Team Latvia overwhelms Leon Draisaitl’s Germany 4-3 to win their first Olympic game since Sochi 2014

Latvia pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics on Saturday morning. Despite facing a German roster featuring Leon Draisaitl, Moritz Seider and Philipp Grubauer, Latvia rallied for a 4-3 victory at Rho Arena in Group C action.

The win marks Latvia's first Olympic victory since Sochi 2014, when the Latvians reached the quarterfinals and gave Canada all it could handle in a 2-1 loss. Twelve years later, Latvia proved it still has the ability to compete with the world's best.

Dans Locmelis remained MVP with two masterful goals for Latvia

Dans Locmelis led the way with two goals for Latvia. The Boston Bruins prospect is projected as a potential top-five to top-10 pick in the upcoming NHL Draft and showed exactly why on the Olympic stage against elite competition.

Lukas Reichel opened the scoring for Germany in the first period before Locmelis answered to tie the game 1-1. Lukas Kalble restored Germany's lead about a minute later to make it 2-1, but Latvia refused to fold against the heavily favored Germans.

The Latvians eventually seized control and built a 4-2 lead late in the third period. Germany pulled within 4-3 in the final minutes but could not complete the comeback despite the late push.

Alberts Smits also recorded his first point of the tournament for Latvia in the victory. The win throws Group C wide open, with all four teams still in contention heading into the final day of preliminary round play.

Germany entered the tournament with high expectations behind Draisaitl, who ranks fifth in the NHL with 80 points this season. The Edmonton Oilers center is the best NHL player in German history with 1,036 career points, more than double the next closest German player.

But even Draisaitl's talent could not prevent the upset against a determined Latvian squad that capitalized on its opportunities. The loss damages Germany's chances of winning Group C and earning a bye into the quarterfinals.

Latvia faces Denmark on Sunday at 1:10 p.m. ET while Germany takes on the United States at 3:10 p.m. ET to conclude preliminary round action in Group C. If they take this win, they might have a chance to get a better standing for the quarterfinals for the next round of the tournament.


Get the latest ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 updates, including the full schedule, teams, live scores, points table, and key series stats such as top run-scorers and wicket-takers.