"It's the biggest tournament," said Karlis Skrastins, a member of the Latvian team,
which faces the United States on Wednesday. "It happens once in four years.
For our country, it's big. It's exciting."


Skrastins 2006 Torino Olympics Profile
in Latvian

"We're lucky because we have lots of people supporting us," Colorado's Karlis Skrastins said.
"They follow us in every tournament. They are our seventh player."
Feb. 15, 2006 - source


--- PHOTOS! CLICK HERE! ---
2006 OLYMPIC PHOTOS OF KARLIS AND TEAM LATVIA CLICK HERE!
--- PHOTOS! CLICK HERE! ---



SCHEDULE AND RESULTS

Feb. 15, 2006 1pm - Latvia 3 - USA 3 * TIE
Feb. 16, 2006 5pm - Latvia 3 - Slovakia 6
Feb. 18, 2006 5pm - Latvia 1 - Sweden 6
Feb. 19, 2006 1pm - Latvia 2 - Russia 9
Feb. 21, 2006 11:30a - Latvia 2 - Kazakhstan 5

Wednesday, Feb. 22
Quarterfinal (A1-B4), Switzerland 2 - Sweden 6
Quarterfinal (A2-B3), Finland 4 - USA 3
Quarterfinal (B1-A4), Russia 2 - Canada 0
Quarterfinal (B2-A3),Slovakia 1 - Czech Republic 3
**order of quarterfinal games is subject to change

Friday, Feb. 24
Semifinal
Sweden 7 - Czech Republic 3
(winner A1-B4 vs. winner B2-A3)

Semifinal
Finland 4 - Russia 0
(winner B1-A4 vs. winner A2-B3)
**order of semifinal games is subject to change

Saturday, Feb. 25
Bronze Medal Game
Czech Republic 3 - Russia 0
CONGRATS TO CZECH REPUBLIC FOR WINNING BRONZE!

Sunday, Feb. 26
Gold Medal Game
Sweden 3 - Finland 2
CONGRATS TO SWEDEN FOR WINNING GOLD!

CONGRATS TO FINLAND FOR WINNING SILVER!

AND A HUGE CONGRATULATIONS TO SKRATCH AND TEAM LATVIA
FOR YOUR UNDENIABLE PASSION AND HARD WORK!

notes about the games
Tournament Format: The 2006 Olympic Winter Games men's hockey tournament
includes 12 teams divided into two groups. In the preliminary round, teams play
opponents within their group for a total of five games each. The top four teams
from each group advance to the quarterfinal, where they play a "cross-over" format.
The quarterfinal winners advance to the semifinal round, which determines the
match-ups for the gold and bronze medal games.

Group A: Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Switzerland and Italy.
Group B: Sweden, Slovakia, USA, Russia, Latvia and Kazakhstan.


2006 Torino Winter Games Team Latvia Roster



2006 Olympic Medal Count


articles and news posted most current first!

***** OLYMPIC PHOTOS ******
Photos From Feb. 21, 2006 - CLICK HERE

Photos From Feb. 19, 2006 - CLICK HERE

Photos From Feb. 18, 2006 - CLICK HERE

Photos From Feb. 16, 2006 - CLICK HERE

Photos From Feb. 15, 2006 - CLICK HERE
***** OLYMPIC PHOTOS ******



Feb. 21, 2006 11:30a - Latvia 2 - Kazakhstan 5

Photos From Today, Feb. 21, 2006 - CLICK HERE



"Against the Americans, it was just an easier game," Skrastins said outside the
locker room. "They had just arrived here. They were tired. Today, it was we who
needed fresh legs and a fresh head. Our last game was 15 hours ago."
Denver Post Story Feb. 20,2006

Feb. 19, 2006 1pm - Latvia 2 - Russia 9

"We knew it was going to be hard for us once Russia scored two, three goals,"
said Latvian captain Karlis Skrastins. "You have to be really good on defense.
We had no coverage."
Game News
Feb. 19, 2006

Photos From Today, Feb. 15, 2006 - CLICK HERE



Feb. 18, 2006 5pm - Latvia 1 - Sweden 6

Photos From Today, Feb. 18, 2006 - CLICK HERE

"We had our last game 15 hours ago," said Latvia's captain, Karlis Skrastins, "and so
it was tough. We didn't have the fresh legs."
Seeding at stake as hockey pool play concludes
Feb. 19, 2006



Feb. 16, 2006 5pm - Latvia 3 - Slovakia 6

Photos From Today, Feb. 16, 2006 - CLICK HERE

Karlis Skarastins made the luckiest pass you'll ever see as it bounced and
hopped over two Slovak sticks right onto Skrastins's stick. He broke in alone
on Lasak and roofed a backhand on the deke to make it a 4-3 game.
Slovaks outskate Latvians to the tune of 6-3
Feb. 16, 2006



Feb. 15, 2006 1pm - Latvia 3 - USA 3 * TIE

Photos From Today, Feb. 15, 2006 - CLICK HERE

Latvia. pendant.win by struggle-(in Latvian)
Feb. 16, 2006

Latvian hockey teamto have a draw with USA-(in Latvian)
Feb. 16, 2006

"We were feeling very well," Latvia's Karlis Skrastins said. "We scored two goals,
and our goalkeeper played very well. He was our best player tonight."
Tiny Latvia makes big impact
Feb. 16, 2006

Making lots of noise
The crowd of 7,851 was heavily behind Latvia, with fans in maroon and white easily
outnumbering those in red, white and blue.

Latvia has a population of 2,290,237, according to a July 2005 estimate by The World Factbook.
At times, it sounded as if they were all at Palasport Olimpico.

