Latvia women's national ice hockey team
The Latvian women's national ice hockey team represents Latvia at the International Ice Hockey Federation's IIHF Women's World Championship and is controlled by the Latvian Ice Hockey Federation (Latvian: Latvijas Hokeja federācija). In recent years, participation women's hockey has increased in Latvia; the number of registered women's players grew from 74 in 2018 to 223 in 2020.[2]
 | |||
| Association | Latvijas Hokeja Federācija | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| General Manager | Ināra Zvīdre | ||
| Head coach | Miks Golubovičs | ||
| Assistants | Laila Dekmeijere-Trigubova | ||
| Captain | Jūlija Mihejenko | ||
| Most games | Inese Geca-Miljone (123) | ||
| Top scorer | Inese Geca-Miljone (48) | ||
| Most points | Iveta Koka (129) | ||
| Team colors | |||
| IIHF code | LAT | ||
| |||
| Ranking | |||
| Current IIHF | 22  4 (24 April 2020)[1] | ||
| Highest IIHF | 11 (2007, 2011) | ||
| Lowest IIHF | 22 (2020) | ||
| First international | |||
Latvia  0–3  UkraineRiga, Latvia; 1 November 1992 | |||
| Biggest win | |||
Latvia 39–0  BulgariaLiepāja, Latvia; 5 September 2008 | |||
| Biggest defeat | |||
Latvia 0–17  FinlandRiga, Latvia; 24 March 1995 | |||
| World Championship | |||
| Appearances | 18 (first in 1999) | ||
| Best result | 11th (2007, 2011) | ||
| International record (W–L–T) | |||
| 56–77–7 | |||
Tournament record
Olympic Games
Latvia never qualified for an Olympic tournament. The team participated in the 2006 Olympic qualification tournament and in the Olympic pre-qualification tournaments in 2010, 2014, and 2018.
World Championship
Having failed to qualify for Group A of the 1999 world championship, Latvia debuted in the Women's world championship within Group B. In the following Tournaments, the Latvian Team competed at this level (renamed Division I in 2003). They were saved from demotion in 2005, further to the extension of the division elite. Their best performance was realized during the 2007 Tournament with a second place of Division I, complemented by an IIHF rank of 11th. However, in 2008, they were relegated due to a last place finish. They remained in Division II but earned promotion after the 2009 Tournament. In 2011, they reached 11th place once again after finishing 3rd in Division I. In 2013, they were relegated to Division IB, but a year after that in 2014, they got promoted on the home ice in Latvia, Ventspils to Division IA. In 2015, they got relegated once again back to Division IB and have played in that Division for the last three years. Remarkably taking home one silver and two bronze medals in the last three years (2016, 2017 and 2018 Tournament).
| Year | Finish |
|---|---|
| 1999 | Finished in 13th place (5th in Group B) |
| 2000 | Finished in 14th place (6th in Group B) |
| 2001 | Finished in 14th place (6th in Group B) |
| 2003 | Finished in 13th place (5th in Division I) |
| 2004 | Finished in 12th place (3rd in Division 1) |
| 2005 | Finished in 14th place (6th in Division 1) |
| 2007 | Finished in 11th place (2nd in Division I) |
| 2008 | Finished in 15th place (6th in Division I and relegated to Division II) |
| 2009 | Finished in 16th place (1st in Division II and promoted to Division I) |
| 2011 | Finished in 11th place (3rd in Division I) |
| 2012 | Finished in 13th place (5th in Division IA) |
| 2013 | Finished in 14th place (6th in Division IA and relegated to Division IB) |
| 2014 | Finished in 15th place (1st in Division IB and promoted to Division IA) |
| 2015 | Finished in 14th place (6th in Division IA and relegated to Division IB) |
| 2016 | Finished in 16th place (2nd in Division IB) |
| 2017 | Finished in 17th place (3rd in Division IB) |
| 2018 | Finished in 18th place (3rd in Division IB) |
| 2019 | Finished in 22nd place (6th in Division IB and relegated to Division IIA) |
| 2020 | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic[3] |
