2023–24 Latvian Hockey League season
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| 2023–24 Latvian Hockey League | |
|---|---|
| League | Latvian Hockey Higher League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Duration | 8 September 2023 – 4 April 2024 |
| Number of teams | 9 |
| TV partner(s) | TV4, Sportacentrs.com, Sport1, hockey.lt |
| Regular season | |
| Playoffs | |
| Finals | |
| Champions | Mogo/LSPA |
| Runners-up | Zemgale/LBTU |
| Finals MVP | Linards Feldbergs (Mogo/LSPA) |
The 2023–24 Latvian Hockey League season was the 33rd season of the Latvian Hockey League, the top level of ice hockey in Latvia. This season was contested by nine teams – five from Latvia, three from Lithuania, and one from Estonia.[1][2] The regular season started on 8 September 2023 and was scheduled to end on 28 February 2024,[3] but ended on 29 February, after a game between Kurbads and HS Rīga on 17 February was postponed.[4] The playoffs started on 2 March and ended on 4 April.[5][6]
The playoffs format was changed for this season with top six teams in the regular advancing to the postseason. Two best teams directly qualified for the semifinals, while teams that finished from third to sixth played in a best-of-five quarterfinals series. In the semifinals and finals teams played in a best-of-seven series.[5]
Zemgale/LBTU were the defending champions and lost the finals series in five games to Mogo/LSPA who won their third title. Linards Feldbergs of Mogo/LSPA was named the most valuable player (MVP) of the finals series.[6]
Teams[edit]
| Team | City |
|---|---|
| 7bet-Hockey Punks |  Vilnius
|
| Airwell Energija | Elektrėnai
|
| HS Rīga |  Riga
|
| Kaunas City | Kaunas
|
| Kurbads | Riga
|
| Mogo/LSPA | Riga
|
| Panter |  Tallinn
|
| Prizma | Riga
|
| Zemgale/LBTU | Jelgava
|
Regular season[edit]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Final result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zemgale/LBTU | 32 | 25 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 180 | 68 | +112 | 55 | Advance to playoffs |
| 2 | Mogo/LSPA | 32 | 24 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 193 | 58 | +135 | 55 | |
| 3 | Kurbads | 32 | 19 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 154 | 81 | +73 | 47 | |
| 4 | Panter | 32 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 13 | 122 | 106 | +16 | 38 | |
| 5 | Prizma | 32 | 15 | 3 | 1 | 13 | 118 | 118 | 0 | 37 | |
| 6 | HS Rīga | 32 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 16 | 100 | 128 | −28 | 30 | |
| 7 | Kaunas City | 32 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 19 | 113 | 147 | −34 | 25 | |
| 8 | Airwell Energija | 32 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 26 | 69 | 190 | −121 | 12 | |
| 9 | 7bet-Hockey Punks | 32 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 28 | 59 | 212 | −153 | 5 |
Playoffs[edit]
| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Zemgale/LBTU | 4 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Panter | 1 | 5 | Prizma | 0 | |||||||||
| 5 | Prizma | 3 | 1 | Zemgale/LBTU | 1 | |||||||||
| 2 | Mogo/LSPA | 4 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Mogo/LSPA | 4 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Kurbads | 3 | 3 | Kurbads | 0 | |||||||||
| 6 | HS Rīga | 0 | ||||||||||||
Updated to match(es) played on 4 April 2024. Source: LHF.lv
Awards[edit]
Players of the Month[edit]
The league started to name three best players of the month starting with this season.[7]
| Month | First Star | Second Star | Third Star |
|---|---|---|---|
| October[8] | Mārtiņš Porejs (Zemgale/LBTU) |
Mārtiņš Karsums (Zemgale/LBTU) |
Artūrs Ozoliņš (Kurbads) |
| November[9] | Henrijs Ančs (Mogo/LSPA) |
Lauris Bajaruns (Mogo/LSPA) |
Tadas Kumeliauskas (Airwell Energija) |
| December[10] | Rasmus Kiik (Panter) |
Ondřej Machala (Kaunas City) |
Mariuss Bajaruns-Galejs (Zemgale/LBTU) |
| January[11] | Daniil Fursa (Panter) |
Denys Honcharenko (Kaunas City) |
Villem-Henrik Koitmaa (Panter) |
| February[12] | Lauris Bajaruns (Mogo/LSPA) |
Deivids Sarkanis (Mogo/LSPA) |
Kristers Ansons (Mogo/LSPA) |
Best players[edit]
The league named five best players at the end of the regular season:[13]
- Sergejs Žoltoks award (best forward) – Gints Meija (Mogo/LSPA)
- Kārlis Skrastiņš award (best defenceman) – Saveli Novikov (Panter)
- Uldis Opits award (best goaltender) – Henrijs Ančs (Mogo/LSPA)
- Elmārs Bauris award (top scorer) – Gints Meija (Mogo/LSPA)
- Aleksejs Auziņš award (best young player) – Olivers Mūrnieks (Mogo/LSPA)
References[edit]
- ^ "Optibet Hokeja Līgā sacentīsies visu trīs Baltijas valstu komandas". LHF.lv (in Latvian). 11 July 2023. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
- ^ Suveizda, Agris (11 July 2023). ""Kurbads" atgriežas, klāt arī igauņi – OHL apstiprina deviņu komandu dalību". Sportacentrs.com (in Latvian). Retrieved 5 August 2023.
- ^ "Zināms 2023./2024. gada sezonas OHL čempionāta kalendārs". LHF.lv (in Latvian). 16 August 2023. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
- ^ Brože, Ulvis (17 February 2024). "Ūdens apgādes problēmu dēļ nenotiks "Kurbada" un HS "Rīga" duelis". Sportacentrs.com (in Latvian). Retrieved 26 February 2024.
- ^ a b "Zināms "Optibet" hokeja līgas "play-off" kalendārs". Sportazinas.com (in Latvian). 15 February 2024. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
- ^ a b Justovičs, Kārlis (4 April 2024). ""Mogo" atvaira jelgavnieku centienus un izcīna trešo Latvijas čempiones titulu". Sportacentrs.com (in Latvian). Retrieved 5 April 2024.
- ^ Brože, Ulvis (2 November 2023). "Čempiones aizsargs Porejs atzīts par OHL oktobra labāko spēlētāju". Sportacentrs.com (in Latvian). Retrieved 4 November 2023.
- ^ "Mārtiņš Porejs atzīts par OHL mēneša MVP". LHF.lv (in Latvian). 2 November 2023. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
- ^ "Henrijs Ančs - OHL novembra mēneša MVP". LHF.lv (in Latvian). 1 December 2023. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
- ^ "Igaunijas hokejists Kīks atzīts par OHL decembra mēneša MVP". LHF.lv (in Latvian). 4 January 2024. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
- ^ "OHL mēneša MVP - Igaunijas kluba uzbrucējs Fursa". LHF.lv (in Latvian). 2 February 2024. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
- ^ "OHL februāra mēneša MVP – Lauris Bajaruns". LHF.lv (in Latvian). 29 February 2024. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
- ^ "Paziņoti OHL regulārā čempionāta labākie spēlētāji". LHF.lv (in Latvian). 4 March 2024. Retrieved 2 April 2024.