IIHF – Germany crowned champions of 2024 IIHF U18 World Championship Division 1A

Germany 6, Denmark 4

Simon Siedl netted a hat trick as Germany ended the tournament on a perfect note and clinched goal with a 6-4 victory over Denmark.
 
Germany’s record was 4-1-0-0 for 14 points, which was good enough for first place.  Denmark ended up fifth with a 1-0-0-4 record and three points.
 
Denmark got the first goal of the game.  Anton Linde scored only 4:38 into the first period to give Denmark the lead.
 
With 2:34 remaining in the period, Germany had a chance to get the equalizer on the power play as William Bundgaard was given a slashing penalty.  The Germans were not able to seize the opportunity.
 
Linde scored his second goal of the game only 1:57 into the second period.

About 13 seconds later, Germany cut the deficit to one goal as Matthias Pape got the puck past Denmark’s goaltender Patrick Tiejden.
 
Halfway through the period, Denmark capitalized on a 2-on-1 chance in front of German goaltender Lennart Neisse.  Andrew Bjergstad glided the puck across the ice to Frederick Amondsen, who buried the puck into the net to increase the lead.
 
Germany played about a similar sequence in front of Tiedjen and Seidl scored 23 seconds later.
 
Denmark had a golden opportunity to score on a 5-on-3 advantage as Germany ran into discipline issues hallway through the second period.  However, Germany’s efficiency on the power play halted any attempt to score another goal.
 
In the third period, Germany tied the game 3-3 when Simon Seidl walked in from the left side of the left side of the ice and took the puck from Tim Schutz for the score.
 
With 6:53 remaining in the game, Denmark would regain the lead.  Amondsen shot the puck to the net and Bundgaard scooped up the rebound to score on the right side of the net past Neisse.
 
However, Germany was relentless and got the equalizer as Mateu Spath put the puck in the net as was sprawled down on the ice.
 
Germany would get the go-ahead goal 1:07 later when Seidl walked in and scored into the Denmark net for his second goal of the game.
 
Within the last minute of play, Denmark pulled Tiedjen from the net in favour of the extra attacker. 
 
Germany got some assurance with 22 seconds left in the game as Nick Maul scored an empty net goal.
 
Spath had a goal and assist while Schutz had a pair of assists in Germany’s win.  For Denmark, Linde had a pair of goals, Amonsen and Bundgaard each added a goal and an assist in the loss.
 
The players of the tournament were Carlos Handel for Germany and Oliver Larsen for Denmark.

Ukraine 3, Austria 2

In one of the most exciting and dramatic games of the tournament, Danyl Shulha scored a pair of goals, including the game winner in the final minute of play to lift Ukraine past Austria 2-1.
 
Ukraine finished the tournament with a 4-0-1-0 record and 13 points.  Meanwhile, Austria ended the event with a 2-1-0-2 mark and eight points.
 
After a scoreless first period, Austria scored the first goal of the game with 7:43 remaining in the second period. 
 
After winning the faceoff, Austria pressed deep in Ukraine’s zone. Felix Haibock passed the puck to Leon Kolarik, who blasted it past goaltender Alex Levshin and into the lower left side of the net for the goal.
 
Ukraine got the equalizer 2:39 later in the second period as Bohdan Trushchenko walked in and launched the one-timer past Austrian goaltender Mika Haim.
 
However, the tied game was short lived.  With 2:02 remaining in the period, Austria regained the lead as they capitalized on a 2-on-1 breakaway.  David Wasching glided the puck to Luca Kogler who buried the puck into the net to put the team ahead

With 8:02 gone by in the third period, Ukraine tied up the game on the power play.  After winning the faceoff in the Austrian zone, the Ukrainians were passing the puck back and forth. The team blasted a shot on net, and collected the rebound of Haim’s pad.  Mykhailo Haponenko shot the puck towards the net and Shulha tapped it in behind the goaltender for the score.
 
With 4:20 remaining in regulation, Ukraine had a golden opportunity to take the lead. The team went on the power play as Wasching was given an interference penalty. Despite tremendous pressure from Ukraine, Haim made some great saves to deny the go-ahead goal.
 
However, Haibock was assessed a tripping penalty which gave Ukraine another chance to seal the victory on the power play in the dying minutes.

Austria pulled Haim from the net in favour of an extra attacker on the power play but it proved to be costly as Shulha scored an empty netter with 43 seconds left to win the game.
 
Danylo Kuraiev has two assists for Urkaine in the win. Meanwhile, Haim stopped 43 of 45 shots on goal for Austria in the loss.
 
The players of the tournament were Levshin for Ukraine and Kolarik for Austria.

Hungary 6, Japan 3

Zeteny Almas led Hungary with a goal and an assist while Ferenc Laskawy added a pair of assists to lead Hungary to a 6-3 win over Japan.
 
With the victory, Hungary ended the tournament in fourth place with a 2-0-1-2 record and seven points.  Meanwhile, Japan was winless in the tournament and ended up in sixth place.
 
With 9:26 remaining in the first period, Hungary got on the scoreboard.  Dominik Nagy passed the puck cross ice to Barnabas Loczi who launched the puck past the left glove of Japanese goaltender Yuichiro Takase for the goal.

Hungary increased their lead 1:53 into the second period.  The play began when the team brought out the puck from their zone.  A 2-on-1 breakaway emerged and Andras Nagy glided the puck over to Zeteny Almas whose shot beat Takase and blasted the puck into the net.
 
An assurance goal came for Hungary on a penalty shot as Japan’s Ryunosuke Shirozu was given a hooking penalty 6:37 into the second period.  Balint Lobenwein seized the opportunity and scored for Hungary.
 
Japan began to show signs of life in the third period.  They pulled Takase and replaced him with Jei Yamabayashi at net.
 
At 12:34 of the third period, they would get their first goal of the game on a 2-on-1 breakaway. Saishiro Nakaya passed the puck cross ice to Hiroto Ishikawa who ended the play with a goal.
 
Halfway through the period, Japan cut the deficit to one goal. Hiroto Ishizuka passed the puck across the ice to Sota Hifumi. Then, Hifumi connected with Ryota Seki for the score.
 
However, Hungary responded 12 seconds later as Dome Szongoth launched the puck to the net. On the way, Gergo Schwartz redirected it to score the goal.
 
Hungary was not done yet as they scored another goal 13 seconds apart from the previous one.  Oliver Barna walked and blasted the puck past Yamabayashi’s left shoulder and into the net.
 
With 4:36 remaining in the game, Hungary struck again as Kolos Feher beat Yamabayshi to go top shelf for the score.
 
Japan would round out the scoring with 3:22 left in the game as Konosuke Ito buried the puck in the net.
 
Between Takase and Yamabayashi, the Japanese goaltenders were busy the entire game, facing 45 shots on goal.  Oliver Kiraly faced 30 shots on goal.
 
The players of the tournament were Laskawy for Hungary and Sazuku Kudo for Japan.