an exciting come from behind victory by Germany in the qualification round.
Latvia's participation in the tournament has been widely noted for the massive fan turnout at the Canadian venue. More than 2,000 fans traveled from Riga to Halifax with the help of a new visa-free agreement with the country.
"It's their Super Bowl. They take it very seriously. I was just hoping they would get a goal just to see them erupt… Can we buy them and bring them to Jersey with us?" Canada's coach Pat Burns was reported as saying about Latvia's fans.
Since the beginning of the world championships the country has ground to a near standstill. News of the tournament has dominated local media and enthralled society at large. Parliament was even adjourned early so that lawmakers could watch one of the games.
Latvia was bumped from the tournament with a 5-3 loss to Germany on May 13.
The Latvian team easily controlled the game for the first two periods and held a 3-2 lead going into the third period. A German goal early in the period tied the score and shattered Latvia's morale.
A number of fundamental errors allowed Germany to score two more goals in the third period and take the win.
Though the Germans had already been eliminated from the tournament, a win for Latvia would have earned the team enough points to advance to the quarter-finals, where they would have gone up against the host team.
Latvia was badly defeated by both Canada and the United States in the first round of the tournament 's 7-0 and 4-0, respectively. Latvia was then able to beat Slovenia 3-0 to secure a spot in the next round of the tournament.
Though the team will have to return home after a bitter defeat, hockey fans have expressed their undying love for the sport and said they would stand by their team come thick or thin.
"You wouldn't love your mother any less if she had a bad day would you?" said one diehard hockey fan named Didzis.
