Other events in Baltic States

At the Hockey World Championship next year, Latvian national hockey team will play the group stage matches in Slovakia's Bratislava, including against this year's finalists Sweden and Switzerland.

The other teams in Latvia's group will be Russia, Czech Republic, Norway, Austria, and Italy.

Group A, which will play its matches in Kosice, will include Slovakia, Canada, United States, Finland, Germany, Denmark, France, and Great Britain.

The 2018 World Championship will take place May 10 to May 26 in Slovakia's Bratislava and Kosice.

The groups are based on the International Ice Hockey Federation's (IIHF) 2018 Sport Regulations and the 2018 IIHF Men's World Ranking established following the 2018 Hockey World Championship with one horizontal swap to accommodate special organizational needs and geographical considerations.

As reported, Latvian national hockey team concluded this year's World Championship in overall eighth place after losing a close one to Sweden 2:3 in the quarterfinals of the tournament. Sweden won gold medals, Switzerland placed second, the United States third and Canada fourth.

Slovakia with the cities of Bratislava and Kosice will host the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship for the second time after 2011. Each venue will host 28 games in the preliminary round and two quarterfinals. The final weekend with the semifinals and the medal games will be held in Bratislava.