Artūrs Šilovs Shines as Latvia Upsets Germany in Olympic Thriller
Latvia needed a spark in its second game of the 2026 Winter Olympics, and goaltender Artūrs Šilovs delivered in a big way.
The 24-year-old netminder, who’s steadily building a reputation as a big-game performer on the international stage, stood tall against a stacked German squad led by NHL superstar Leon Draisaitl. Šilovs turned aside 26 of 28 shots to backstop Latvia to a gritty 4-3 win-marking their first victory of the preliminary round in Milano-Cortina.
This wasn’t Šilovs’ first Olympic rodeo. He made his second consecutive appearance for Latvia after coming in for relief duty in the third period of their opening loss to Canada, stopping five of six shots in that one. But Saturday’s performance was his show from start to finish.
Germany came out firing, getting on the board just over two minutes in thanks to Lukas Reichel, who buried a slick feed from former Penguin Dominik Kahun. Latvia answered back on the power play later in the first, with Dans Locmelis evening things up. But Germany didn’t wait long to respond-Lukas Kalble found the back of the net just over a minute later to restore the lead.
That 2-1 score held until late in the second period, when Locmelis struck again, this time at even strength, to knot things up. It was a critical momentum shift, and Latvia ran with it.
Midway through the third, Latvia flipped the game on its head with two goals in just over three minutes. Eduards Tralmaks broke the deadlock, and Renars Krastenbergs followed shortly after to give Latvia a 4-2 cushion. Against a team with as much offensive firepower as Germany, that breathing room proved essential.
Germany didn’t go quietly. With just over two minutes left, Draisaitl and J.J.
Peterka connected to set up Tim Stützle, who pulled Germany within one. But Šilovs held firm in the final moments, turning away a late flurry to secure the win and give Latvia a crucial two points in Group C play.
With the victory, Latvia moves to 1-1 in the group, currently sitting second behind Team USA. They’ll wrap up preliminary round play Sunday against Denmark, who dropped their last game 6-3 to the Americans. The top two teams in each group advance to the qualification rounds, and Latvia’s win keeps them firmly in the hunt.
Šilovs’ calm under pressure and timely saves were the difference in a game that could’ve easily swung the other way. If he keeps playing like this, Latvia might just be a team no one wants to face in the next round.