Latvia continues to exceed expectations at the 2025 World Junior Championship. The upset specialists were at it again on Monday evening, sending Team Germany to the relegation playoff after a 4-3 overtime victory.
Washington Capitals prospect Eriks Mateiko played the role of hero again — just as he did in Latvia’s 3-2 shootout win over Canada on Friday night. The 19-year-old winger scored twice, including netting the overtime winner with 1:37 left in the extra frame.
After being sprung on a 2-on-1 break, Mateiko attempted to curl around a backpedaling defender but temporarily lost control of the puck. He regained possession and fired a wrister past goaltender Linus Vieillard.
Mateiko’s game-winning marker was his third in three games at this year’s tournament. The big forward is one of just two NHL-drafted prospects on the Latvian team. Their two wins mark the nation’s third and fourth-ever victories at a World Juniors.
The Jelgava, Latvia native also scored his team’s first goal in the game, pulling them back into the fight after Germany had taken a 2-0 lead. Mateiko set up in the left faceoff circle and fired a one-time blast past Vieillard with 10:48 remaining in the second period.
Latvia got another huge effort from goaltender Linards Feldbergs in the win, as the 19-year-old backstop stopped 36 shots, including 16 in the third period alone. He has faced 137 total shots over three games, 17 more than the next most-peppered goaltender.
With the win, Latvia now has four points in the Group A standings, behind Finland (5), Canada (7), and the United States (7). They have one group game left against Finland on Tuesday but have already secured a spot in the quarter-finals.
Mateiko (3) joins Cole Hutson (6), Petr Sikora (4), Ryan Leonard (3), and Leon Muggli (3) as Capitals prospects to already record multiple points in this year’s World Juniors.
