Five wins, three by shutout, three goals allowed and 40 goals scored.
It’s safe to say the Netherlands was, by far, the most dominant team at the IIHF World Men’s U20 Division II Group B Championship, which wrapped up on 24 January in Belgrade, Serbia. The gold medal win by the Netherlands means it has qualified for the World Men’s U20 Division II Group A Championship in 2027.
Netherlands opened the tournament with a 5-0 win over Serbia, with Jaidy van Mourik scoring a goal and adding two assists and Danylo Douma turning away 15 shots for the shutout. Netherlands then earned an 8-1 win over Australia, led by Bryan Wendijk’s three points.
Douma earned his second straight shutout with 25 saves in a 5-0 win over Iceland. Van Mourik had his second three-point game of the tournament with a goal and two helpers.
The biggest win came next by a 16-0 score over New Zealand, with van Mourik’s offensive game once again standing out, this time with a thee goal and three assist effort for six points. Thijs Kivits stopped 16 shots for the shutout.
Donny van Belkom, Stijn Andringa and van Mourik all had three points in the Netherlands’ final game of the event, a 6-2 victory over Israel.
Van Mourik led the tournament in scoring with 16 points in five games, followed by teammate van Belkom, who had 11 points.
Kivits (0.974 save percentage and 0.50 goals against average) and Douma (0.971 and 0.67) were the top two goaltenders in the tournament.
Australia wins silver, Israel takes bronze
The Aussies won three of their five games to finish with nine points, taking second place. Likely the most important win came by a 5-1 score over Israel, which finished with eight points and won bronze.
Iceland has been relegated to the World Men’s U20 Division III Group A Championship in 2027.
Individual award winners
Danylo of Netherlands was named top goaltender, Daniel Koudelka (Australia) had seven assists and was top defender, and van Mourik (Netherlands) was named top forward.
Final standings:
18 January: NZL 1-13 AUS; ISR 5-4 ISL; SRB 0-5 NED
19 January: ISL 2-6 NZL; NED 8-1 AUS; ISR 3-2 SRB (OT)
21 January: NED 5-0 ISL; ISR 9-1 NZL; SRB 6-4 AUS
22 January: NZL 0-16 NED; AUS 5-1 ISR; ISL 4-2 SRB
24 January: AUS 6-5 ISL; NED 6-2 ISR; SRB 4-3 NZL
It’s safe to say the Netherlands was, by far, the most dominant team at the IIHF World Men’s U20 Division II Group B Championship, which wrapped up on 24 January in Belgrade, Serbia. The gold medal win by the Netherlands means it has qualified for the World Men’s U20 Division II Group A Championship in 2027.
Netherlands opened the tournament with a 5-0 win over Serbia, with Jaidy van Mourik scoring a goal and adding two assists and Danylo Douma turning away 15 shots for the shutout. Netherlands then earned an 8-1 win over Australia, led by Bryan Wendijk’s three points.
Douma earned his second straight shutout with 25 saves in a 5-0 win over Iceland. Van Mourik had his second three-point game of the tournament with a goal and two helpers.
The biggest win came next by a 16-0 score over New Zealand, with van Mourik’s offensive game once again standing out, this time with a thee goal and three assist effort for six points. Thijs Kivits stopped 16 shots for the shutout.
Donny van Belkom, Stijn Andringa and van Mourik all had three points in the Netherlands’ final game of the event, a 6-2 victory over Israel.
Van Mourik led the tournament in scoring with 16 points in five games, followed by teammate van Belkom, who had 11 points.
Kivits (0.974 save percentage and 0.50 goals against average) and Douma (0.971 and 0.67) were the top two goaltenders in the tournament.
Australia wins silver, Israel takes bronze
The Aussies won three of their five games to finish with nine points, taking second place. Likely the most important win came by a 5-1 score over Israel, which finished with eight points and won bronze.
Iceland has been relegated to the World Men’s U20 Division III Group A Championship in 2027.
Individual award winners
Danylo of Netherlands was named top goaltender, Daniel Koudelka (Australia) had seven assists and was top defender, and van Mourik (Netherlands) was named top forward.
Final standings:
- Netherlands – 15 points (promoted to 2027 IIHF World Men's U20 Division II Group A Championship)
- Australia – 9 points
- Israel – 8 points
- Serbia – 7 points
- New Zealand – 3 points
- Iceland – 3 points (relegated to 2027 IIHF World Men's U20 Division III Group A Championship)
18 January: NZL 1-13 AUS; ISR 5-4 ISL; SRB 0-5 NED
19 January: ISL 2-6 NZL; NED 8-1 AUS; ISR 3-2 SRB (OT)
21 January: NED 5-0 ISL; ISR 9-1 NZL; SRB 6-4 AUS
22 January: NZL 0-16 NED; AUS 5-1 ISR; ISL 4-2 SRB
24 January: AUS 6-5 ISL; NED 6-2 ISR; SRB 4-3 NZL