photo: © Dávid Vörös
It isn’t often that an IIHF event enters the final gameday already knowing which country has gained promotion, but exactly that happened at the 2025 D1A U18 Worlds in Szekesfehervar, Hungary.
And the nation going up, namely Denmark, was on a clearcut redemption course all tournament long after having been the disappointment of last year’s tournament, one the Danish Ice Hockey Federation (Danmarks Ishockey Union) hosted!
By the time Game 4 against host Hungary rolled around, Denmark was already aware that a regulation win would seal the deal for the nation of roughly 6 million. After all, the 5-3 victory over Austria in the tournament’s first game really set the tone, but was followed by a most impressive 5-1 win over Ukraine 24 hours later, a result that raised its fair share of eyebrows among viewers after Ukraine had easily done away with host Hungary in the tournament’s second game by a score of 7-1. The convincing 5-2 win over Kazakhstan meant that Denmark only needed three more points to secure advancement.
Game 4 would pit the Danes against a host Hungarian side that had scored all of one goal in its first three games. And with mere survival now the name of the game, Hungary would see to it that Denmark had its hands full.
Playing in front of just under 700 spectators, Hungary’s Marcell Mayer opened up the scoring in the 9th minute of play when he one-timed a Ferenc Karsai pass shortly after an offensive zone faceoff to open up a 5-on-3 powerplay advantage. The lead would hold until Denmark got a powerplay of its own and Mads Klyvo received a cross-ice pass off the point from Mike Bergmann and wristed one past Hungarian keeper Bence Veres-Fucsku.
That same Mr. Bergmann would then score a 2nd period powerplay goal himself at the 27:12 mark, one off a one-timer that was set up through a beautiful fake no-look pass from Klyvo, giving Denmark a lead. If any felt it’d be the nail in the coffin, they thought wrong as Hungary responded not even two minutes later.
With 15-year old defenseman Emil Saaby Jakobsen having gone to the penalty box for a delay of game penalty, Hungarian forward Doman Szongoth eventually sent a simple pass to Mark Osztoics who backed his way into the crease and flipped the puck over the arm of Danish netminder Anton Wilde Larsen.
In the third period, with just 5 seconds to go on the 5-on-3 powerplay at the 44:41 mark, Szongoth picked up a rebound in the slot and flipped it into the net to give Hungary a 4-3 lead, sending the hometown crowd into a frenzy. For Hungary, it looked like the hockey gods were finally going to smile upon them in this tournament, but the new lead would last all of 53 seconds.
At minute 45:34, it was Bergmann once again who glided into the Hungarian zone with the puck and released what looked like a standard wrist shot right at Veres-Fucsku. Alas, the puck somehow snuck through and rolled onto its edge into the net. The goal would undergo video review, but was determined to have crossed the line before the refs had blown their whistle!
With time dwindling down and the game looking like it was headed to overtime, Albert Grossmann took a Bundgaard pass in the Hungarian zone and whipped in a well-placed wrister, leading to pure elation on the Danish bench with just 70 seconds to go.
Hungary used its timeout and then looked for the first opportunity to pull its goalie, but the Danes quickly forced a turnover and Klyvo won a race for the loose puck, depositing it casually into an empty net with only 18 seconds to go.
The clock would wind down with Denmark’s entire staff standing arm-in-arm on the bench.
With the final buzzer, promotion had been achieved!
“A world of credit to Hungary. They played a really good game,” explained an elated coach Flemming Green. “When Grossmann scored that goal, I was absolutely filled with joy - especially for the players' sake.”
And the nation going up, namely Denmark, was on a clearcut redemption course all tournament long after having been the disappointment of last year’s tournament, one the Danish Ice Hockey Federation (Danmarks Ishockey Union) hosted!
By the time Game 4 against host Hungary rolled around, Denmark was already aware that a regulation win would seal the deal for the nation of roughly 6 million. After all, the 5-3 victory over Austria in the tournament’s first game really set the tone, but was followed by a most impressive 5-1 win over Ukraine 24 hours later, a result that raised its fair share of eyebrows among viewers after Ukraine had easily done away with host Hungary in the tournament’s second game by a score of 7-1. The convincing 5-2 win over Kazakhstan meant that Denmark only needed three more points to secure advancement.
Game 4 would pit the Danes against a host Hungarian side that had scored all of one goal in its first three games. And with mere survival now the name of the game, Hungary would see to it that Denmark had its hands full.
Playing in front of just under 700 spectators, Hungary’s Marcell Mayer opened up the scoring in the 9th minute of play when he one-timed a Ferenc Karsai pass shortly after an offensive zone faceoff to open up a 5-on-3 powerplay advantage. The lead would hold until Denmark got a powerplay of its own and Mads Klyvo received a cross-ice pass off the point from Mike Bergmann and wristed one past Hungarian keeper Bence Veres-Fucsku.
That same Mr. Bergmann would then score a 2nd period powerplay goal himself at the 27:12 mark, one off a one-timer that was set up through a beautiful fake no-look pass from Klyvo, giving Denmark a lead. If any felt it’d be the nail in the coffin, they thought wrong as Hungary responded not even two minutes later.
