Wikipedia - HK Kurbads
HK Kurbads is a professional ice hockey team based in Riga, Latvia. It is a member of the Latvian Hockey Higher League and also compete for the Latvian Cup, winning Latvian Hockey League in 2016–17 and 2017–18 season. The team played its home games at Vidzemes Ledus Halle in Ogre until 2017 when the new arena was built in Rumbula, Riga.
History
HK Kurbads was founded by Andis Pikans, Janis Siraks and Gints Zviedritis in 1996 as an amateur team and played in various amateur championships until 2013 when they joined the Latvian Hockey Higher League. The team started playing its home games at Ogre.
In their debut season, as several stronger players joined the team they won the regular season, yet lost in the play-off final to HK Prizma.
For the 2014-15 season, the team was joined by players like Rodrigo Laviņš and Aleksandrs Macijevskis and despite finishing only 3rd in the regular season, they reached the finals again, just to lose to HK Mogo in the series 2 to 4.
In 2016, the team reached the finals for the third time and this time lost to HK Liepāja in the series 3 to 4. That was the first time in history for a Latvian Hockey League final requiring all 7 games to decide the winner. As for the 2015–16 Latvian Cup, which was resurrected, Kurbads managed to reach the finals, where they lost to HK Mogo.
In 2017, Kurbads reached the finals for the 4th time and this time, despite being down 0 to 3 games in the series, managed to come back and win against HK Mogo, therefore winning their first championship and qualifying for next season's IIHF Continental Cup. In the Latvian Cup, they reached the finals and lost to HK Mogo for the second time 2:3 OT.
In next season they debuted in IIHF Continental Cup by winning all 3 games in Group B at home, but falling short in next round by narrowly losing, in what was the deciding game, to the Sheffield Steelers with a score of 2–4 and thus finishing 3rd in group and failing to advance. In Latvian Cup they reached finals again, yet lost once again in a thrilling game to HK Mogo 2:3 OT. In 2018, despite finishing the regular season in 3rd place, they managed to sweep the finals against HK Zemgale/JLSS to win the league title for the second year in a row.
HK Kurbads is known for its strong defensive play and physical style of hockey. The team's roster is made up of talented Latvian players as well as international players from countries such as Canada, the United States, and Sweden. The team's home arena is the Kurbads Ice Arena, which has a seating capacity of 1,000 spectators.
Off the ice, HK Kurbads is involved in various community initiatives and works to promote the sport of ice hockey in Latvia. The team also has a strong social media presence and engages with fans through various platforms.
Overall, HK Kurbads is a highly respected ice hockey team in Latvia and continues to be a competitive force in the Latvian Hockey Higher League.