At one point things looked exceptionally grim with the Swedes taking a three-goal lead, but the Latvia team improved as the game progressed and fought back gamely to record a narrow loss that gives some hope for the future.
The next match will be against Finland on Friday, and then on February 13 Slovakia will be the opponents. Both will be broadcast live on LTV7 and LSM.lv.
The Beijing Olympics take place from February 4 to 20. Latvia is represented in the Olympics by 57 athletes in 11 sports.