Men's Ice Hockey IIHF World Championship 2021

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The Tournament will be without spectators.

 

The Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins currently does not see the possibility of hosting the World Hockey Championships (May 21 to June 6) in the presence of spectators. He said this on Wednesday on TV3. Karins reminded that the epidemiological situation in Latvia is currently deteriorating. "It is better to tell people right now than to give them vain hopes," the prime minister added.

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Gerard Gallant will coach at the Championships in Riga. Hockey Canada announced it officially today.

 

The 57 years old coach was already Assistant of the head coach at the WCh in 2007 & 2017. He will be assisted in Riga by Mike Kelly and Andre Tourigny.

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Road to Riga

 

Exhibition Games

April 28th, 2021

(22 Days to Go)-

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Sweden   4 - 2  Denmark

(2-0, 1-0, 1-2) 

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Road to Riga

 

Exhibition Games

April 29th, 2021

(21 Days to Go)-

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Germany   1 - 4  Czech Republic

(0-0, 1-2, 0-2) 

 

Sweden   2 - 3  Denmark

(0-2, 2-0, 0-1) 

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The Tchaikovsky Piano Concert 1 will be played after aka Russian Ice Hockey Federation Team winning matches instead of the originally announced IIHF anthem.

 

IIHF announced it today. The same "track" will be played also during the Olympic Games in Tokyo this summer in case of gold medal of RUS athletes.

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the reconstruction finally begin on the 2nd venue of the tournament, the Olympics Center in Riga, in which the state invested three million euros.

 

At the venue which is originally a football stadium, the construction of an ice rink has begun, all Preliminary A group matches and 2 quarterfinals will be played there.

 

Btw fun fact, Latvia already organized the World Champs in 2006 and at that time also they had to use and built an ice rink on the site of a football field. However, the quality of the ice was poor, so this year the organizers decided to call for the help of experts from Finland. The work of experienced people associated with the complete replacement of ventilation in the hall should ensure a quality ice surface.

 

The photos show a layer of sand that covers the football field. In the following days, the preparation of ice will begin. Ads should start painting on May 1, and the ice rink should be completed on May 6.

 

The work does not end with ice. They must also build temporary stands and locker rooms in the hall. They will build seats for spectators, whose participation is still in play despite the latest news, by using portable temporary stands. The locker rooms will be in the place where basketball, floorball, tennis courts and beach volleyball courts were originally located. In total, the reconstruction will cost 3.8 million euros, of which the said part will be paid for by the state and 800,000 by IIHF.

 

While everything is going according to plan in the main venues of the event, the construction of the training hall creates wrinkles to the organizing committee. It was originally scheduled to be completed in mid-March... then a month later... and then hoped to do so at least by the end of April...

 

Now, however, they will be happy if the ice rink can be built by May 7. Three days later, the first teams start arriving and Riga has no other ice rinks of suitable dimensions. 

 

Pictures of the 2nd venue the Olympics Sports Center (A Football stadium changing on temporary Ice rink)

 

 

 

and a look on the both venues. The main Riga Arena (Left) and the Olypics Sports Center (Right)

 

[intoronto 6,409]

So all the seating is temporary?

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13 minutes ago, intoronto said:

So all the seating is temporary?

Yes, capacity up to cca 6 thousand is expected. Not sure if it is even possible though

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The Russians will have Olympic rings on their jerseys.

 

 

The Russian Hockey Association (RHF) has approved the form of jerseys in which they will play at the upcoming World Championships in Latvia. It will contain the logo of the Russian Olympic Committee, with a flame and Olympic rings. Based on the decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), Russians cannot participate in top events under their own flag or other state symbols.

The Ice Hockey National Teams jerseys are well known for the use of large national emblems or other national symbols.

 

 

"The five rings on the jerseys will remember everyone that we are the reigning Olympic champions. We are working to defend our title in Beijing and triumph at the World Championships in Riga, ”said Roman Rotenberg, RHF Vice President, according to TASS.

 

 

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Road to Riga

 

Exhibition Games

April 30th, 2021

(20 Days to Go)-

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Switzerland   3 - 1  Russia

(1-0, 0-1, 2-0)