The league’s star forward, heartbroken at the World Championships: “It feels like crap.”
ZÜRICH. Latvia and Austria clashed on Tuesday at the main stage of the World Championships in Zurich. Both teams have started the tournament brightly and are seriously competing for a spot in the playoffs.
The tight contest ultimately ended with Austria winning 3-1. Latvia was on top during the match, but in the third period, a penalty by Oskars Batna, known from Pelicans, proved costly as Austria scored the winning goal on the power play.
After the match, Batna arrived for an interview with SuomiKiekko feeling down. The Latvian forward did not sugarcoat the truth when sharing his thoughts.
– It sucks, to be brutally honest. It feels terrible that I took a penalty in the third period. That’s practically how we lost the game. I feel like I let my team down. It’s frustrating, Batna said.
Batna’s penalty was not the most typical. He collided with an Austrian player in the corner at low speed. The opponent got injured, and Batna was sent to the penalty box. However, the Latvian forward is not bitter about the referee’s decision.
– I certainly didn’t try to hit him. He just skated into me. I could have tried to dodge, but I decided to stay in place.
Latvia has played well in the tournament, but that does not warm Batna’s heart.
– Not well enough. We want to win these games. This is not a good situation. Austria was one of our main opponents regarding the playoffs, Batna says.
Next, Latvia faces Finland. Batna expects a tough match.
– Their team has so much skill. We need to watch videos and decide how we will play against them. It won’t be easy. We need to play patient hockey and find our moments.
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