| HK Mogo/RSU | |
|---|---|
 | |
| City | Riga, Latvia |
| League | OHL |
| Founded | 2014 |
| Home arena | Mogo ice hall (capacity: 600[1]) |
| Colours | Dark blue, lime green, white |
| General manager | Elvis Želubovskis |
| Head coach | Ģirts Ankipāns |
| Captain | Renārs Demiters[2] |
| Website | www |
| Franchise history | |
| 2014–2020 | HK Mogo |
| 2020–2024 | HK Mogo/LSPA |
| 2024–present | HK Mogo/RSU |
| Championships | |
| Playoff championships | 4 (2015,2019,2024,2025) |
HK Mogo/RSU is a Latvian professionalice hockey team that plays in theLatvian Hockey Higher League, the top tier of the sport in Latvia. The team is based inRiga and play their home games at theMogo ice hall.
HK Mogo was founded in 2014 by the Latvian companyMogo Finance and joined theLatvian Hockey Higher League for the start of the2014–15 season.[3][4] Mogo's debut season was a strong one, finishing in first place with 73 points, seven points ahead of the second placedHK Liepāja.[5] As a result of their first-place finish in the regular season Mogo advanced straight to the playoff semifinals, bypassing the first round.[6] They made it to the final, after beatingHK Zemgale/JLSS in the semi's,[6] where they faced-off againstHK Kurbads in a best of seven series, in which Mogo were triumphant,[6] winning the championship in their debut season. Thefollowing season saw Mogo finish in 2nd place in the regular season as they looked to defend their championship; they made it to the play-off semi finals before losing to cross-town rivals HK Kurbads.[7] Mogo would however win the bronze medal game againstHK Prizma, allowing them to collect their second medal in as many years.[8] The2016–17 season saw Mogo finish top of the table in the regular season, ahead of second place team HK Kurbads by 6 points. Kurbads would have a measure of revenge however, as they beat Mogo in the play-off final, with Mogo having to settle for the silver medal.[9] Mogo would again finish the season in 1st place during the2017–18 season of the newly renamed Optibet Hockey League, which saw them lead 2nd place teamHK Liepāja by 12 points, however, they lost in the play-off semi-final toHK Zemgale/JLSS who would subsequently lose in the final to HK Kurbads.[10] The following season Mogo, who strengthened their side by signing formerKHL playerKaspars Saulietis in the off-season,[11] finished in 1st place for the third year running, after securing a comfortable lead at the top of the table - 18 points clear of the second place Zemgale. They would see further success in the play-offs, beating rivals Kurbads in overtime during Game 6 of the finals to claim their 2nd Latvian championship.[12][13] In the off-season Mogo further strengthened their team by signing 3-time Olympian and KHL veteranKrišjānis Rēdlihs,[14] who helped the team to a third place finish in the regular season, before the play-offs were cancelled due toCOVID-19 pandemic.[15]
In 2020 Mogo formed a partnership with theLatvian Academy of Sport Education and a result the team changed their name toHK Mogo/LSPA[2][16]
In 2015 theLatvian Ice Hockey Federation announced the re-launch of theLatvian Cup which had been dormant since 2008, and that it would be open to allLatvian Hockey Higher League and1.Līga clubs.[17] Mogo, along with HK Kurbads, advanced straight to the second round of the 2015–16 competition as a result of being the finalists in the 2014–15 Latvian Hockey Higher League playoffs.[17] Mogo made it to final, having beaten bothDaugavpils/LDZ Cargo of the 1.Līga and HK Zemgale/JLSS in the previous rounds,[18] where they faced HK Kurbads. Mogo would beat Kurbads 4–3 atArena Riga,[19] having been trailing the game until midway through the third period.[20] The 2016/17 Cup again saw Kurbads vs Mogo in the final, with Mogo again being victorious, beating Kurbads in overtime 3-2.[21] In the 2017/18 edition of the tournament, the two rivals would meet in the finals for the third year in a row,[22] with Mogo once again being triumphant, with the game finishing the same way it did the year previously; with a 3-2 overtime victory.[23] Following this edition of the Cup, the competition was once again discontinued.
