photo: © Andrew Mackay
Sasha King was a force in the net in Australia’s perfect week to power the team to gold at the 2025 IIHF Women’s World Championship, Division II Group B in Dunedin, New Zealand.
The netminder had 0.79 goals against average, 95.24 save percentage, and only allowed five goals in net. King also earned three shutout victories (the only shutouts of the tournament) and backstopped the team to a shootout victory against hosts New Zealand.
Christina Julien led the Australians in scoring with 8 points (5 goals, 3 assists). The forward also netted the shootout winner against New Zealand.
The team’s record was 4-1-0-0. This result betters their performance from a year ago in the tournament, when they settled for second place.
With the win, the Australians are promoted to Division II, Group A for 2026.
Hosts New Zealand improved on their 2024 fourth place finish by claiming silver at this year’s tournament. Their record was 3-1-1-0. Leading in the team’s scoring was Katya Blong with 7 goals and 2 assists for 9 points.
New Zealand had a couple of thrilling games during the week, including the shootout loss against the Australians. One of the highlights was Blong’s goal in the early in the third period to lift the team to a 4-3 victory over Ukraine. The forward also broke a 2-2 deadlock in midway through the third period of their final game of the tournament against Turkiye to help the team to a 3-2 win.
Ukraine earned bronze with a 3-0-1-1 record. The team had the top four scorers of the tournament were the scoring leaders in the tournament. Valeria Manchuk had 12 goals and 5 assists for 17 points, including a 6-goal performance against Hong Kong in the final day of competition. Daria Tsymyrenko with 3 goals and 11 assists for 14 points, Tetiana Kyrychenko amassed 4 goals and 6 assists for 10 points, while Polina Telehina had 3 goals and 7 assists for 10 points.
Ending up in fourth place was Belgium with a 1-0-1-3 mark. Anke Steeno led the team in scoring with 4 goals and 3 assists for 7 points. Goaltender Charlotte Swinnen was the busiest in net amongst the teams as she faced 227 shots during the week, including 62 shots against Australia and 59 against Urkaine.
Hong Kong placed fifth in the tournament with 1-0-0-4 record. One of the highlights in their loss against champions Australia is that netminder Hei Lam Mok faced 45 shots on goal.
Rounding out the standings is Turkiye with a 0-1-0-4 mark. The team’s highlight was earning an overtime win over Belgium 4-3 as Elis Savas scored on the power play. In their loss against Urkaine, goaltender Erva Kanat faced 56 shots on goal. Kanat also faced 50 shots against New Zealand and 46 shots against Australia. Savas was the team’s leading scorer with 3 goals, 3 assists for six points.
The netminder had 0.79 goals against average, 95.24 save percentage, and only allowed five goals in net. King also earned three shutout victories (the only shutouts of the tournament) and backstopped the team to a shootout victory against hosts New Zealand.
Christina Julien led the Australians in scoring with 8 points (5 goals, 3 assists). The forward also netted the shootout winner against New Zealand.
The team’s record was 4-1-0-0. This result betters their performance from a year ago in the tournament, when they settled for second place.
With the win, the Australians are promoted to Division II, Group A for 2026.
Hosts New Zealand improved on their 2024 fourth place finish by claiming silver at this year’s tournament. Their record was 3-1-1-0. Leading in the team’s scoring was Katya Blong with 7 goals and 2 assists for 9 points.
New Zealand had a couple of thrilling games during the week, including the shootout loss against the Australians. One of the highlights was Blong’s goal in the early in the third period to lift the team to a 4-3 victory over Ukraine. The forward also broke a 2-2 deadlock in midway through the third period of their final game of the tournament against Turkiye to help the team to a 3-2 win.
Ukraine earned bronze with a 3-0-1-1 record. The team had the top four scorers of the tournament were the scoring leaders in the tournament. Valeria Manchuk had 12 goals and 5 assists for 17 points, including a 6-goal performance against Hong Kong in the final day of competition. Daria Tsymyrenko with 3 goals and 11 assists for 14 points, Tetiana Kyrychenko amassed 4 goals and 6 assists for 10 points, while Polina Telehina had 3 goals and 7 assists for 10 points.
Ending up in fourth place was Belgium with a 1-0-1-3 mark. Anke Steeno led the team in scoring with 4 goals and 3 assists for 7 points. Goaltender Charlotte Swinnen was the busiest in net amongst the teams as she faced 227 shots during the week, including 62 shots against Australia and 59 against Urkaine.
Hong Kong placed fifth in the tournament with 1-0-0-4 record. One of the highlights in their loss against champions Australia is that netminder Hei Lam Mok faced 45 shots on goal.
Rounding out the standings is Turkiye with a 0-1-0-4 mark. The team’s highlight was earning an overtime win over Belgium 4-3 as Elis Savas scored on the power play. In their loss against Urkaine, goaltender Erva Kanat faced 56 shots on goal. Kanat also faced 50 shots against New Zealand and 46 shots against Australia. Savas was the team’s leading scorer with 3 goals, 3 assists for six points.