"I think it's our responsibility to popularize our country," Irbe said. "We're a little over 2
million people, and who else will let the world know that we exist if not us?"

Wednesday's tie rated a little below Latvia's victory over Russia about three years ago.

"The Russia (win) probably would be rated No. 1," forward Maris Ziedins said.
"But this is obviously in the top 10, for sure, in the last five years.
It's a pretty great accomplishment for us."

Latvia's Irbe a Marvel on Ice Against U.S.
Feb. 16, 2006

"I just tried to play my game. I didn't try to do too much or too littlem,"
said Ozolins, who hasn't played a game since entering the program on Dec. 29.

"We played a pretty good game," said Ozolins, who arrived in Torino yesterday
along with teammate Karlis Skrastins, who plays for the Colorado Avalanche.
"Of course it could have gone either way but we got a tie so that's good.
It's good, it's all good but we have another game tomorrow and another game after that."
Latvian sniper cleared to play
Feb. 15, 2006

"We're lucky because we have lots of people supporting us," Colorado's Karlis Skrastins said.
"They follow us in every tournament. They are our seventh player."
Feb. 15, 2006 - source

Latvia battles U.S. hockey to surprising deadlock
Feb. 15, 2006


Record 150 NHL Players In Olympic Winter Games
Feb. 15, 2006

Game Preview: USA vs. Latvia
Feb. 15, 2006

Skrastins interview TV.net
Feb. 14, 2006

Latvia and its Olympic Dream

Many Avs insiders believe Skrastins, not Blake, has been the team's best defenseman all season.
He will be on the ice representing Latvia next week when his country opens up against Liles and Team USA.
"For our country, it's big. It's exciting," Skrastins said.
Boulder Daily Camera
Feb. 11, 2006

Delfi Turina 2006 News

Latvian Olympics Newsfeed


Skrastins embodies Latvian hockey pride
With just 2 million citizens and just over 1000 hockey players, Latvia is
thrilled every time one of its native sons cracks the big time. And defenseman
Karlis Skrastins of the Colorado Avalanche is one of the best contemporary examples.

With just 2 million citizens and just over 1000 hockey players, Latvia is
thrilled every time one of its native sons cracks the big time.
And defenseman Karlis Skrastins of the Colorado Avalanche is one of
the best contemporary examples.

Of course, there are others. Helmut Balderis no longer had the speed
that earned him the nickname of "Electric Train" by the time he played 26
games with the Minnesota North Stars in 1989-90, but the iconoclastic
right wing from Riga proved he was still a proud competitor. More recently,
goaltender Arturs Irbe and forward Sergei Zholtok prospered versus NHL
competition, although Irbe now earns his living in the Austrian League
and Zholtok tragically died while playing for Riga 2000 in November 2004.

But Skrastins still soldiers on in the NHL today. The hard-hitting 6-1,
196-pound veteran is currently the league's reigning ironman, with more
than 400 consecutive games played. He also captained Latvia's 2005 IIHF
World Championship entry. The former Nashville Predators draft pick
realizes that while his professional involvement is a source of pride
to his fellow countrymen, what truly electrifies Latvia is the prospect
of success at the top level of international competition in the 2006 Winter Games.
"We are proud to be in the Olympics," said Skrastins. "It's a big, big deal
for a small country like Latvia. It's going to be quite an experience.
We're going to have a lot of new guys, and we'll be playing against big
teams like the USA and Russia, with all NHL guys. It's a good thing for
our players and fans. Everyone's looking forward to seeing how we do
against those big guys."

Hockey fans around the world remember the shocking upset Belarus achieved
versus Sweden in the 2002 Olympic quarter-finals. But not everyone is aware
that Latvia pulled off a similar feat in a must-win situation on home ice
in Riga last year. On February 13, 2005, Skrastins and his Latvian
teammates rallied from a 4-2 deficit in Olympic qualification play to
triumph 5-4 over (you guessed it) Belarus. The result secured
Latvia's place in Torino 2006.

"It was like a miracle," Skrastins said with a smile. "There was about
four minutes left until the end of the game, and we almost all had our heads down.
Then we scored a goal. It was a good thing we were playing at home, because the
fans started getting louder and louder. Then we scored another goal and another,
and everything had changed. Of course, we were very lucky at the time. But we
tried to do our best, and we were happy to get into the Olympics."

Latvia defeated the mighty Russians at the 2000 and 2003 IIHF World Championships.
Could similar upsets be in the offing for the small Baltic nation at the 2006 Olympics?

"It would be nice if we would beat some big teams," Skrastins admitted.
"It's not our goal, but we're going to take it one game at a time.
It's hockey. You never know what is going to happen. Maybe we can
beat some big guys and get into the quarter-finals."

Regardless of the final Olympic results, 2006 will be remembered as a
banner year for Latvian hockey. The country's U-20 team participated
in its first-ever IIHF World Junior Championship last month in the
Canadian province of British Columbia, and despite finishing ninth out
of 10 teams, players like goalie Ugis Avotins and captain Martin Karsums
became fan favorites. In May, Riga will proudly host the 2006 IIHF
World Championship, showcasing a new downtown arena with a capacity of 12,500.

"I think people are going to like it," said Skrastins. "We have a very
nice city in Riga. The Old Town in Riga is beautiful, full of culture.
Everybody's welcome. We've got crazy fans, but in a good way. Latvia will
do the best it can do for our visitors."

- Lucas Aykroyd
IIHF.com Olympic writer
source here






As of Feb. 15, 2006


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