Swiss Player Assessed 10-Minute Misconduct for...Chewing on His Mouthguard?
Tuesday's action between Switzerland and Latvia featured a tight contest between two of the 2023 World Junior Championship's underdogs. Switzerland pulled off a major upset over Finland on the opening day of tournament play, while Latvia played the United States tied until the third period.
Both teams wanted this one badly from the start, that much was obvious. Halfway through the second period, Swiss forward Mischa Ramel was assessed a 10-minute misconduct penalty for Delay of Game. Ramel reportedly had an equipment issue, which one writer described as 'chewing on his mouthguard.'
After trading goals early, Latvia took the lead on a second period powerplay, courtesy of Darels Dukurs. They would carry that lead into the third, despite being badly outshot by the Swiss.
Switzerland tied the game with just under two minutes left in the game with the extra attacker, thanks to Rodwin Dionicio.
Overtime
The extra period featured several back-and-forth chances, but both teams were committed to playing airtight defense. Plus, both goalies came ready to play, stopping 44 of 48 total shots in this game, not to mention an additional 11 out of 14 shootout attempts.
After a scoreless opening round of the shootout - in which both goalies continued to steal the show - Latvia's Dans Locmelis opened the scoring, but a pair of Swiss goals from Attilio Biasca and Liekit Reichle combined with a failure to answer awarded the win to Team Switzerland. Their second win in as many games, the Swiss have their best start ever at the World Juniors.
While Latvia has yet to be blown out, which could be considered a W in itself. Both teams have the day off on Wednesday after playing on back-to-back days. Latvia has Finland (11am ET), and Switzerland has the United States (4pm ET).
