photo: © Michal Chwieduk
Spain propels to unprecedented heights by winning gold at the 2025 IIHF Ice Hockey Women´s World Championship Division II Group A in Bytom, Poland.
Skating with the youngest team of the tournament, the Spaniards silenced an expectant home crowd as they dismantled Poland 4-2 in the closing game showdown for the top spot.
After back-to-back silver, Juan Bravo´s coached team can now look ahead to a historical first appearance in Division I Group B next year.
In the duel for promotion, Spain went head-to-head with Poland needing a win in regulation to leapfrog the host team at the summit of the top of the standings.
A youthful Spanish team displayed no signs of stage fright and got off to a spirited start. Selected as the tournament´s top defender, 19-year-old blueliner Indira Bosch fired home an early opener from the slot through a maze of players.
Poland trailing for the first time in the tournament quickly equalized when Julia Lapinska scored a close-range rebound past Spain´s netminder Carolina Moreno.
As the Polish defence appeared unsettled, the Iberians got back in command. Poland´s blueliner Anna Kot failed to control the puck allowing Claudia Castellanos to score at 7:53 to regain the Spanish lead.
71 seconds later the Spaniards stretched their lead as the puck bounced past Poland´s Dominika Korkuz with Vega Munoz backhanding Spain´s third goal past teenager Nadia Ratajczyk in Poland´s net.
With regular first-choice netminder Martyna Sass absent on the Polish roster, the more experienced Agata Kosinska Horzelska replaced Ratajczyk in the net ahead of the second frame.
Tetiana Onyshchenko had squandered a golden opportunity for Poland on a breakaway before disaster struck again for Arkadiusz Sobecki´s coached Polish team with Spain scoring the lone goal of the middle frame.
Laura Gil won the faceoff to the right of Kosinska Horzelska as Haizea Fernandez unleashed a wrister for 4-1.
Bytom has developed into a stronghold for Polish women´s hockey over the years. This season local team Polonia Bytom claimed its 14th league championship while Poland´s women´s national team advanced to the Final Round of Olympic Qualification following success at the Bytom Arena. But on this occasion, little seemed to go Poland´s way as the hosts ran into penalty trouble during the final frame versus Spain.
Outshooting its opponents 29-23, Poland eventually scored their second of the evening from a short-handed Joanna Strzelecka tap-in with 70 seconds left of the third period. Spain held out for a memorable win to finish top of the standings one point ahead of a dejected Poland in second.
Karolina Pozniewska was selected as the tournament´s top forward and topped the scoring charts in her hometown of Bytom. The 33-year-old notched ten points from five games and celebrated an impressive milestone by scoring her 100th national team goal versus DPR Korea. Teammate Ida Talanda and Spain´s Haizea Fernandez tied for second place, each with eight points.
Iceland wins bronze and celebrates its best overall finish in World Championship play. Jon Gislason´s troops became the only team to inflict a loss on Spain with Saga Blondal scoring the game-winning goal in a 3-2 shootout win. Iceland´s Andrea Bachmann was selected as the tournament´s top goalkeeper which included a heroic performance on Day Four stopping 45 shots in a 2-0 loss versus Poland.
For the fourth consecutive year, Chinese Taipei parked in fourth place. In the battle to stay in the division, newly promoted DPR Korea left it late to get their first couple of points on the board. Su Hyon Jong, who skated at the 2018 Winter Olympics, scored the winning penalty shot in a 2-1 victory versus Mexico to send the North Americans down to Division IIB for the first time since 2017.
Skating with the youngest team of the tournament, the Spaniards silenced an expectant home crowd as they dismantled Poland 4-2 in the closing game showdown for the top spot.
After back-to-back silver, Juan Bravo´s coached team can now look ahead to a historical first appearance in Division I Group B next year.
In the duel for promotion, Spain went head-to-head with Poland needing a win in regulation to leapfrog the host team at the summit of the top of the standings.
A youthful Spanish team displayed no signs of stage fright and got off to a spirited start. Selected as the tournament´s top defender, 19-year-old blueliner Indira Bosch fired home an early opener from the slot through a maze of players.
Poland trailing for the first time in the tournament quickly equalized when Julia Lapinska scored a close-range rebound past Spain´s netminder Carolina Moreno.
As the Polish defence appeared unsettled, the Iberians got back in command. Poland´s blueliner Anna Kot failed to control the puck allowing Claudia Castellanos to score at 7:53 to regain the Spanish lead.
71 seconds later the Spaniards stretched their lead as the puck bounced past Poland´s Dominika Korkuz with Vega Munoz backhanding Spain´s third goal past teenager Nadia Ratajczyk in Poland´s net.
With regular first-choice netminder Martyna Sass absent on the Polish roster, the more experienced Agata Kosinska Horzelska replaced Ratajczyk in the net ahead of the second frame.
Tetiana Onyshchenko had squandered a golden opportunity for Poland on a breakaway before disaster struck again for Arkadiusz Sobecki´s coached Polish team with Spain scoring the lone goal of the middle frame.
Laura Gil won the faceoff to the right of Kosinska Horzelska as Haizea Fernandez unleashed a wrister for 4-1.
Bytom has developed into a stronghold for Polish women´s hockey over the years. This season local team Polonia Bytom claimed its 14th league championship while Poland´s women´s national team advanced to the Final Round of Olympic Qualification following success at the Bytom Arena. But on this occasion, little seemed to go Poland´s way as the hosts ran into penalty trouble during the final frame versus Spain.
Outshooting its opponents 29-23, Poland eventually scored their second of the evening from a short-handed Joanna Strzelecka tap-in with 70 seconds left of the third period. Spain held out for a memorable win to finish top of the standings one point ahead of a dejected Poland in second.
Karolina Pozniewska was selected as the tournament´s top forward and topped the scoring charts in her hometown of Bytom. The 33-year-old notched ten points from five games and celebrated an impressive milestone by scoring her 100th national team goal versus DPR Korea. Teammate Ida Talanda and Spain´s Haizea Fernandez tied for second place, each with eight points.
Iceland wins bronze and celebrates its best overall finish in World Championship play. Jon Gislason´s troops became the only team to inflict a loss on Spain with Saga Blondal scoring the game-winning goal in a 3-2 shootout win. Iceland´s Andrea Bachmann was selected as the tournament´s top goalkeeper which included a heroic performance on Day Four stopping 45 shots in a 2-0 loss versus Poland.
For the fourth consecutive year, Chinese Taipei parked in fourth place. In the battle to stay in the division, newly promoted DPR Korea left it late to get their first couple of points on the board. Su Hyon Jong, who skated at the 2018 Winter Olympics, scored the winning penalty shot in a 2-1 victory versus Mexico to send the North Americans down to Division IIB for the first time since 2017.