Poland took the lead in three periods and the Latvians tied the game three times. Five minutes before the end of regulation time, the Latvian team took the lead for the first time, but could not hold on.
The goals for Latvia were scored by Roberts Mamčics, Rodrigo Ābols, Kaspars Daugaviņš and Rihards Bukarts.
In the group round, Latvia will play against France (May 12), Kazakhstan (May 14) , Germany (May 15), Sweden (May 18), Slovakia (May 19) and USA (May 21). The four strongest teams in the group will advance to the quarter-finals. The medal winners will be announced in Prague on May 26.
All World Championship matches can be seen live on LSM.lv.