Ice Fernz down Turkey to claim silver
New Zealand's best female ice hockey players have set the standard — now it is up to the men to match them.
An entertaining week of action came to a close with the final day of the division 2, group B women's world championship at the Dunedin Ice Stadium on Sunday night.
New Zealand capped an excellent tournament with a 3-2 win over Turkey to claim the silver medal.
The Ice Blacks will now take centre stage when their own division 2, group B world tournament starts in Dunedin this Sunday.
Home ice was always going to be significant for the Ice Fernz, and they responded with another clutch performance to see off Turkey and claim the silver medal in front of a cheering crowd.
It was a slow burner of a game with both teams clearly feeling the effects of the demanding tournament.
Fatigue was evident on the ice and neither side managed to find the back of the net in the first period.
Turkey struck first in the second, breaking the deadlock with a goal to Irmak Gerez after 23 minutes and putting pressure on the Fernz.
New Zealand, however, found their rhythm thanks to the relentless effort of forward Katya Blong, who had been a standout player all tournament.
Blong got New Zealand on the board, assisted by Anjali Mulari, to tie the game at 1-1.
The breakthrough came midway through the third period when Jasmine Horner-Pascoe scored off a feed from Kellye Nelson, giving the Ice Fernz their first lead of the night.
Turkey were not done yet, and a Betul Taygar goal made it 2-2 with just minutes to go.
With the pressure mounting and silver hanging in the balance, Blong again came through in the clutch.
Her second goal of the night — assisted by Nelson and Jaime Jones — sealed the deal for the Kiwis, who celebrated at the final buzzer.
Australia had earlier thumped Belgium 6-0 to finish on 14 points (four wins and one overtime win), sealing the gold medal and promotion to group A.
New Zealand finished on 12 points and Ukraine, who beat Hong Kong 10-2 on the final day, had 10 points to secure the bronze medal.
Ukraine star Valeria Manchik led the tournament in scoring (17 points) and goals (12), and team-mate Daria Tsymyrenko had the most assists (11).
Blong was fifth in scoring (nine points) and second in goals (seven), and Jones was second-equal in assists (seven).
Australia's Sasha King was the leading goaltender with a save mark of 95.24%.
Next was Ice Fernz netminder Grace Harrison (92.78%).
International Ice Hockey Federation president Luc Tardif attended the world championship and summed up the spirit of the event.
"The real winner of this successful tournament was international women's hockey," Tardif said.
While the New Zealand women get a deserved break — before they return to their jobs and families — the Ice Blacks prepare to play Chinese Taipei in their opening game this Sunday.
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