Other events in Baltic States

Legendary Latvian defenseman Sandis Ozolins will suit up for the Latvian national men's ice hockey team for the upcoming Sochi Winter Olympics, according to information obtained by LETA.

The veteran defenseman came out of retirement from the national team last February to help Latvia qualify for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.

This will be the third Olympics for 41-year-old Ozolins, who is likely to captain the Latvian team.

Ozolins, who currently plays for Latvian ice hockey club Riga ''Dinamo'' in the KHL, has represented Latvia in two previous Olympic Games – Salt Lake City (2002) and Torino (2006), and has also played for Latvia in two World Championships.

Ozolins has played in 35 games for the national team, scoring nine goals and making 26 assists.

In his 15-year NHL career, Ozolins won the Stanley Cup once – in 1996 with the Colorado "Avalanche". Ozolins has also participated in seven NHL All-Star Games.

Ozolins has played in a total of 875 NHL games in his career, during which he scored 167 goals and made 397 assists.

So far this season, Ozolins has scored four goals and made 16 assists for ''Dinamo''.

LETA also reported, the Latvian team will open the Sochi Olympic Games with a game against Switzerland on February 12 next year. On February 14, Latvia will take on the Czech Republic, and February 15 – Sweden.

There will be three groups competing in the preliminary round of the Sochi hockey tournament. Latvia is in Group C together with the Czech Republic, Sweden and Switzerland.

This will be the fourth Winter Olympics in a row for the Latvian ice hockey team.