# 2008–09 Dinamo Riga season

The 2008–09 Dinamo Riga season was the first season of the franchise in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). This was also inaugural season for the league. Dinamo Riga played most of their home games in Arena Riga, however some matches were held in other locations. Dinamo Riga were playing in Kharlamov division along with Avangard Omsk, Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, HC Lada Togliatti, HC Sibir Novosibirsk and Amur Khabarovsk.

## Pre-season

As it is the first season for the franchise, Dinamo Riga had to gather their roster from nothing. Most of the team players are members of Latvia national team. First players for the team were announced on April 25. First foreign player to join the team was Czech Filip Novák on June 26. The team roster was completed, when the last two legionaries Duvie Westcott and Mark Hartigan joined the team on July 22.
Dinamo Riga started their pre-season training camp on July 15. The camp continued till July 28 and took place in Liptovský Mikuláš, Slovakia. The first game in franchise history was held on July 25, when Dinamo Riga defeated MHk 32 Liptovský Mikuláš in a shootout after a 1-1 in regular time.
On August 2 Dinamo played their first home game, when they won against Amur Khabarovsk in Riga. Then at the "Inbox.lv hall" in Riga, Dinamo won the Inbox.lv tournament, in which they defeated Dinamo Minsk and Barys Astana. In August the team also participated in the Tampere Cup (Tampere) and the Governor's Cup (Mytishchi).

### Results

* Green background indicates win. (3 points)
* Red indicates loss. (0 points)
* Beige background indicates overtime/shootout win. (2 points)
* White background indicates overtime/shootout loss (1 point).
2008–09 pre-season games :

## Regular season

Dinamo Riga will play 56 games in regular season. The season will begin on September 2, 2008, it is coming to close on February 26, 2008.

### Division standings

as before 25 October 2008
| Kharlamov division | GP | W | L | OTW | OTL | GF | GA | PTS |
| Avangard Omsk | 20 | 11 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 69 | 55 | 36 |
| Lokomotiv Yaroslavl | 18 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 51 | 36 | 35 |
| Dinamo Riga | 20 | 9 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 49 | 60 | 32 |
| Lada Togliatti | 19 | 6 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 45 | 50 | 24 |
| Sibir Novosibirsk | 19 | 5 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 45 | 57 | 24 |
| Amur Khabarovsk | 21 | 4 | 13 | 2 | 2 | 38 | 64 | 18 |

### League standings

as before 25 October 2008
| Kontinental Hockey League | GP | W | L | OTW | OTL | GF | GA | PTS |
| Atlant Mytishchi | 20 | 14 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 77 | 40 | 48 |
| Salavat Yulaev Ufa | 19 | 13 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 70 | 32 | 44 |
| Ak Bars Kazan | 19 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 65 | 50 | 39 |
| Avangard Omsk | 20 | 11 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 69 | 55 | 36 |
| Lokomotiv Yaroslavl | 18 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 51 | 36 | 35 |
| CSKA Moscow | 18 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 55 | 42 | 35 |
| Metallurg Magnitogorsk | 20 | 9 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 56 | 53 | 34 |
| Traktor Chelyabinsk | 19 | 9 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 54 | 55 | 33 |
| Dynamo Moscow | 18 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 51 | 39 | 33 |
| Spartak Moscow | 21 | 8 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 75 | 68 | 33 |
| Dinamo Riga | 20 | 9 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 49 | 60 | 32 |
| Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk | 20 | 9 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 50 | 50 | 32 |
| Barys Astana | 21 | 7 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 65 | 59 | 32 |
| Severstal Cherepovets | 19 | 8 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 56 | 61 | 31 |
| SKA Saint Petersburg | 19 | 7 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 44 | 34 | 29 |
| Metallurg Novokuznetsk | 21 | 6 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 57 | 57 | 26 |
| Lada Togliatti | 19 | 6 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 45 | 50 | 24 |
| Sibir Novosibirsk | 19 | 5 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 45 | 57 | 24 |
| MVD Moscow Oblast | 20 | 5 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 47 | 60 | 22 |
| Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod | 20 | 6 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 46 | 60 | 20 |
| Amur Khabarovsk | 21 | 4 | 13 | 2 | 2 | 38 | 64 | 18 |
| Vityaz Chekhov | 20 | 2 | 9 | 2 | 7 | 47 | 71 | 17 |
| Dinamo Minsk | 20 | 3 | 14 | 2 | 1 | 36 | 72 | 14 |
| Khimik Voskresensk | 19 | 3 | 11 | 0 | 5 | 34 | 57 | 14 |

### Results

* Green background indicates win. (3 points)
* Red indicates loss. (0 points)
* Beige background indicates overtime/shootout win. (2 points)
* White background indicates overtime/shootout loss (1 point).
2008–09 game log :

