HS Rīga explained

Team:HS Rīga
Colour:
  1. FFFFFF; border-top:#0033A0 5px solid; border-bottom:#F5A706 5px solid;
Colour Text:
  1. 000000
Logosize:215px
Founded:1999[1]
City:Riga, Latvia
Arena:Hokeja halle Riga
Capacity:400[2]
League:OHL
Colours:Dark blue, gold, light blue, white
Gm:Renārs Freibergs
Coach:Oļegs Sorokins
Affiliates:HS Rīga (JAHL)[3]
Dates1:2004–2014
Name1:SK Rīga 18[4]
Dates2:2015–present
Name2:HS Rīga

HS Rīga (Latvian: Hokeja skola Rīga) is a Latvian professional ice hockey team that plays in the Latvian Hockey Higher League, the top tier of the sport in Latvia. The team is based in Riga and play their home games at the Hokeja halle Riga.

History

Hockey School Rīga was founded on November 30, 1999, and is overseen in part by Riga City Council.[1] As a hockey school, players undertake educational classes as well as hockey training; to this end HS Rīga has a boarding school attached to their training facility.[1] As a result of this, the majority of the players on HS Rīga's Optibet Hockey League squad are teenagers.[4] The schools first organised team competed under the name 'SK Rīga 18' in the 2004-05 LHL season, where they finished in last place. It wasn't until the 2008-09 season that the school fielded another side, this time finishing in 7th, whilst also competing in the Latvian U20's league, where they finished 3rd.[4] Between 2009-2014 the school exclusively fielded teams in a range of U18 and U20 leagues, including the Belarusian U18 league, which they won in 2011.[4]

Beginning in the 2015-16 season, under the moniker HS Rīga, the team again competed in Latvia's top tier, finishing 6th out of 7 teams. HS Rīga have competed in the Latvian top tier, now called the Optibet Hockey League for sponsorship reasons, ever since. Their best finish was 5th place in both 2017 & 2018, however, they have so far been unable to advance past the quarter-finals in post-season play.[4]

In addition to their senior, HS Rīga also field a number of junior sides, from U9 up to U17, as well as a team in the JAHL, the Junior Development Hockey League.[3]

Roster

Updated February 5, 2021.[5]

Goaltenders
width=5%Numberwidth=5%width=15%Playerwidth=8%Catcheswidth=9%Acquiredwidth=37%Place of Birth
40Olivers BantersonsR2019-
1Kārlis Beķeris-BrīvkalnsL2020-
32Linards LipskisL2019-
30Kārlis MežsargsL2020Riga, Latvia
31Artūrs ŠilovsL2017Riga, Latvia
Defencemen
width=5%Numberwidth=5%width=15%Playerwidth=8%Shootswidth=9%Acquiredwidth=37%Place of Birth
26Roberts AndersonsL2019Jelgava, Latvia
4L2020Riga, Latvia
7L2020Riga, Latvia
0Dāniels GontarsL2019Ogre, Latvia
11L202019Riga, Latvia
39L2020-
12L2018-
20R2019-
29L2019-
35L2020-
0L2019-
0L2020-
Forwards
width=5%Numberwidth=5%width=15%Playerwidth=8%Shootswidth=8%Positionwidth=9%Acquiredwidth=37%Place of Birth
28LF2019
41RF2019-
19RF2019-
18Jano Vanderhulstalign=center-F2017-
6Rainers DārziņšLF2020-
33Marks Ernests KaniņšLF2019-
24LF2020Ventspils, Latvia
36Daniels MūrnieksRC2020-
23Roberts PetrovičsLF2018-
16Pēteris PurmalisLF2019-
13Anrī RavinskisLF2020Riga, Latvia
17Berts Dāniels RudzītisLF2018-
4Ģirts SilkalnsRF2019-
34Rihards SimanovičsLF2020-
29Klāvs VeinbergsLF2019-
0Mārtiņš ŠulcsRLW/RW2019Kuldīga, Latvia

Season-by-season record

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes

Season League GP W L T OTW OTLPts GF GA Finish Playoffs
2015–16 30 4 24 0 2 14 59 164 6th Quarter-final loss
2016–17 30 11 16 0 3 36 131 36 5th Quarter-final loss
2017–18 30 3 20 3 4 19 82 168 5th Did not qualify
2018–19 36 12 18 4 2 46 84 127 6th Did not qualify
2019–20 20 4 16 0 2 10 53 101 6th Playoffs cancelled

Team records

Career

These are the top five scorers in HS Rīga history.[4]

Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points

Player Pos GP G A Pts
F 63 95 85 190
F 72 59 64 123
F 54 37 74 111
F 27 30 47 77
D 19 34 37 71

Penalty minutes: Ričards Briška, 128

Season

Regular season

Playoffs

Notable players

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Par mums. HS Rīga. latvian. February 9, 2021.
  2. Web site: Hokeja skola Rīga Ledus Halle. HockeyArenas.net. english. February 5, 2021.
  3. Web site: Hokeja skola Rīga. HS Rīga. latvian. February 10, 2021.
  4. Web site: Elite Prospects - HS Riga. EliteProspects.com. english. February 9, 2021.
  5. Web site: Komandas sastāvs. HS Rīga. latvian. February 5, 2021.