Kazakhstan wins first ever game at U-18 World Hockey Championship in upset over Czechia

Kazakhstan has won its first game ever at the IIHF Men’s U-18 World Hockey Championship, upsetting Czechia 4-3 on Monday afternoon in Vantaa, Finland.

Kazakhstan lost its first two games against Switzerland and Sweden but kept itself alive in Group B play. If it beats Canada on Tuesday evening to close out round-robin play in Vantaa, Kazakhstan can still qualify for the quarterfinal.

The Kazakhs have only played in the top division once, doing so in 2003. The team went 0-4 and got outscored 6-31 en route to getting relegated to Division I. They remained in either D1B or D1A ever since before earning promotion with a 4-1-0 record last spring.

The Czechs, meanwhile, were fresh off a big 3-2 shootout victory over Sweden to put themselves in second spot for the time being in Group B. Most of this Czech team were a goal away from winning the Hlinka Gretzky Cup against Canada on home ice back August, so the result was a shocking one.

It marked the first game between Kazakhstan and Czech in tournament history.

Roman Bolshedvorsky, Korney Korneyev, Alexandr Perkin and Mstislav Shipilin were the goal scorers for Kazakhstan, with Bolshedvorsky, a defenseman, earning player of the game honors. Goaltender Abylaikhan Toleubay made 28 saves on 31 shots in his tournament debut.

Czechia’s round-robin is over, sitting at six points through four games. Sweden can take second place with a regulation win over Switzerland tomorrow. The Swiss will hold the fourth and final playoff spot in Group B as long as Kazakhstan doesn’t win in any fashion against Canada.