The second edition of the IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s Asia championship got off to a thrilling start on Wednesday in Oskemen.
In Game 1, China earned the 3-2 win over Korea off a shootout in the closely contested match while in Game 2, the hosts from Kazakhstan held the powerhouse team from Japan to a 6-0 outcome.
Here’s more on both games.
Game 1: China 3 – Korea 2 (shootout)
After falling behind 2-0, Team China rallied to force overtime before Yifan Wang scored the shootout winner in the tournament’s opening game.
While China held a 51-19 edge on the shot clock in the game, it was Korea that jumped out to a 2-0 lead.
The Korean power play clicked just 13 seconds after Jiaxin Wang was penalized at 5:06 of the first period. Jiyoon Park won the faceoff to give Korea possession, then Jongah Park took the puck behind the net before feeding defender Sojung Lee for a one-timer at the goalmouth, which beat sprawling Chinese goaltender Guimin Lai.
Late in the period, Korea successfully killed off a penalty to Yuan Han. Their goalie, Sewon Ahn, was perfect in the opening frame, stopping all 10 shots she faced.
Late in the second, the Koreans took a 2-0 lead when Minseo Kim advanced the puck out of the defensive zone. Her tape-to-tape stretch pass landed on the stick of Yunha Song, who bounced it to streaking scorer Soojin Han.
But the two-goal cushion was short-lived. Just 52 seconds after play resumed, China scored its first goal of the game when captain Qinan Zhao intercepted a clearing attempt at the blue line and lobbed the puck over the shoulder of Ahn.
In the third, China increased the pressure, outshooting Korea 22-7. But the equalizer didn’t come until Lai was pulled for the extra attacker. With just 36 seconds left in regulation time, Ke Li made no mistake when she accepted a pass from Zhao on the doorstep of the Korean crease.
China had a chance to win outright when Korea captain Selin Kim took a tripping penalty with 29 seconds left in regulation. But the Korean penalty killers stood strong, including in the 4-on-3 overtime situation, pushing the game all the way to the shootout.
There, China scored on its second and third attempts. Korea replied with a goal by Song, but that was not enough to extend the contest.
And while Korea was less than a minute away from picking up an upset win, earning a point against China is still something to celebrate. At last year’s event, they fell to China by a score of 4-0.
Zhao was named best player of the game for China, and Jongah Park received the honor for Korea.
Game 2: Japan 6 – Kazakhstan 0
The second game of the day was not as tightly contested. But the host team from Kazakhstan delivered a solid effort against a strong squad from Japan in front of 1,235 fans.
Making 65 saves on 71 shots, goaltender Arina Chshyokolova was named the best player of the game for Kazakhstan. With one goal and two assists, Haruka Toko earned the honor for Japan.
Miyuu Masuhara made 14 saves to earn the shutout and put Japan into first place in the round-robin standings.
Japan’s first goal came at the 7:55 mark of the first period, when Makoto Ito converted a perfect pass to the slot by Toko. Wakana Kurosu doubled the lead before the end of the opening frame.
Japan went on to add goals from Riri Noro, Mei Miura and Toko in the second period, and Ayaka Tomiuchi rounded out the scoring in the third.
Toko’s goal came with Dilnaz Sayakhatkyzy in the penalty box for holding. Japan’s power play was 1-for-2 in the game, while Kazakhstan’s was 0-for-3.
The result was an improvement for Kazakhstan from last year’s tournament, when they lost 8-0 to Japan.
Standings after Day 1
Japan: 1-0-0-0 3 pts
China: 0-1-0-0 2 pts
Korea: 0-0-1-0 1 pt
Kazakhstan: 0-0-0-1 0 pts
The tournament resumes on Friday when Japan faces Korea (1400 hrs local time: UTC+5) and China meets Kazakhstan (1730 hrs local time).
For more stats and the full schedule, visit IIHF.com.