Another derby in the WFC and another even match. But Latvia pulled ahead in the third period and defeated Estonia 1-6 (0-1, 1-0, 0-5).

The Baltic countries, Estonia and Latvia, squared off in the fight for places 5^th through 8^th. It was a tough, but fair, first period, where the match was stopped several times for injured players, no one seriously. Latvia scored the only goal of the period by Aleksandrs Abramovs after Estonia’s Kaspar Kallion made an unfortunate pass on Estonia’s side of the court.

Estonia pushed for a goal in the second period, but it was still extremely even. They were rewarded after eight minutes when Andreas Woiduma scored 1-1 on a free pass. Estonia also had some great chances to take the lead but the score was still 1-1 at the end of the period.

Once there, Latvia took control of the match. Martin Rajeckis scored 1-2 early on and Ivo Balodis scored 1-3 in power play just 90 seconds later. Estonia tried to get back in the game but Latvia was too hard for them. Rajeckis scored another goal and Artis Raitums scored two, the last one in an open goal.
Latvia will play against Norway for 5^th place and Estonia will fight Denmark for places 7^th and 8^th.

Full match statistics here.

Photo: Rasmus Tynander.