With 15-year old defenseman Emil Saaby Jakobsen having gone to the penalty box for a delay of game penalty, Hungarian forward Doman Szongoth eventually sent a simple pass to Mark Osztoics who backed his way into the crease and flipped the puck over the arm of Danish netminder Anton Wilde Larsen.
In the third period, with just 5 seconds to go on the 5-on-3 powerplay at the 44:41 mark, Szongoth picked up a rebound in the slot and flipped it into the net to give Hungary a 4-3 lead, sending the hometown crowd into a frenzy. For Hungary, it looked like the hockey gods were finally going to smile upon them in this tournament, but the new lead would last all of 53 seconds.
At minute 45:34, it was Bergmann once again who glided into the Hungarian zone with the puck and released what looked like a standard wrist shot right at Veres-Fucsku. Alas, the puck somehow snuck through and rolled onto its edge into the net. The goal would undergo video review, but was determined to have crossed the line before the refs had blown their whistle!
With time dwindling down and the game looking like it was headed to overtime, Albert Grossmann took a Bundgaard pass in the Hungarian zone and whipped in a well-placed wrister, leading to pure elation on the Danish bench with just 70 seconds to go.
Hungary used its timeout and then looked for the first opportunity to pull its goalie, but the Danes quickly forced a turnover and Klyvo won a race for the loose puck, depositing it casually into an empty net with only 18 seconds to go.
The clock would wind down with Denmark’s entire staff standing arm-in-arm on the bench.
With the final buzzer, promotion had been achieved!
“A world of credit to Hungary. They played a really good game,” explained an elated coach Flemming Green. “When Grossmann scored that goal, I was absolutely filled with joy - especially for the players' sake.”
Hot on the trail
Without a doubt, the key in this tournament for the final outcome took place when Denmark defeated Ukraine 5-1. Already on Day 2 of the event, the game was highly anticipated and then even more so after both teams had won on Day 1, Ukraine particularly convincingly. At the end of the day, it was a 5-1 victory for the red and white, and the crowning performance of the tournament for Wilde Larsen.
But overall, Ukraine was as close to promotion as you could otherwise get. The 5-1 loss was followed by overly convincing 6-3 and 7-1 victories over Austria and Slovenia, respectively, then topped with a tight 3-2 win over Kazakhstan in the tournament’s final match.
The Kazakhs themselves entered the final day of play knowing they hadn’t come close to getting the results they were looking for, especially considering they were an overtime goal away from remaining among the world’s elite last spring. A 3-2 overtime loss to Slovenia to kick off the event couldn’t be overshadowed by the ensuing 4-0 win against Hungary because the backbreaking 5-2 loss to Denmark would mean the Kazakhs now had to start worrying about relegation. Fortunately, a close 4-2 win over Austria swept any such worries under the carpet.
Without a doubt, the key in this tournament for the final outcome took place when Denmark defeated Ukraine 5-1. Already on Day 2 of the event, the game was highly anticipated and then even more so after both teams had won on Day 1, Ukraine particularly convincingly. At the end of the day, it was a 5-1 victory for the red and white, and the crowning performance of the tournament for Wilde Larsen.
But overall, Ukraine was as close to promotion as you could otherwise get. The 5-1 loss was followed by overly convincing 6-3 and 7-1 victories over Austria and Slovenia, respectively, then topped with a tight 3-2 win over Kazakhstan in the tournament’s final match.
The Kazakhs themselves entered the final day of play knowing they hadn’t come close to getting the results they were looking for, especially considering they were an overtime goal away from remaining among the world’s elite last spring. A 3-2 overtime loss to Slovenia to kick off the event couldn’t be overshadowed by the ensuing 4-0 win against Hungary because the backbreaking 5-2 loss to Denmark would mean the Kazakhs now had to start worrying about relegation. Fortunately, a close 4-2 win over Austria swept any such worries under the carpet.
For whom the relegation bell tolls
Often finding ways to overachieve, Slovenia looked like it might make some music at this tournament with an impressive 3-2 OT win over Kazakhstan in Game 1. Alas, it would ultimately take a 2-0 win over host and Easternmost neighbor Hungary to safely get out of harm’s way with respect to relegation. The 4-1 and 7-1 losses to Austria and Ukraine, respectively, were followed by a final day 4-1 loss to the undefeated Danes.That meant that for history buffs, the very enticing match-up of Austria and Hungary on the final day of play had huge ramifications in determining who Italy will replace next season. Austria came into the game as the favorite with a win under its belt and by having been more competitive in its losses.
Alas, with almost 1100 in attendance for the all-important match-up for host Hungary, the Hungarians were able to play a game very similar to the one against Denmark, with the two teams seemingly going back and forth on the scoreboard. Everything was tied up at three when the aforementioned Szongoth was able to score the game winner for Hungary. After that, Hungarian goalie Benedek Gyulai took over and shut the gates.
Austria ultimately outshot Hungary 45 to 17, but it wasn’t enough to stave off elimination.
With that, Austria has been relegated to the 2026 U18 D2A.
Top performers
Danish forward William Bundgaard led the tournament in goals and points with 6-4-10. He was closely followed in scoring by teammates Mads Klyvo (4-5-9) and Linus Rorth (2-6-8).Ukrainian Mykola Kosarev led all defensemen in scoring with 2-4-6.