National hockey team gets promotion

Korean men’s national ice hockey team coach Jim Paek, left, instructs players before an International Ice Hockey Federation World Championship Division 1 Group B game against Croatia at the Ice Sport Center Eindhoven, the Netherlands, Sunday. / Courtesy of Korea Ice Hockey Federation

By Nam Hyun-woo

The national men's ice hockey team won the 2015 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Championship Division 1 Group B tournament Sunday, coming from behind to overtake Great Britain.

With the top-place finish, the Koreans advanced to an upper group of Division 1 Group A, just a year after they were relegated at the 2014 World Championship in Korea.

At the Ice Sport Center Eindhoven, the Netherlands, Korea forward Kim Ki-sung scored two and had one assist to help his team beat Croatia 9-4 in its final game. As Great Britain suffered a 2-3 loss against Lithuania in the following game, the Koreans, who were trailing the tournament leader Great Britain, managed to finish the five-game tournament in first with four wins and one loss.

The Koreans' only loss was against Great Britain which forced the team to beat Lithuania and Croatia, while Great Britain also finished the tournament with four wins and one loss, but came in second to Korea on points as one of its victories was in overtime.

“It is optimistic that we played well against physically outperforming players,” Kim said. “Though we have failed to meet our initial goal of an undefeated campaign, I feel there has been a lot of difference compared to previous national teams.” With the two goals against Croatia, Kim became the most prominent Korean in IIHF World Championship competitions, with a total of 39 goals so far.

The Croatia game was largely won in the second period, with the Koreans scoring five goals against a substitute goalie. Along with Kim Ki-sung, Kim Sang-wook (one goal and three assists), Kim Won-joon (two goals and one assist), Mike Testwuide (two goals and one assist) and Michael Swift (one goal and three assists) contributed to the victory. Swift, a Canadian-born-Korean, led the points table with five goals and four assists during the tournament and Brock Radunske, another naturalized Korean, had the most assists with seven.

“I am so proud of our players for doing their best to win the tournament,” said Korea’s coach Jim Paek. “To win a round-robin tournament like this, a combination of factors comes together. You not only need to play well but also you have to be lucky to get help from other teams. Our players did their best and clinched the victory.”

Last year, the Koreans were relegated to Division 1 Group B after finishing at the bottom at the Division 1 Group A tournament held in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province. The dismal campaign caused concerns in and outside of Korea, over whether the national team could earn a berth in the 2018 PyeongChang Olympic Games.

Paek, a two-time Stanley Cup champ, took the helm of the Koreans, as well as working for to advance Korean hockey as program director. Also the IIHF granted Korea an automatic qualification into the Olympics.

“It is a long journey,” Paek said of the Olympics. “But I will do my best to see that the team shows show progress every day.”

Kim Ki-sung also said he and his national teammates feel they are advancing. “First, we will prepare for next year's World Championship and, in the long-term, we will try our best to show the ability of Korean ice hockey at the PyeongChang Games,” Kim said.