photo: © International Ice Hockey Federation / Mehmet Zahit Düzgün
Kiwis get past Chinese Taipei to top Division III Group A
Improving on last year’s second-place finish, New Zealand finished with a perfect record to win gold at the 2025 IIHF U20 World Championship Division III Group A in Istanbul, Türkiye. A commanding 4-1 victory over Chinese Taipei on the final day secured a place in next year’s Division II Group B.
It all came down to Sunday’s showdown. New Zealand and Chinese Taipei rolled through the competition, winning their first four games. Both teams found the net with ease, while only allowing seven goals apiece.
In the showdown for promotion at the Zeytinburnu Ice Rink, New Zealand’s spirited start was rewarded with an early goal. Ivan Dalmatau and Jacob Carey combined for the opener as the latter skilfully deked past Chinese Taipei’s Yu-Chuan Chen and then coolly scored onnetminder Hao-Hsuan Kao at 6:21.
New Zealand continued to surge forward before Mo Peng took matters into his own hands. Coming in from the blue line, the Chinese Taipei captain drew a penalty shot and used it to beat New Zealand goalie Joel Gerard for the equalizer.
The Kiwis retook the lead with less than six minutes left in the first period. Sebastian Chamberlin balanced the puck on the blue line and then ripped a shot, which was redirected into the net by Axel Ruski-Jones. First-period shots were 8-2 New Zealand.
New Zealand stepped up in the second period, only allowing its East Asian opponents four shots on goal. On the power play, the New Zealanders went up 3-1. After a scramble in front of the Chinese Taipei net, Carey cunningly fed Dalmatau at the right faceoff circle for a one-timer.
With Chinese Taipei unable to find a way to break down the Junior Ice Blacks’ disciplined defence, Carey – the tournament’s top forward – tallied his second goal of the afternoon on a 2-on-1 rush to close out the scoring at 4-1 at 5:51 of the third period.
Improving on last year’s second-place finish, New Zealand finished with a perfect record to win gold at the 2025 IIHF U20 World Championship Division III Group A in Istanbul, Türkiye. A commanding 4-1 victory over Chinese Taipei on the final day secured a place in next year’s Division II Group B.
It all came down to Sunday’s showdown. New Zealand and Chinese Taipei rolled through the competition, winning their first four games. Both teams found the net with ease, while only allowing seven goals apiece.
In the showdown for promotion at the Zeytinburnu Ice Rink, New Zealand’s spirited start was rewarded with an early goal. Ivan Dalmatau and Jacob Carey combined for the opener as the latter skilfully deked past Chinese Taipei’s Yu-Chuan Chen and then coolly scored onnetminder Hao-Hsuan Kao at 6:21.
New Zealand continued to surge forward before Mo Peng took matters into his own hands. Coming in from the blue line, the Chinese Taipei captain drew a penalty shot and used it to beat New Zealand goalie Joel Gerard for the equalizer.
The Kiwis retook the lead with less than six minutes left in the first period. Sebastian Chamberlin balanced the puck on the blue line and then ripped a shot, which was redirected into the net by Axel Ruski-Jones. First-period shots were 8-2 New Zealand.
New Zealand stepped up in the second period, only allowing its East Asian opponents four shots on goal. On the power play, the New Zealanders went up 3-1. After a scramble in front of the Chinese Taipei net, Carey cunningly fed Dalmatau at the right faceoff circle for a one-timer.
With Chinese Taipei unable to find a way to break down the Junior Ice Blacks’ disciplined defence, Carey – the tournament’s top forward – tallied his second goal of the afternoon on a 2-on-1 rush to close out the scoring at 4-1 at 5:51 of the third period.
photo: © International Ice Hockey Federation / Mehmet Zahit Düzgün
Earlier in the tournament, New Zealand opened their promotion campaign with two straight 5-0 shutouts versus Mexico and Bulgaria. Nine goal-scorers then tallied in a 12-4 win versus Bosnia & Herzegovina. Dalmatau and Markus MacDonald netted a brace apiece in a 6-3 victory over Turkey.
