photo: © International Ice Hockey Federation / Joan Reyes
China defeated hosts Spain, 8-2, in the final game of the IIHF Men’s U18 World Championship Division II-B in Puigcerda, Spain today to earn promotion to Division II-A for 2025. Israel, losers to Chinese Taipei in today’s first game by a 5-3 score, failed to win a game or earn a point and will be demoted to Division III-A, from whence they came just last year.
All games were played at the Polisportiu, a multi-purpose facility that opened in 1983 and has a capacity of 1,450 for hockey. It is the home of CG (Club Gel) Puigcerda, a team that plays in the Spanish league.
For China, this will be their first appearance in Division II-A since 2008, and for Spain the loss is bitter given that they were in II-A last year only to be relegated for 2024.
The Chinese were led by 17-year-old Yixiang Huang and 15-year-old sensation Ziheng Zu. Zu had a hat trick and three assists tonight and finished tied with Huang in tournament scoring with 15 points. Huang had two goals and two assists against the Spanish, lifting his point total to 15 as well.
Coming into today’s final game the Chinese held a distinct advantage. They had 12 points to Spain’s 10 and needed only to get to overtime to be assured of promotion. That discrepancy was because of Spain’s troubles earlier in the tournament against Bulgaria. Despite leading 3-0 in the first period and 4-1 in the second, they allowed Bulgaria to mount an incredible comeback which saw the underdogs win in overtime, denying Spain two critical points in the standings.
China, meanwhile, won all of their games with relative ease, being tested briefly by Chinese Taipei but overcoming a 2-1 deficit early in the second to pull away with a 5-3 win. And today, the Chinese came out fast, bolting to a 4-0 lead after only 15 minutes. Spain got back into things with two late goals, but China snuffed out that rally with a quick goal in the second. They never looked back.
Spain, however, outshot China, 36-28, and but for the fine goaltending of Xi Sun, the score might have been closer.
Bulgaria finished in third place, one place better than last year, despite losing their last two games. After starting with three wins in a row, including that dramatic 5-4 win over Spain, they lost to China, 7-2, and then to Australia, 3-1, today. With nine returning players, this was a team coach Derek Eisler was expecting plenty from, and for the most part they delivered.
The Aussies finished in fourth, also one spot up from a year ago. They created a huge stir in the tournament on Thursday. After allowing four goals to Chinese Taipei in the second period to fall behind 4-0, they rallied with four goals of their own in the third, all assisted by Ivan Kuleshov, to send the game to overtime and earn a critical point in the standings. They lost in OT, but that comeback is what vaulted them above TPE for that fourth place.
Chinese Taipei avoided relegation with today’s win and will play in II-B next year for a third successive season. They leave with two wins in five games, and only a narrow 5-3 loss to China on the second day spoiled what might have been an even better tournament. They had nine returning players this year and 13 are eligible to return in 2025.
Israel, meanwhile, had a tough go of it in Division II-B. They won III-A last year to earn promotion, and although they scored a respectable 18 goals in five games, they gave up a whopping 42. Despite having eight returning players from last year, none was a goalie. But they can take one big positive from this year with sights set on returning in 2026. The top goalscorer in the tournament (tied with Zu) was 15-year-old Nikita Zitserman, who will still be eligible to play in two years. He scored nearly half of his team’s goals, eight in total, which is an incredible accomplishment.
NOTES:
Despite leading the tournament with 33 goals, China tied for last in power-play goals, scoring only four times with the extra skater. There was only one shutout in the tournament, and that was recorded by Spain’s Guillermo Esteban. Israel was penalized twice as much as the next most undisciplined team, averaging nearly 28 penalty minutes per game. All six coaches were returnees from a year ago.
All games were played at the Polisportiu, a multi-purpose facility that opened in 1983 and has a capacity of 1,450 for hockey. It is the home of CG (Club Gel) Puigcerda, a team that plays in the Spanish league.
For China, this will be their first appearance in Division II-A since 2008, and for Spain the loss is bitter given that they were in II-A last year only to be relegated for 2024.
The Chinese were led by 17-year-old Yixiang Huang and 15-year-old sensation Ziheng Zu. Zu had a hat trick and three assists tonight and finished tied with Huang in tournament scoring with 15 points. Huang had two goals and two assists against the Spanish, lifting his point total to 15 as well.
Coming into today’s final game the Chinese held a distinct advantage. They had 12 points to Spain’s 10 and needed only to get to overtime to be assured of promotion. That discrepancy was because of Spain’s troubles earlier in the tournament against Bulgaria. Despite leading 3-0 in the first period and 4-1 in the second, they allowed Bulgaria to mount an incredible comeback which saw the underdogs win in overtime, denying Spain two critical points in the standings.
China, meanwhile, won all of their games with relative ease, being tested briefly by Chinese Taipei but overcoming a 2-1 deficit early in the second to pull away with a 5-3 win. And today, the Chinese came out fast, bolting to a 4-0 lead after only 15 minutes. Spain got back into things with two late goals, but China snuffed out that rally with a quick goal in the second. They never looked back.
Spain, however, outshot China, 36-28, and but for the fine goaltending of Xi Sun, the score might have been closer.
Bulgaria finished in third place, one place better than last year, despite losing their last two games. After starting with three wins in a row, including that dramatic 5-4 win over Spain, they lost to China, 7-2, and then to Australia, 3-1, today. With nine returning players, this was a team coach Derek Eisler was expecting plenty from, and for the most part they delivered.
The Aussies finished in fourth, also one spot up from a year ago. They created a huge stir in the tournament on Thursday. After allowing four goals to Chinese Taipei in the second period to fall behind 4-0, they rallied with four goals of their own in the third, all assisted by Ivan Kuleshov, to send the game to overtime and earn a critical point in the standings. They lost in OT, but that comeback is what vaulted them above TPE for that fourth place.
Chinese Taipei avoided relegation with today’s win and will play in II-B next year for a third successive season. They leave with two wins in five games, and only a narrow 5-3 loss to China on the second day spoiled what might have been an even better tournament. They had nine returning players this year and 13 are eligible to return in 2025.
Israel, meanwhile, had a tough go of it in Division II-B. They won III-A last year to earn promotion, and although they scored a respectable 18 goals in five games, they gave up a whopping 42. Despite having eight returning players from last year, none was a goalie. But they can take one big positive from this year with sights set on returning in 2026. The top goalscorer in the tournament (tied with Zu) was 15-year-old Nikita Zitserman, who will still be eligible to play in two years. He scored nearly half of his team’s goals, eight in total, which is an incredible accomplishment.
NOTES:
Despite leading the tournament with 33 goals, China tied for last in power-play goals, scoring only four times with the extra skater. There was only one shutout in the tournament, and that was recorded by Spain’s Guillermo Esteban. Israel was penalized twice as much as the next most undisciplined team, averaging nearly 28 penalty minutes per game. All six coaches were returnees from a year ago.