photo: © International Ice Hockey Federation
Lithuania won five straight games, capping off its perfect record with a convincing 13-1 win over host Croatia at the 2025 IIHF Ice Hockey U20 World Championship Division II Group A in Zagreb. As a result, Lithuania advances to play in Division I Group B for the first time since 2018.
“I’m really proud of the players,” said Lithuanian head coach Mario Durocher, who also helped Canada earn two World Junior silver medals (2003, 2004). “I think we had a perfect tournament. We weren’t looking ahead to the end of the tournament, we were working period by period and I think the preparation was perfect and we followed the game plan.”
Romania finished second and Croatia third, both teams with nine points, while Great Britain and China finished in fourth and fifth places with six each. The sixth-place finisher, the Netherlands, will be relegated to Division II Group B in 2026.
The Lithuanians have shown steady progress in the group over the past few years, finishing fifth in 2022, third in 2023, second in 2024 and now first. They entered the final game of the tournament needing just a single point against Croatia to secure top spot. The host Croatians, trailing by three points, had a chance to finish first with a regulation win. An energetic group of fans packed into the Admiral Ice Dome hoping to see them do it.
However, the Lithuanians had a fair number of supporters themselves. After scoring twice in the first period, they blew the game open with six goals in the second and added five more in the third to win 13-1. In a balanced attack, Mykolas Skadauskas led the team with four points and only five skaters were held pointless.
Lithuania was the clear class of the tournament, outscoring its opponents 39-5 over the five games and winning each game by at least four goals. Not surprisingly, the Baltic nation dominated the scoring parade – Simas Ignatavicius was the tournament’s Top Forward with 14 points, Skadauskas with 12 and Pijus Pranskevicius with 10. They also had three defenders with six points each – Dominykas Boravski, Daniil Kovalenko and Kajus Zeynalov. On the opposite side of the coin, Julius Andrekus was the Top Goalkeeper with a GAA of 1.00 and a save percentage of 93.62 in three games.
On Lithuania’s most difficult opponents of the tournament, Durocher said: “I have to say that Great Britain is a physical team, and I think we outplayed them, we outshot them, we did a really good job. They scored the first goal and I think that’s the only period we lost. I think that woke us up. The 4-0 game against Romania, we outplayed them, we outshot them, but it was a tight game.”
Romania finished second by beating Great Britain 6-2 on the final day, while a regulation loss would have dropped the Romanians all the way to fifth. For the Romanians, who played in Division II Group B last year, its their best finish at the U20 level since 2007. They finished second despite nobody scoring more than four points. Playing four of the team’s five games in goal, Marton Buda had the tournament’s best GAA (1.92) and save percentage (90.79) among non-Lithuanian netminders.
Tied with Croatia on nine points each, Romania won the head-to-head meeting 6-4 on Friday. The Croats had entered that game having won their first three and were looking to return to Division I Group B, which they were relegated from last year. Hrvoje Zovko was the top non-Lithuanian scorer in the tournament with six goals and nine points, while Lovro Slovinac, who had five points, was voted Top Defender.
If they’d won their last game, the British would have finished on the podium of the group for the third year in a row. Their fourth-place finish means they’ll return to Division II Group A for an eighth straight year. They got the nod over China thanks to a 4-3 head-to-head win on Thursday. Finley Bradon led the team offensively with six points.
China opened the tournament with a 4-3 win over Romania, but then three straight losses put them in danger of being relegated with a regulation loss in their last game against the Netherlands. However, they eased the pressure with three first-period goals, eventually winning 6-2. Rong Luan led China over the course of the tournament with seven points.
After two years of avoiding relegation with fifth-place finishes, the Dutch team wasn’t as lucky this time, and it will return to Division II Group B, where it last played in 2022. Aside from an opening 8-2 win against eventual group winner Lithuania, all of the Netherlands’ defeats were by three or four goals. The Netherlands scored seven goals in the tournament and Jaidy van Mourik scored three of them, adding one assist for four points.