## Player stats
### Skaters

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| Marcel Hossa | 20 | 12 | 7 | 19 | 0 | 49 |
| Matt Ellison | 20 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 0 | 39 |
| Mark Hartigan | 19 | 8 | 4 | 12 | –1 | 34 |
| Filip Novák | 19 | 2 | 6 | 8 | –3 | 22 |
| Aleksandrs Ņiživijs | 20 | 2 | 6 | 8 | –6 | 4 |
| Aleksejs Širokovs | 20 | 2 | 6 | 8 | –2 | 8 |
| Duvie Westcott | 19 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 0 | 47 |
| Mārtiņš Cipulis | 20 | 1 | 5 | 6 | –6 | 8 |
| Miķelis Rēdlihs | 19 | 5 | 0 | 5 | –4 | 8 |
| Lauris Dārziņš | 20 | 1 | 4 | 5 | –2 | 22 |
| Ronald Petrovický | 19 | 2 | 2 | 4 | –2 | 33 |
| Rodrigo Laviņš | 20 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 12 |
| Ģirts Ankipāns | 17 | 2 | 1 | 3 | –2 | 4 |
| Viktors Bļinovs | 18 | 2 | 1 | 3 | –2 | 8 |
| Juris Štāls | 14 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 8 |
| Atvars Tribuncovs | 16 | 1 | 2 | 3 | –3 | 38 |
| Armands Bērziņš | 9 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 31 |
| Oļegs Sorokins | 12 | 0 | 2 | 2 | –2 | 16 |
| Aigars Cipruss | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | –2 | 4 |
| Guntis Galviņš | 15 | 0 | 1 | 1 | –4 | 8 |
| Maksims Širokovs | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | –1 | 0 |
| Krišjānis Rēdlihs | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | –1 | 4 |
| Sergejs Pečura | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ronalds Cinks | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Agris Saviels | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Kristaps Sotnieks | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | –4 | 6 |

### Goaltenders

Note: GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; OTW = Overtime/shootout wins; OTL = Overtime/shootout losses; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; Sv% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average
| Player | GP | Min | W | L | OTW | OTL | GA | SO | Sv% | GAA |
| Sergejs Naumovs | 11 | 588:15 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 33 | 0 | 0.899 | 3.37 |
| Edgars Masaļskis | 8 | 406:40 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 18 | 1 | 0.915 | 2.66 |
| Daniel Sperrle | 4 | 219:38 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0.926 | 1.91 |

## Roster

Goaltenders :
| # | Player | Pos. | Catches | Height | Weight | Place of birth |
| 30 | Sergejs Naumovs | G | L | 178 cm | 78 kg | Riga, Latvia |
| 35 | Martin Prusek | G | L | 185 cm | 78 kg | Ostrava, Czech Republic |
| 39 | Ervīns Muštukovs | G | R | 188 cm | 68 kg | Riga, Latvia |
| 40 | Uģis Avotiņš | G | | 185 cm | 70 kg | Riga, Latvia |
Defencemen :
| # | Player | Pos. | Shoots | Height | Weight | Place of birth |
| 2 | C Rodrigo Laviņš | D | L | 180 cm | 84 kg | Riga, Latvia |
| 4 | Agris Saviels | D | L | 187 cm | 90 kg | Jūrmala, Latvia |
| 5 | Guntis Galviņš | D | L | 187 cm | 86 kg | Talsi, Latvia |
| 9 | Krišjānis Rēdlihs | D | L | 189 cm | 86 kg | Riga, Latvia |
| 11 | Kristaps Sotnieks | D | L | 180 cm | 80 kg | Riga, Latvia |
| 13 | Maksims Širokovs | D | L | 181 cm | 87 kg | Riga, Latvia |
| 14 | Filip Novák | D | L | 182 cm | 82 kg | Budweis, S. Bohemia, Czech Republic |
| 15 | Duvie Westcott | D | R | 180 cm | 89 kg | Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada |
| 23 | A Atvars Tribuncovs | D | L | 188 cm | 100 kg | Ogre, Latvia |
| 28 | Oļegs Sorokins | D | L | 178 cm | 80 kg | Riga, Latvia |
Forwards :
| # | Player | Pos. | Shoots | Height | Weight | Place of birth |
| 3 | Ronalds Cinks | RW | L | 183 cm | 80 kg | Riga, Latvia |
| 6 | Juris Štāls | RW | L | 191 cm | 91 kg | Riga, Latvia |
| 8 | Viktors Bļinovs | F | L | 178 cm | 80 kg | Riga, Latvia |
| 10 | Lauris Dārziņš | LW | R | 190 cm | 90 kg | Riga, Latvia |
| 12 | Mark Hartigan | C | L | 185 cm | 93 kg | Fort St. John, British Columbia, Canada |
| 17 | Aleksandrs Ņiživijs | RW | R | 177 cm | 77 kg | Riga, Latvia |
| 19 | Miķelis Rēdlihs | F | L | 179 cm | 78 kg | Riga, Latvia |
| 21 | Armands Bērziņš | C | L | 192 cm | 90 kg | Riga, Latvia |
| 22 | Toms Hartmanis | C | L | 183 cm | 82 kg | Ogre, Latvia |
| 24 | Aleksejs Širokovs | C | R | 182 cm | 86 kg | Riga, Latvia |
| 27 | Ronald Petrovický | RW | R | 183 cm | 86 kg | Žilina, Žilina, Slovakia |
| 29 | Aigars Cipruss | LW | L | 178 cm | 80 kg | Riga, Latvia |
| 47 | Mārtiņš Cipulis | LW | L | 180 cm | 81 kg | Riga, Latvia |
| 75 | Ģirts Ankipāns | LW | L | 186 cm | 96 kg | Riga, Latvia |
| 81 | Marcel Hossa | LW | L | 192 cm | 100 kg | Ilava, Trenčín, Slovakia |
| 83 | A Matt Ellison | C | R | 183 cm | 87 kg | Duncan, British Columbia, Canada |
| 87 | Gints Meija | F | L | 183 cm | 72 kg | Riga, Latvia |