The Ukrainians secured the second spot in Group A of Division I after the Polish team failed to defeat the Lithuanians in regulation time.
Ukraine’s national hockey team has advanced to the top-tier division of the World Championship, where they will compete next year.
The Ukrainian squad finished second in the World Championship, Group A of Division I, held in Sosnowiec, Poland, accumulating 10 points. In the final game of the tournament, the Polish team could not overcome their Lithuanian rivals within regular play (losing 1:2 in overtime), thus failing to surpass the Ukrainians in the contest for second place (finishing with 8 points). The Lithuanians ended up in fourth position (4 points) and successfully retained their status in this division for the upcoming year. Kazakhstan triumphed in the tournament (13 points) and will also participate in the elite division.
The Ukrainian ice hockey players last competed in the top division of the world championships in Russia back in 2007, from which they were relegated to Group A of Division I.
Kazakhstan and Ukraine will both compete in the elite division of the World Championship next year; the event is scheduled to take place in Düsseldorf and Mannheim, Germany. In 2027, these two nations will replace the bottom-placed teams from both main competition groups, whose fate will be decided following the preliminary stage of this year’s World Championship taking place in Zurich and Fribourg, Switzerland.
Due to a decision by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), Russian and Belarusian hockey players have been ineligible to participate in World Championships and Olympic Games since February 2022. A ruling made at the IIHF’s mid-year congress in 2022 stipulated that should Russia and Belarus be reinstated into the competitions, they would resume play in the elite division of the World Championship.
About the Author
