After losing their first game of the Olympics, 5-1, to Team USA, Latvia looked to get back on track Saturday morning against Germany, which featured some talented NHL players. That didn't phase one former and one current Boston Bruins prospect.
Lativa has not won a game since the 2014 Olympics, and that drought ended against Germany thanks to Dans Locmelis and Eduards Tralmaks. Locmeils scored two goals, and Tralmaks buried the go-ahead goal midway through the third period to lead Latvia to a 4-3 upset of Germany.
Current and former Bruins prospects lead Latvia over Germany
Germany grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first period before Locmelis tied the game on the power play. Germany again regained a one-goal lead two minutes later, but Locmeils scored his second goal of the game to tie it again in the second period. The game remained that way until former Boston prospect and current Detroit Red Wings prospect Eduards Tralmaks scored the go-ahead goal midway through the third period. Latvia would add another before Germany added one late to account for the 4-3 final.
For Locmelis, playing in the Olympics is a great experience for the former University of Massachusetts standout. He is having a good season for the Providence Bruins in the American Hockey League (AHL) with 15 goals and 28 points in 43 AHL games. Like a lot of the other forwards in the organization, his future is one big question mark, but the fourth-round pick of the 2022 Entry Draft is certainly playing well on a big stage.
As for Tralmaks, he signed with the Bruins in 2021 after his career at the University of Maine, and the 6-foot-3, 221-pound wing had his best year in the Bruins organization in 2021-22 when he had 14 goals and 13 assists for the P-Bruins. He now plays for the Grand Rapids Griffins in the AHL for the Red Wings.
Latvia will play Denmark on Sunday in their final game before the next round begins next week.