This triumph in Istanbul matches New Zealand’s previous best in IIHF U20 men’s competition. The New Zealanders also won gold in Division III back in 2008. Eight players on the current U20 roster will be eligible to return for the Division II Group B tournament in 2026.
Gerard, who allowed just eight goals in five games with a 1.00 GAA and 94.29 save percentage, was named top goaltender of the tournament. The 19-year-old posted two shutouts. Remarkably, he didn’t concede a goal from the start of the tournament for 144:09.
For the silver medalists from Chinese Taipei, Peng led all blueliners in scoring with six goals and 19 points in five games. Voted the tournament’s top defender, the 19-year-old wil next join goaltender Tai-Yu Chen and forward Chiung-Yuan Chen on the Chinese Taipei roster at the 2025 Asian Winter Games in Harbin, China this month.
After starting the tournament with two defeats, Bulgaria got into the win column on Day Three. In a match-up versus host Türkiye. Kristiyan Pandilov’s goal at 0:44 got the Bulgarians off to a flying start. Despite being outshot 39-29, Bulgaria ran away to a 9-4 victory. Bulgaria’s top scorer, the 17-year-old Aleksandar Stanimirov, led the way with a hat trick and two assists. The Balkan nation extended its winning run to three, beating Mexico and Bosnia & Herzegovina to win bronze.
Skating with the youngest roster of the tournament, Türkiye finished fourth. Porous defending saw newcomers Bosnia & Herzegovina conceding the most goals (54). But when it mattered the most, they rose to the occasion in a 6-4 win over Mexico. Goalie Karim Ahmetovski stopped 31 shots, while Adi Drnda and Tarik Mrkva were reunited on the attack to tally four points apiece. They represent the first generation of Bosnian players developing together from an early age in Sarajevo.
Silver medalists on home ice in 2022, Mexico scored just six times in their first four games in Istanbul. At least they found the net with ease in their final game of the tournament. Six different scorers tallied in a wild 9-7 loss to the Turks as Mexico finished winless at the bottom of the standings.
This triumph in Istanbul matches New Zealand’s previous best in IIHF U20 men’s competition. The New Zealanders also won gold in Division III back in 2008. Eight players on the current U20 roster will be eligible to return for the Division II Group B tournament in 2026.
Gerard, who allowed just eight goals in five games with a 1.00 GAA and 94.29 save percentage, was named top goaltender of the tournament. The 19-year-old posted two shutouts. Remarkably, he didn’t concede a goal from the start of the tournament for 144:09.
For the silver medalists from Chinese Taipei, Peng led all blueliners in scoring with six goals and 19 points in five games. Voted the tournament’s top defender, the 19-year-old wil next join goaltender Tai-Yu Chen and forward Chiung-Yuan Chen on the Chinese Taipei roster at the 2025 Asian Winter Games in Harbin, China this month.
After starting the tournament with two defeats, Bulgaria got into the win column on Day Three. In a match-up versus host Türkiye. Kristiyan Pandilov’s goal at 0:44 got the Bulgarians off to a flying start. Despite being outshot 39-29, Bulgaria ran away to a 9-4 victory. Bulgaria’s top scorer, the 17-year-old Aleksandar Stanimirov, led the way with a hat trick and two assists. The Balkan nation extended its winning run to three, beating Mexico and Bosnia & Herzegovina to win bronze.
Skating with the youngest roster of the tournament, Türkiye finished fourth. Porous defending saw newcomers Bosnia & Herzegovina conceding the most goals (54). But when it mattered the most, they rose to the occasion in a 6-4 win over Mexico. Goalie Karim Ahmetovski stopped 31 shots, while Adi Drnda and Tarik Mrkva were reunited on the attack to tally four points apiece. They represent the first generation of Bosnian players developing together from an early age in Sarajevo.
Silver medalists on home ice in 2022, Mexico scored just six times in their first four games in Istanbul. At least they found the net with ease in their final game of the tournament. Six different scorers tallied in a wild 9-7 loss to the Turks as Mexico finished winless at the bottom of the standings.