15 games were played in this group. Kazakhstan won all of its games with at least six goals difference with only one exemption – a 5-3 win versus Belgium. Newcomer Estonia lost all games with the same amount, six or more goals difference. The match-ups between Iceland, Belgium, Bulgaria and New Zealand were very even and finished with one or two goals difference.
On paper Kazakhstan’s team stood out also because of the country’s hockey background and the professional approach to the event. The Kazakhs participated in the men’s top-level World Championship 10 times and were at Winter Olympics. The women’s national team was part of the 2002 Olympic Winter Games and had five IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s World Championships at the highest level (2001, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011). Kazakhstan’s women defeated Russia for the seventh place in 2005 and finished sixth in 2009 after a shootout win against Switzerland. In the Women’s World Ranking the Asian country reached 7th position in 2011.
Kazakhstan played in the 2007 IIHF U18 Women’s World Championship Qualification and made its official debut in this age category in 2010. The tournament in Sofia was the 11th participation with the best result until now in 2016 (3rd in Division I Qualification) and 2019 (2nd in Division I Group B). The 2022 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 Women’s World Championship Division II was staged from 27 June to 5 July in Istanbul and Kazakhstan won only against Iceland, 2-0. Zubkova was not on the roster though. This time in Sofia, Bulgaria, Belgium and Estonia made their debuts in the U18 Women’s World Championship category. It was the second participation for Iceland and New Zealand (4th place from 4 teams in Division II Group B in 2020).
As expected, the “final before the final” was the game between Kazakhstan and Belgium on Sunday. Sofia Rakovskaya and Sofia Zubkova made it 2-0 in the first ten minutes, but Ans van Hoof cut the deficit in half just 13 seconds later. Belgium turned around the score to 3-2 in the second period with tallies from Abby Azitemina Kuddila and Fenna Sempels, but the last word was for Kazakhstan with three goals in the third. The first two by Kira…
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