photo: © International Ice Hockey Federation / Joan Reyes
Kazakhstan has won the IIHF Women’s World Championship Division II Group A with a perfect 5-0 record after a dramatic 5-3 win over Spain in the final game of the tournament.
Spain and Kazakhstan were the clear class of the tournament, each winning their first four games inregulation and outscoring their opponents by wide margins – Spain 22-1 and Kazakhstan 23-6.
There was very little to choose between the teams in the decisive game. Three times Spain took the lead and three times Kazakhstan equalized. And then in the final minute with overtime looming, Alexandra Shegay carried the puck into the Spanish zone, made a move to freeze and beat a defender, then beat goaltender Alba Gonzalo between the legs for the tournament-winning goal with 38 seconds remaining. Pernesh Ashimova iced it with an empty-netter.
The win returns the Kazakhs to Division I Group B, where they played continuously from 2016 to 2023. Between 2001 and 2011, Kazakhstan played in six top-level Women’s Worlds and the 2022 Olympic Qualifiers in women’s ice hockey.
The loss was a bitter pill for Spain, the defacto host of the tournament held in neighbouring Canillo, Andora.
“It was really tough because we were leading for big parts of the game,” said Spanish captain Elena Alvarez. “Every time they tied it up, we went back in front, so we were basically touching the gold. We were almost there but in the last minute, they scored that goal and it changed the game for us.”
The Spaniards had never trailed the entire tournament until the final 38 seconds. They were eying their first-ever trip to Division I, but instead will return to Division II Group A for a fifth consecutive tournament.
“The team is frustrated but it is what it is,” Alvarez continued. “We played an amazing game and they did as well. You have to hold on until the end and we couldn’t. But this team will continue to rise because it’s a young team with a lot of talent and desire.”
In the first game on the final day, Mexico secured the bronze medal for the second year in a row with a 6-1 win over Belgium. The Mexicans Spain and Kazakhstan but kept the scores respectable and beat everybody else.
Mexico was led offensively by the Rojas twins, Joanna and Giovanna, who each scored four goals, tying them for third in the tournament with four other players.
Chinese Taipei and Iceland entered the tournament’s penultimate game tied on three points, and Chinese Taipei secured fourth place with a come-from-behind victory. Trailing 2-1 entering the last half of the third period, Yun-Chu Huang tied the score with 7:45 left in regulation time and Cristine Tzu-Shen Chao scored the winner on the power play with just 50 seconds remaining.
Making its debut at the Division II Group A level, Belgium finished sixth and will be relegated back to Group B in 2025. The Belgians’ closest game was their opener, which they dropped 3-1 to Chinese Taipei.
Belgium’s best player was forward Anke Steeno, who factored in on all six of her team’s goals in the tournament with three goals and three assists, which tied her for eighth overall in points. At 18 years of age, this was already the third Women’s Worlds for Steeno, who recorded 11 points in each of her previous two.
The top scorer of the tournament was Spanish forward Vega Munoz with nine points, followed by Spanish defender Bridget O’Hare with eight. Huang of Chinese Taipei and Anastassiya Orazbayeva of Kazakhstan were the co-leaders in goals with five. The top player in the faceoff circle was Silvia Bjorgvinsdottir of Iceland, who was 16-for-21 for 76.19 per cent.
Among goalies, Mexico’s Monika Renteria had the best save percentage at 94.12. Renteria was third in goals-against average (1.75), trailing Gonzalo (1.46) and Kazakhstan’s Arina Chshyokolova (1.56).
Chshyokolova was named Top Goalkeeper of the tournament, O’Hare was the Top Defender and the Top Forward was Shegay, the winning goal scorer.
Spain and Kazakhstan were the clear class of the tournament, each winning their first four games inregulation and outscoring their opponents by wide margins – Spain 22-1 and Kazakhstan 23-6.
There was very little to choose between the teams in the decisive game. Three times Spain took the lead and three times Kazakhstan equalized. And then in the final minute with overtime looming, Alexandra Shegay carried the puck into the Spanish zone, made a move to freeze and beat a defender, then beat goaltender Alba Gonzalo between the legs for the tournament-winning goal with 38 seconds remaining. Pernesh Ashimova iced it with an empty-netter.
The win returns the Kazakhs to Division I Group B, where they played continuously from 2016 to 2023. Between 2001 and 2011, Kazakhstan played in six top-level Women’s Worlds and the 2022 Olympic Qualifiers in women’s ice hockey.
The loss was a bitter pill for Spain, the defacto host of the tournament held in neighbouring Canillo, Andora.
“It was really tough because we were leading for big parts of the game,” said Spanish captain Elena Alvarez. “Every time they tied it up, we went back in front, so we were basically touching the gold. We were almost there but in the last minute, they scored that goal and it changed the game for us.”
The Spaniards had never trailed the entire tournament until the final 38 seconds. They were eying their first-ever trip to Division I, but instead will return to Division II Group A for a fifth consecutive tournament.
“The team is frustrated but it is what it is,” Alvarez continued. “We played an amazing game and they did as well. You have to hold on until the end and we couldn’t. But this team will continue to rise because it’s a young team with a lot of talent and desire.”
In the first game on the final day, Mexico secured the bronze medal for the second year in a row with a 6-1 win over Belgium. The Mexicans Spain and Kazakhstan but kept the scores respectable and beat everybody else.
Mexico was led offensively by the Rojas twins, Joanna and Giovanna, who each scored four goals, tying them for third in the tournament with four other players.
Chinese Taipei and Iceland entered the tournament’s penultimate game tied on three points, and Chinese Taipei secured fourth place with a come-from-behind victory. Trailing 2-1 entering the last half of the third period, Yun-Chu Huang tied the score with 7:45 left in regulation time and Cristine Tzu-Shen Chao scored the winner on the power play with just 50 seconds remaining.
Making its debut at the Division II Group A level, Belgium finished sixth and will be relegated back to Group B in 2025. The Belgians’ closest game was their opener, which they dropped 3-1 to Chinese Taipei.
Belgium’s best player was forward Anke Steeno, who factored in on all six of her team’s goals in the tournament with three goals and three assists, which tied her for eighth overall in points. At 18 years of age, this was already the third Women’s Worlds for Steeno, who recorded 11 points in each of her previous two.
The top scorer of the tournament was Spanish forward Vega Munoz with nine points, followed by Spanish defender Bridget O’Hare with eight. Huang of Chinese Taipei and Anastassiya Orazbayeva of Kazakhstan were the co-leaders in goals with five. The top player in the faceoff circle was Silvia Bjorgvinsdottir of Iceland, who was 16-for-21 for 76.19 per cent.
Among goalies, Mexico’s Monika Renteria had the best save percentage at 94.12. Renteria was third in goals-against average (1.75), trailing Gonzalo (1.46) and Kazakhstan’s Arina Chshyokolova (1.56).
Chshyokolova was named Top Goalkeeper of the tournament, O’Hare was the Top Defender and the Top Forward was Shegay, the winning goal scorer.