Korea earns promotion in women's hockey world championship
The Korean women's national team participating in the International Ice Hockey Federation Women's World Championship Division I Group B at Suwon Ice Rink, 35 kilometers south of Seoul, are seen in this photo provided by the Korea Ice Hockey Association, April 20. Yonhap
Korea has earned a promotion to the next level in the women's hockey world championship, after completing an undefeated run through the third-tier championship with a narrow win on home ice Sunday.
Korea edged past Kazakhstan 2-1 to clinch first place at the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Women's World Championship Division I Group B at Suwon Ice Rink in Suwon, some 35 kilometers south of Seoul.
By winning the tournament, Korea has booked a spot in the next-highest women's competition in the IIHF, Division I Group A, for 2024.
It will be Korea's debut at that level.
Forward Kim Hee-won broke the 1-1 deadlock with 3:37 left in the third period, as she walked in from the right point for a wrist shot to the top left corner past goalie Arina Chshyokolova.
Korea outshot Kazakhstan 41-18 in its fifth consecutive victory.
Korea finished with 14 points from four regulation wins and one overtime win. Italy and Poland were scheduled to play the tournament finale Sunday evening, and Italy, in second place at the start of Sunday with 10 points, can't catch Korea even with a regulation win over Poland.
The Division I Group A tournament for 2023 will take place in China in August. The last place from that six-nation competition will trade places with Korea and end up in Division I Group B for 2024.
Korea first joined Division I Group B in 2018, one year after winning the Division II Group A tournament.
In 2018, Korea finished one point behind Italy for first place in Division I Group B. It once again finished in second place the following year, though six points behind the winner, the Netherlands. The 2020 and 2021 tournaments were canceled due to effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Korea barely avoided relegation in 2022 by finishing fifth among six teams.
Carried by still-improving veterans from 2018 and rising teenagers, Korea opened this year's tournament with a dramatic, 2-1 overtime victory over Italy, considered the toughest opponent here. Korea then dispatched Poland 4-0, Slovenia 4-2 and Britain 3-2, setting itself up for Sunday's drama.
Though Kazakhstan had long been eliminated from contention here with four straight losses prior to Sunday, the team kept Korea at bay for most of the game, after the teams traded goals in the opening frame.
Han Soo-jin's power play goal opened the scoring for Korea about four minutes into the game. Park Jong-ah delivered a diagonal pass from behind the net in the exact same pattern that they'd used for a goal in the Slovenia game from Tuesday.
Kazakhstan tied things up some five minutes later on a goal by Larissa Sviridova.
It was all Korea from there. The home team outshot Kazakhstan 15-3 in the second period but couldn't put one past Chshyokolova. A perfectly-placed wrist shot by Kim just after a penalty expired late in the final frame finally put Korea ahead for good.
Han and Kim, the two goal scorers Sunday, finished tied for the team lead with four goals apiece. (Yonhap)