After the victorious start, the Lithuanian national team was happy to let go of the tension and looked to Sunday | Sports

A good result and wide scope for improving the game – this is how you can evaluate the start of the Lithuanian ice hockey team in the six-team tournament that started on Saturday in the capital

Although the Lithuanians, who dropped from second to third in the championship, were considered clear favorites in the match against Spain, who appeared for the first time at this level, the hosts were regularly threatened by attacks and had to tire themselves to achieve a 3-0 victory.

Apparently, the result was better than the game, and the representatives of the Lithuanian team did not argue too much with that.

“Personally, it’s fun to return to the national team. I didn’t play in the last championship, so I miss my friends, – said Tadas Kumeliauskas, who was recognized as the best player of the match in the Lithuanian team. “It’s nice to start with a win, there are 4 games to go, but it’s always important to start well when you dream of gold medals.”

Apparently, the 33-year-old striker, who during his career played in higher-level clubs in Latvia, Finland, Germany, was the first to control the emotions raised by the walls of his home – the Lithuanian national team played again in such a tournament as the hosts after a six-year break.

“We have good youth, but maybe you were more nervous? We, the veterans, played more calmly, maybe we made fewer mistakes, – said T. Kumeliausias. “It’s nice to start with a goal.”

T.Kumeliauskos, Paulius Gintautas and Laisvydas Kudrevičius consolidated the advantage of the Lithuanian national team with goals after the first half ended 0:0.

The Spaniards made a flurry of dangerous attacks in all three quarters, but Mantas Armalis was the rock that repeatedly saved the home team and kept a clean sheet.

“It’s nice to start the tournament like this. We played very well in some places, but the goal is to keep improving the game, – assessed Ronas Pasco, coach of the Lithuanian national team. “We could have finished the attacks better, but overall we performed well.”

The 52-year-old Canadian also noticed that some of his men were more nervous this time.

“There’s a lot of emotion waiting for the first game, sometimes it’s two-fold – you’re going through the excitement, but some of the guys were feeling the pressure as well. It’s good that we won the first game,” said R. Pasco.

And T.Kumeliauskas, when asked what score he would rate the team’s game, just shook his head and repeated that neither the grades nor the goal difference matter much.

“The goal was to win. The first match is when you need to de-stress. The result is not very important,” said the forward, who became the Lithuanian champion this year with Elektrėnai Airwell-Energija.

On Sunday, a more serious challenge awaits the Lithuanians – the Estonian team, which so far has risen to the highest level in the third division in 2018, when they won bronze in Kaunas.

The Lithuanian ice hockey players then, with Dainius Zubrum and Darius Kasparaičius, won the gold of the tournament and were promoted to the IA level, from which they dropped last year.

“Estonians are always tall, physical guys, they play harder, but there are also technical players,” said T. Kumeliauskas, a veteran of the Lithuanian national team.

In preparation for the tournament, the Lithuanians held two rehearsals – they beat Estonia 3:1 and lost to Ukraine 2:5.

These national teams met on Saturday in the latest match, when the Lithuanian ice hockey players were already resting at the hotel.

“We will go to rest, and the coaches will do their work and present an analysis the next day – we don’t have the goal of being cold in the arena for two hours”, said T.Kumeliauskas when asked if he will watch the opponents.

The match with Estonia will take place on Sunday from 16:00. when not even a day has passed since the first match.

“It’s a big challenge when you have to play the next day,” said Lithuanian team coach R. Pasco. – It will be necessary to recover quickly and prepare. But we have worked well in recent weeks, so we hope that the hard work will pay off, the players’ bodies will have time to rest.”

Just over 2,000 people watched the first match at Twinsbet Arena in Vilnius. fans, but the organizers of the championship, who offer tickets for 15-70 euros each, hope that the hype will be greater, as it was before during tournaments in Lithuania.

“Our goal is to play, of course, it’s always more fun in front of full stands. Maybe more will come in the course of the championship, if we play well”, hoped T.Kumeliauskas.