| 2021 | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic[4] |
Current roster
Roster for the 2019 IIHF Women's World Championship Division I B in Beijing, China, during 6–12 April 2019.[5][6]
Head Coach: Miks Golubovičs Assistant Coach: Laila Dekmeijere-Trigubova
| No. | Pos. | Name | Height | Weight | Birthdate and age† | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | G | Kristiāna Apsīte | 1.54 m (5 ft 1 in) | 55 kg (121 lb) | May 18, 2000 (aged 18) | Laima Rīga |
| 2 | F | Baiba Kurme – A | 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in) | 60 kg (130 lb) | April 4, 1992 (aged 27) | Laima Rīga |
| 3 | F | Jūlija Mihejenko – C | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) | 63 kg (139 lb) | October 5, 1987 (aged 31) | SHK Pārdaugava/Lauvas |
| 6 | F | Karīna Aņisimova | 1.59 m (5 ft 3 in) | 53 kg (117 lb) | May 4, 1995 (aged 23) |  Odense IK |
| 7 | D | Anna Kubliņa | 1.71 m (5 ft 7 in) | 70 kg (150 lb) | June 6, 1987 (aged 31) | SHK Pārdaugava/Lauvas |
| 8 | D | Sarma Ozmena – A | 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in) | 70 kg (150 lb) | May 5, 1979 (aged 39) |  Minnesota Blue Js |
| 9 | F | Zane Kronberga | 1.66 m (5 ft 5 in) | 60 kg (130 lb) | August 19, 1991 (aged 27) | Laima Rīga |
| 11 | F | Ilona Ābola | 1.69 m (5 ft 7 in) | 55 kg (121 lb) | August 10, 1991 (aged 27) | Laima Rīga |
| 12 | D | Elīza Platā | 1.64 m (5 ft 5 in) | 60 kg (130 lb) | December 13, 1995 (aged 23) | SHK Pārdaugava/Lauvas |
| 13 | D | Aija Apsīte | 1.59 m (5 ft 3 in) | 58 kg (128 lb) | November 23, 1974 (aged 44) | Laima Rīga |
| 14 | F | Kitija Voitkeviča | 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in) | 68 kg (150 lb) | October 14, 1993 (aged 25) | Laima Rīga |
| 15 | D | Sabīne Kate Rubina | 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in) | 60 kg (130 lb) | May 10, 2003 (aged 15) | LNL Riga |
| 16 | F | Karina Šilajane | 1.67 m (5 ft 6 in) | 68 kg (150 lb) | January 12, 2003 (aged 16) | Laima Rīga |
| 17 | D | Beāte Žagare | 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in) | 65 kg (143 lb) | May 13, 2000 (aged 18) | Laima Rīga |
| 18 | F | Ivita Krūmiņa | 1.63 m (5 ft 4 in) | 50 kg (110 lb) | September 19, 1981 (aged 37) | Laima Rīga |
| 19 | F | Anna Katrīna Lagzdiņa | 1.71 m (5 ft 7 in) | 60 kg (130 lb) | October 6, 1996 (aged 22) | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Lethbridge Jr. Eagles |
| 20 | G | Evija Tētiņa | 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in) | 68 kg (150 lb) | May 9, 1985 (aged 33) | Laima Rīga |
| 21 | F | Līga Miljone | 1.55 m (5 ft 1 in) | 53 kg (117 lb) | March 20, 1997 (aged 22) | Maine Black Bears |
| 22 | F | Ieva Pētersone | 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in) | 75 kg (165 lb) | May 26, 1989 (aged 29) | SHK Pārdaugava/Lauvas |
| 24 | F | Māra Trēziņa | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) | 62 kg (137 lb) | July 16, 1980 (aged 38) | SHK Pārdaugava/Lauvas |
† Age at time of tournament, 6 April 2019.
References
- "IIHF Women's World Ranking". IIHF. 24 April 2020. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
- "IIHF Member Associations: Latvia". International Ice Hockey Federation. 24 April 2020. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
- Steiss, Adam (2 March 2020). "IIHF cancels March tournaments". International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
- "IIHF – IIHF Council announces more cancellations". International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
- "2019 Ice Hockey Women's World Championship, Division 1 - Group B: Latvia, Roster". International Ice Hockey Federation. 2019. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
- "IIHF Ice Hockey Women's World Championship Div I Group B – Team Roster: LAT - Latvia". International Ice Hockey Federation]. 5 April 2019. Retrieved 7 November 2020.