“We’re losing only four guys,” Durocher said, looking ahead to Division I Group B next year. “If you look at the big picture, we’ve got 18 guys who are back. For sure, it’s going to be a little bit tougher in a higher division, but I think we’ve got the tools. It’s an interesting group of players and I think we can be better.”
“I’m really proud of the players,” said Lithuanian head coach Mario Durocher, who also helped Canada earn two World Junior silver medals (2003, 2004). “I think we had a perfect tournament. We weren’t looking ahead to the end of the tournament, we were working period by period and I think the preparation was perfect and we followed the game plan.”
Romania finished second and Croatia third, both teams with nine points, while Great Britain and China finished in fourth and fifth places with six each. The sixth-place finisher, the Netherlands, will be relegated to Division II Group B in 2026.
The Lithuanians have shown steady progress in the group over the past few years, finishing fifth in 2022, third in 2023, second in 2024 and now first. They entered the final game of the tournament needing just a single point against Croatia to secure top spot. The host Croatians, trailing by three points, had a chance to finish first with a regulation win. An energetic group of fans packed into the Admiral Ice Dome hoping to see them do it.
However, the Lithuanians had a fair number of supporters themselves. After scoring twice in the first period, they blew the game open with six goals in the second and added five more in the third to win 13-1. In a balanced attack, Mykolas Skadauskas led the team with four points and only five skaters were held pointless.
Lithuania was the clear class of the tournament, outscoring its opponents 39-5 over the five games and winning each game by at least four goals. Not surprisingly, the Baltic nation dominated the scoring parade – Simas Ignatavicius was the tournament’s Top Forward with 14 points, Skadauskas with 12 and Pijus Pranskevicius with 10. They also had three defenders with six points each – Dominykas Boravski, Daniil Kovalenko and Kajus Zeynalov. On the opposite side of the coin, Julius Andrekus was the Top Goalkeeper with a GAA of 1.00 and a save percentage of 93.62 in three games.
On Lithuania’s most difficult opponents of the tournament, Durocher said: “I have to say that Great Britain is a physical team, and I think we outplayed them, we outshot them, we did a really good job. They scored the first goal and I think that’s the only period we lost. I think that woke us up. The 4-0 game against Romania, we outplayed them, we outshot them, but it was a tight game.”
Romania finished second by beating Great Britain 6-2 on the final day, while a regulation loss would have dropped the Romanians all the way to fifth. For the Romanians, who played in Division II Group B last year, its their best finish at the U20 level since 2007. They finished second despite nobody scoring more than four points. Playing four of the team’s five games in goal, Marton Buda had the tournament’s best GAA (1.92) and save percentage (90.79) among non-Lithuanian netminders.
Tied with Croatia on nine points each, Romania won the head-to-head meeting 6-4 on Friday. The Croats had entered that game having won their first three and were looking to return to Division I Group B, which they were relegated from last year. Hrvoje Zovko was the top non-Lithuanian scorer in the tournament with six goals and nine points, while Lovro Slovinac, who had five points, was voted Top Defender.
If they’d won their last game, the British would have finished on the podium of the group for the third year in a row. Their fourth-place finish means they’ll return to Division II Group A for an eighth straight year. They got the nod over China thanks to a 4-3 head-to-head win on Thursday. Finley Bradon led the team offensively with six points.
China opened the tournament with a 4-3 win over Romania, but then three straight losses put them in danger of being relegated with a regulation loss in their last game against the Netherlands. However, they eased the pressure with three first-period goals, eventually winning 6-2. Rong Luan led China over the course of the tournament with seven points.
After two years of avoiding relegation with fifth-place finishes, the Dutch team wasn’t as lucky this time, and it will return to Division II Group B, where it last played in 2022. Aside from an opening 8-2 win against eventual group winner Lithuania, all of the Netherlands’ defeats were by three or four goals. The Netherlands scored seven goals in the tournament and Jaidy van Mourik scored three of them, adding one assist for four points.
“We’re losing only four guys,” Durocher said, looking ahead to Division I Group B next year. “If you look at the big picture, we’ve got 18 guys who are back. For sure, it’s going to be a little bit tougher in a higher division, but I think we’ve got the tools. It’s an interesting group of players and I think we can be better.”