As a result of winning the Latvian Hockey Higher League play-offs in 2015, Mogo qualified for the2015–16 IIHF Continental Cup where they entered in the second round.[24] Mogo was drawn in Group B withCH Jaca of Spain, Slovenian sideHDD Jesenice and Hungarian'sMiskolci Jegesmedve. Mogo finished the round-robin Group B tournament in first place after winning all three of their games,[25] and advanced to the third round where they were drawn in Group D against Italian outfitHC Asiago, Danish championsHerning Blue Fox andYertis Pavlodar from Kazakhstan. Mogo failed to win any of their three games in the third round, finishing in last place and failing to qualify for the final round.[26] HK Mogo would return to continental competition for the2019–20 Continental Cup as a result of winning their second Latvian championship.[27] They were placed in Group C alongside Ukrainian teamHC Donbass,Corona Brașov of Romania and Serbian outfitCrvena Zvezda Belgrade. Mogo beat both Corona Brașov and Crvena Zvezda, however, ultimately lost in a shoot-out to Donbass, resulting in Mogo finishing in 2nd place and not progressing in the competition.[28]
In 2020 HK Mogo took place in the inauguralBaltic Hockey League, a competition made up of two teams from each of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. They finished second in their group after beatingKaunas Hockey, however, their final game againstTartu Välk 494 was cancelled after 4 of the Välk 494 squad tested positive forCOVID-19.[29] Despite this, both Välk 494 and HK Mogo qualified for the final round, as both teams had already beaten the Lithuanian team. The finals of the tournament were scheduled to take place in February 2021, having been postponed from December 2020 to several HK Mogo players contracting the virus.[30] In early February the final round was again postponed due to the pandemic, with the date to be announced when the Covid situation improves.[31]
Due to both teams being based in Riga, and the two sides often facing each other in the play-off and Latvian cup finals, a rivalry between the two developed, with even the regular season meetings carrying some increased significance.[7]
Updated February 17, 2021.[2]
| Goaltenders | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Player | Catches | Acquired | Place of Birth | |
| 33 |  | Henrijs Ančs | L | 2014 | - |
| 27 | | Renārs Kazanovs | L | 2014 | Riga,Latvia |
| 30 | | Artūrs Šilovs | L | 2020 | Riga,Latvia |
| Defencemen | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Player | Shoots | Acquired | Place of Birth | ||
| 26 | | Bruno Bakanovs | L | 2018 | Dreiliņi,Latvia | |
| 36 | | Kristaps Bazevičs | L | 2020 | Riga,Latvia | |
| 23 | | Jānis Bulītis | L | 2016 | Riga,Latvia | |
| 15 | | Kārlis Čukste | L | 2020 | Riga,Latvia | |
| 72 | | Renārs Demiters(C) | L | 2018 | Riga,Latvia | |
| 29 | | Aleksandrs Frīdenbergs | L | 2019 | - | |
| 5 | | Andrejs Lavrenovs(A) | L | 2014 | Ogre,Latvia | |
| 55 | | Krišs Lipsbergs(A) | L | 2016 | Riga,Latvia | |
| 91 | | Dāvis Orniņš | R | 2020 | - | |
| 46 | | Krišjānis Rēdlihs | L | 2020 | Riga,Latvia | |
| 13 | | Edgars Ozoliņš | L | 2020 | Riga,Latvia | |
| 87 | | Tomass Zeile | L | 2020 | Riga,Latvia | |
| Forwards | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Player | Shoots | Position | Acquired | Place of Birth | |
| 9 | | Gatis Gricinskis | L | C/RW | 2018 | Talsi,Latvia |
| 88 | | Jānis Grigaļūns | L | F | - | - |
| 25 | | Ričards Grīnbergs | L | W | 2020 | Valmiera,Latvia |
| 88 | | Renārs Krastenbergs | L | C/LW | 2020 | Jelgava,Latvia |
| 4 | | Edgars Kurmis | L | RW | 2014 | Riga,Latvia |
| 11 | | Miks Lipsbergs | L | RW | 2019 | Riga,Latvia |
| 26 | | Dans Ločmelis | L | F | 2020 | Jelgava,Latvia |
| 28 | | Vladimirs Mamonovs | R | LW | 2015 | Riga,Latvia |
| 74 | | Daniels Mūrnieks | R | C | 2020 | Riga,Latvia |
| 16 | | Toms Opelts | L | F | 2018 | - |
| 18 | | Jānis Ozoliņš | L | F | 2015 | Riga,Latvia |
| 47 | | Lauris Rancevs | L | W | 2020 | Riga,Latvia |
| 61 | | Kaspars Saulietis | L | RW/LW | 2018 | Riga,Latvia |
| 44 |  | Robert Schremp | L | C | 2020 | Fulton,United States |
| 22 | | Andris Siksnis | L | LW | 2015 | Riga,Latvia |
| 7 | | Jānis Straupe | R | C/W | 2020 | Riga,Latvia |
| 21 | | Patriks Trasūns | L | RW | 2020 | Bauska,Latvia |
| 17 | | Elviss Želubovskis | R | RW/C | 2014 | Riga,Latvia |
| 12 | | Juris Ziemiņš | L | LW | 2016 | Riga,Latvia |
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 | OTL | Pts | GF | GA | Finish | Playoffs |
| 2015–16 | Latvian Hockey Higher League | 30 | 19 | 5 | — | 4 | 2 | 67 | 169 | 83 | 2nd | Bronze medal |
| 2016–17 | Latvian Hockey Higher League | 30 | 21 | 5 | — | 3 | 1 | 70 | 196 | 94 | 1st | Final loss |
| 2017–18 | Optibet Hockey League | 30 | 21 | 4 | — | 4 | 1 | 72 | 147 | 72 | 1st | Semi-final loss |
| 2018–19 | Optibet Hockey League | 36 | 25 | 5 | — | 3 | 3 | 84 | 165 | 79 | 1st | Champions |
| 2019–20 | Optibet Hockey League | 35 | 22 | 9 | — | 2 | 2 | 50 | 150 | 101 | 3rd | Playoffs cancelled |
These are the top five scorers in HK Mogo history.[3]
Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points
| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts |
| Elvis Želubovskis | F | 212 | 119 | 124 | 243 |
| Vladimirs Mamonovs | F | 176 | 71 | 85 | 156 |
| Andris Siksnis | F | 176 | 69 | 77 | 146 |
| Juris Ziemiņš | F | 155 | 62 | 65 | 127 |
| Miks Lipsbergs | F | 109 | 57 | 69 | 126 |
Penalty minutes:Elvis Želubovskis, 411