photo: © Cristina Rosas
Host Mexico thrilled its fans all week during a perfect run at the 2025 IIHF World Under-18 Men’s World Championship Division III Group A event.
Mexico went 5-0 to win the championship and earn a promotion to the 2026 U18 Division II Group B tournament.
Mexico opened with two convincing victories. Pavel Goryachev (three goals, three assists) and Nicolas Potts (two goals, four assists) each recorded six points in a 10-2 triumph over New Zealand. Next, Mexico beat Türkiye 8-1, with Goryachev continuing a torrid points-producing pace as he collected a goal and five assists.
The toughest test for the eventual champions came on 5 March versus Hong Kong, China. Potts opened the scoring three minutes 32 seconds into the first period, but Hong Kong tied it up on a goal by Samuel Kevin Wong just under two minutes later.
Potts added his second goal of the game soon after and then completed the hat trick in the second period to give Mexico a 3-1 lead. The Mexicans made it 4-1 when Goryachev scored in the middle frame and seemed well on their way to another win. But Hong Kong made a game of it, with Lleyton David Lam scoring on a powerplay late in the second and Tin Lok Wat adding a goal in the third to make it 4-3. That was as close as Hong Kong would get as Mexico held on for a tight 4-3 victory.
Mexico concluded the five-game round-robin with wins over Iceland (5-2) and Israel (6-4) for 15 points. Türkiye won the silver medal with nine points and Israel took bronze with eight points. Mexico’s defence was a major factor in its success as the team allowed just 12 goals in five games.
Hong Kong was fourth, New Zealand fifth and rounding out the six-team event was Iceland in the bottom spot.
Emin Inandi (Türkiye) led the tournament with 12 goals and Mexico’s Potts had the most points with 19 (10 goals, nine assists).
The IIHF also announced the top players at the conclusion of the event. Kayra Aydos of Türkiye was top goalkeeper with three wins and a save percentage of 0.887. Shon Kazinets (Israel) was top defender with four points and Potts (Mexico) was named top forward, with 19 points and a plus-19 rating.
Mexico went 5-0 to win the championship and earn a promotion to the 2026 U18 Division II Group B tournament.
Mexico opened with two convincing victories. Pavel Goryachev (three goals, three assists) and Nicolas Potts (two goals, four assists) each recorded six points in a 10-2 triumph over New Zealand. Next, Mexico beat Türkiye 8-1, with Goryachev continuing a torrid points-producing pace as he collected a goal and five assists.
The toughest test for the eventual champions came on 5 March versus Hong Kong, China. Potts opened the scoring three minutes 32 seconds into the first period, but Hong Kong tied it up on a goal by Samuel Kevin Wong just under two minutes later.
Potts added his second goal of the game soon after and then completed the hat trick in the second period to give Mexico a 3-1 lead. The Mexicans made it 4-1 when Goryachev scored in the middle frame and seemed well on their way to another win. But Hong Kong made a game of it, with Lleyton David Lam scoring on a powerplay late in the second and Tin Lok Wat adding a goal in the third to make it 4-3. That was as close as Hong Kong would get as Mexico held on for a tight 4-3 victory.
Mexico concluded the five-game round-robin with wins over Iceland (5-2) and Israel (6-4) for 15 points. Türkiye won the silver medal with nine points and Israel took bronze with eight points. Mexico’s defence was a major factor in its success as the team allowed just 12 goals in five games.
Hong Kong was fourth, New Zealand fifth and rounding out the six-team event was Iceland in the bottom spot.
Emin Inandi (Türkiye) led the tournament with 12 goals and Mexico’s Potts had the most points with 19 (10 goals, nine assists).
The IIHF also announced the top players at the conclusion of the event. Kayra Aydos of Türkiye was top goalkeeper with three wins and a save percentage of 0.887. Shon Kazinets (Israel) was top defender with four points and Potts (Mexico) was named top forward, with 19 points and a plus-19 rating.