South Korea stunned Kazakhstan for its second straight victory at the men's hockey world championships in Ukraine.
South Korea, ranked 23rd, rallied with four third-period goals to take down No. 16 Kazakhstan 5-2 on Sunday (local time) at the International Ice Hockey Federation World Championship Division I Group A at the Palace of Sports in Kiev. It was South Korea's first win over the Central Asian nation in 13 meetings.
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South Korean defenseman Alex Plante takes a shot against Kazakhstan at the International Ice Hockey Federation World Championship Division I Group A at the Palace of Sports in Kiev, Ukraine, on April 23. (Hockey Photo) |
Down 2-1 after two periods, South Korea stormed back with four unanswered goals in a six-minute span in the final period, with defenseman Alex Plante picking up two goals and an assist in the onslaught.
The six-nation competition, which goes through Friday, is the second-highest level of men's international hockey. The top two teams after the round-robin play will be promoted to the top-flight IIHF World Championship next year, while the worst team will drop to Division I Group B.
Other nations in the tournament are Austria (No. 17), Hungary (No. 19), Poland (No. 20) and Ukraine (No. 22).
South Korea defeated Poland 4-2 on Saturday to open the competition. It will next take on Hungary on Tuesday.
Plante, a Canadian native who recently acquired his South Korean passport, said he was "happy to be part of" the historic win in his first world championship.
"We just keep finding ways to get the bounces and to get them in," Plante told the IIHF's website.
South Korea had a strong start against Kazakhstan, but the Central Asian nation, which has naturalized a handful of former National Hockey League players born in North America, struck first.
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South Korean players celebrate their 5-2 win over Kazakhstan at the International Ice Hockey Federation World Championship Division I Group A at the Palace of Sports in Kiev, Ukraine, on April 23. (Hockey Photo) |
Two of those players combined for the opening goal, as the US-born Brandon Bochenski scored with a deft redirection of a low shot by former Canadian junior star Nigel Dawes at 8:01 in the first period.
South Korea evened the score about eight minutes later on Ahn Jin-hui's even-strength goal. But Dawes, a former New York Rangers draft pick, broke the tie at 13:25 in the second period, as Bochenski returned the favor with a primary assist.
Kazakhstan, which blanked South Korea 4-0 just two months earlier at the Asian Winter Games, crowded the neutral zone to start the third period, hoping to protect its slim lead. But South Korea broke down the defense with its speed and strong forechecking.
Plante started the rally with a wrist shot past goalie Vitali Kolesnik at 5:49 in the third. Forward Cho Min-ho threaded a perfect pass from the left wing, and Plante walked in from the point and fired one from the high slot.
Then 1:14 later, Shin Sang-hoon put South Korea ahead on a 3-on-2 breakaway. With Cho again providing the assist, Shin sent a wrist shot from the left wing to the top shelf, beating the suddenly shaky Kolesnik.
After Kazakhstan wasted a power-play chance, Plante completed the improbable comeback for South Korea, as his slap shot from the point went in off the skate of Kazakhstan defenseman Artemi Lakiza at 9:58.
Kazakhstan self-destructed by taking two consecutive penalties 14 seconds apart, the latter being a five-minute boarding penalty by Alexander Lipin, who was ejected for game misconduct on the same play.
Kim Ki-sung then delivered the knockout punch by converting a Plante pass with a backhander at 11:41.
South Korean goalie Matt Dalton turned aside 14 shots in the third period alone and made 30 saves overall in the victory.
This is a key test tournament for South Korea, coached by former NHL defenseman Jim Paek, ahead of its Olympic debut on home ice next year at the PyeongChang Winter Games. South Korea earned a spot as the host, and will face world No. 1 Canada, along with the Czech Republic and Switzerland.
"Kazakhstan is a very hard team to play and we're fortunate to come out with a win," Paek told the IIHF.com. "The more experiences we have in games with teams like Kazakhstan the better we get. We historically don't have that much experience against teams like Kazakhstan so that helps us." (Yonhap)
