RIGA — Latvia has began its build-up to the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) world championships with a successful campaign against France.

France traveled to Latvia last week for the two match series which acted as a warm-up for both teams ahead of next months world champs in [private_supervisor]Germany.

Like every other person who attempted to fly throughout Europe last week, the French team were fully affected, only arriving in Riga an hour before game 1 on Wednesday.

Unfortunately the game could not be rescheduled to a different day due to the fact it was been played at the multi-purpose Arena Riga and the only concession for the French was a push back in the start time of the game.

The Latvians played with a squad largely unchanged from their Olympic campaign earlier this year, giving the team something of a familiar look.

Not surprisingly, the French were far from their best, which was fortunate for the Latvians who were also displaying lethargy, trailing 1-0 after the first period.

But the Latvian’s were able to settle into their rhythm following the early setback and grab four of their own before the night was out.

Returning to the ice the following evening, the Latvians were only too aware that France, having had more time to find their feet, would be a more formidable obstacle.

Latvia also took the ice on the second night without their trainer Oļegs Znaroks standing behind the Latvian bench. Instead he had turned to Russia to oversee his other coaching duties, with his team MK MVD are currently tied 3-3 in the best-0f-seven final of the KHL.

But, he need not have worried about leaving the Latvian team, who fought hard for a satisfying 2-0 victory.

It was perhaps a truer indicator of where the team are at with the world championships less than a month way, given that French had had more time to adapt.

Latvia hold high expectations for this year’s campaign, given that the team has had the advantage of having already competed together this year in Vancouver. [/private_supervisor] [private_subscription 1 month]Germany.

Like every other person who attempted to fly throughout Europe last week, the French team were fully affected, only arriving in Riga an hour before game 1 on Wednesday.

Unfortunately the game could not be rescheduled to a different day due to the fact it was been played at the multi-purpose Arena Riga and the only concession for the French was a push back in the start time of the game.

The Latvians played with a squad largely unchanged from their Olympic campaign earlier this year, giving the team something of a familiar look.

Not surprisingly, the French were far from their best, which was fortunate for the Latvians who were also displaying lethargy, trailing 1-0 after the first period.

But the Latvian’s were able to settle into their rhythm following the early setback and grab four of their own before the night was out.

Returning to the ice the following evening, the Latvians were only too aware that France, having had more time to find their feet, would be a more formidable obstacle.

Latvia also took the ice on the second night without their trainer Oļegs Znaroks standing behind the Latvian bench. Instead he had turned to Russia to oversee his other coaching duties, with his team MK MVD are currently tied 3-3 in the best-0f-seven final of the KHL.

But, he need not have worried about leaving the Latvian team, who fought hard for a satisfying 2-0 victory.

It was perhaps a truer indicator of where the team are at with the world championships less than a month way, given that French had had more time to adapt.

Latvia hold high expectations for this year’s campaign, given that the team has had the advantage of having already competed together this year in Vancouver. [/private_subscription 1 month] [private_subscription 4 months]Germany.

Like every other person who attempted to fly throughout Europe last week, the French team were fully affected, only arriving in Riga an hour before game 1 on Wednesday.

Unfortunately the game could not be rescheduled to a different day due to the fact it was been played at the multi-purpose Arena Riga and the only concession for the French was a push back in the start time of the game.

The Latvians played with a squad largely unchanged from their Olympic campaign earlier this year, giving the team something of a familiar look.

Not surprisingly, the French were far from their best, which was fortunate for the Latvians who were also displaying lethargy, trailing 1-0 after the first period.

But the Latvian’s were able to settle into their rhythm following the early setback and grab four of their own before the night was out.

Returning to the ice the following evening, the Latvians were only too aware that France, having had more time to find their feet, would be a more formidable obstacle.

Latvia also took the ice on the second night without their trainer Oļegs Znaroks standing behind the Latvian bench. Instead he had turned to Russia to oversee his other coaching duties, with his team MK MVD are currently tied 3-3 in the best-0f-seven final of the KHL.

But, he need not have worried about leaving the Latvian team, who fought hard for a satisfying 2-0 victory.

It was perhaps a truer indicator of where the team are at with the world championships less than a month way, given that French had had more time to adapt.

Latvia hold high expectations for this year’s campaign, given that the team has had the advantage of having already competed together this year in Vancouver. [/private_subscription 4 months] [private_subscription 1 year]Germany.

Like every other person who attempted to fly throughout Europe last week, the French team were fully affected, only arriving in Riga an hour before game 1 on Wednesday.

Unfortunately the game could not be rescheduled to a different day due to the fact it was been played at the multi-purpose Arena Riga and the only concession for the French was a push back in the start time of the game.

The Latvians played with a squad largely unchanged from their Olympic campaign earlier this year, giving the team something of a familiar look.

Not surprisingly, the French were far from their best, which was fortunate for the Latvians who were also displaying lethargy, trailing 1-0 after the first period.

But the Latvian’s were able to settle into their rhythm following the early setback and grab four of their own before the night was out.

Returning to the ice the following evening, the Latvians were only too aware that France, having had more time to find their feet, would be a more formidable obstacle.

Latvia also took the ice on the second night without their trainer Oļegs Znaroks standing behind the Latvian bench. Instead he had turned to Russia to oversee his other coaching duties, with his team MK MVD are currently tied 3-3 in the best-0f-seven final of the KHL.

But, he need not have worried about leaving the Latvian team, who fought hard for a satisfying 2-0 victory.

It was perhaps a truer indicator of where the team are at with the world championships less than a month way, given that French had had more time to adapt.

Latvia hold high expectations for this year’s campaign, given that the team has had the advantage of having already competed together this year in Vancouver. [/private_subscription 1 year]

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