Kazakh goalie Maxim Pavlenko made 30 saves on his IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship debut to backstop a 2-1 victory over Norway.
photo: © INTERNATIONAL ICE HOCKEY FEDERATION / MATT ZAMBONIN
A blend of rookies and veterans led Kazakhstan to a 2-1 victory over Norway in its opening game at the 2025 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship in Herning.
A stellar goaltending display from Maxim Pavlenko – making his first start at this level in the absence of Nikita Boyarkin and Andrei Shutov – laid the foundations for the 2-1 success. He had 30 saves from 31 shots, including some big stops, to frustrate Norway's offence. At the other end, captain Roman Starchenko got the tying goal in the second period before another rookie, Vladimir Volkov, grabbed the winner midway through the third.
Pavlenko was part of Kazakhstan's 2023 roster but never got on the ice. This season he had limited game time for his club, but proved that he was fully prepared to resist Norway's onslaught.
“They put pressure on me,” Pavlenko said. “I saw that they were always looking for tricky passes. They got through in the first period. It’s good that they shot wide a couple of times. It was a mix of luck, skill and support from my team.”
Pavlenko’s opposite number, Tobias Normann, was also making his debut. But fulfilling a lifelong ambition ended in frustration as Kazakhstan took the win.
“It’s a big game and I had a lot of expectations before it, so it sucks to end with a loss,” said he 23-year-old Frolunda netminder. “I think we were controlling most of the game. They had their periods where they took over, but they got a bounce off of our defenseman on the second goal there.
“Afterwards, we had everything in the last period, but they got the goal, they got energy from that, and we just couldn’t get the puck in the net. The Kazakhstan goalie played a hell of a game, made some terrific saves. So it’s a tough loss. I think we deserved more.”
The game got off to a scrappy start, with frequent icings preventing either team from establishing much of a rhythm early on. It all added up to a fairly gentle introduction to life at this level for the two rookie goalies.
Norway was the first to settle and created the first real opportunity in the fifth minute when Thomas Olsen fired against Pavlenko’s post before Tamirlan Gaitamirov muscled Petter Vesterheim away from the rebound.
Soon after that, Norway went in front. Pavlenko gave up a big rebound on a shot from Havard Ostrem Salsten. The puck went back to the slot and, after several players from both sides failed to take control of the situation, Johannes Johanneson stepped up to bury it into an open net. The defender, who plays for Lahti Pelicans, is having a big few days: on Thursday the 28-year-old became a father for the first time.
“It was fun and emotional to score for my boy,” the new dad reflected. “But when we don’t get the win, it doesn’t really mean much.
“I felt like we started well but then we gave the momentum over to them and we couldn’t really get it back.”
There was little sign of Kazakhstan as an attacking force: it wasn’t until midway through the first that Oleg Bolyakin’s men managed a shot on goal and only in the final moments did Tobias Normann face any significant pressure on the Norwegian net. Gaitamirov’s venomous shot rattled the goalie, but his team carried its lead into the intermission.
That gave some momentum for Kazakhstan and the second period brought the first power play of the afternoon. It went to the Kazakhs and produced a tying goal from Starchenko. A well-worked play saw Nikita Mikhailis fake a shot before picking out the veteran captain in the circle to rip a shot to the top corner.
Pavlenko, whose day job is in the rather more modest surroundings of Russia’s second tier VHL, then pulled off a highlight reel stop to deny Andreas Martinsen with a fine reflex glove save.
And the Kazakh goalie continued to impress with a big double stop in the third as Norway looked to convert its first power play of the tournament. Martinsen was again his victim with the initial pad block, then came another sharp glove save as Thomas Berg-Paulson looked to convert the rebound.
Then came another save, this time more improvised. Simen Andre Edvardsen tried to loop one over Pavlenko’s shoulder from close range. The goalie tracked its flight closely and scooped it out from behind the back of his head before it could drop into the net.
And those saves looked even bigger when the teams got back to equal strength and Kazakhstan got in front for the first time on 52:08. Alikhan Asetov saw his shot blocked by Ostrem Salsten and it looked like the chance had gone, but the puck went back to the Barys Astana forward and his cross-ice feed set up Volkov for a goal on his Ice Hockey World Championship debut.
Volkov, who plays his club hockey in Kazakhstan’s Pro Ligasy with Arlan Kokshetau, was named as 13th forward and spent much of the first period warming the bench.
“It was cold, my feet were freezing!” he smiled. “But once I got on the ice, it all went away. The first three shifts were tough but then I got into it and everything went smoothly. During the first intermission they told me to get ready, so I got ready.”
There was some late anxiety for the Kazakhs when Adil Beketayev took a penalty on 57:07. Norway called Normann to the bench to play six-on-four but Pavlenko stayed big to preserve his team’s lead. A final save to deny Jacob Berglund - who once played for Barys - closed out a win that sets Kazakhstan dreaming of a push for the quarter-finals.
“We’re people too,” Gaitamirov said. “We’re from great leagues. We have a great team with great players. And of course, we dream too. We have a dream to make the playoffs, just like everyone else. Maybe go as high as we can.”
A stellar goaltending display from Maxim Pavlenko – making his first start at this level in the absence of Nikita Boyarkin and Andrei Shutov – laid the foundations for the 2-1 success. He had 30 saves from 31 shots, including some big stops, to frustrate Norway's offence. At the other end, captain Roman Starchenko got the tying goal in the second period before another rookie, Vladimir Volkov, grabbed the winner midway through the third.
Pavlenko was part of Kazakhstan's 2023 roster but never got on the ice. This season he had limited game time for his club, but proved that he was fully prepared to resist Norway's onslaught.
“They put pressure on me,” Pavlenko said. “I saw that they were always looking for tricky passes. They got through in the first period. It’s good that they shot wide a couple of times. It was a mix of luck, skill and support from my team.”
Pavlenko’s opposite number, Tobias Normann, was also making his debut. But fulfilling a lifelong ambition ended in frustration as Kazakhstan took the win.
“It’s a big game and I had a lot of expectations before it, so it sucks to end with a loss,” said he 23-year-old Frolunda netminder. “I think we were controlling most of the game. They had their periods where they took over, but they got a bounce off of our defenseman on the second goal there.
“Afterwards, we had everything in the last period, but they got the goal, they got energy from that, and we just couldn’t get the puck in the net. The Kazakhstan goalie played a hell of a game, made some terrific saves. So it’s a tough loss. I think we deserved more.”
The game got off to a scrappy start, with frequent icings preventing either team from establishing much of a rhythm early on. It all added up to a fairly gentle introduction to life at this level for the two rookie goalies.
Norway was the first to settle and created the first real opportunity in the fifth minute when Thomas Olsen fired against Pavlenko’s post before Tamirlan Gaitamirov muscled Petter Vesterheim away from the rebound.
Soon after that, Norway went in front. Pavlenko gave up a big rebound on a shot from Havard Ostrem Salsten. The puck went back to the slot and, after several players from both sides failed to take control of the situation, Johannes Johanneson stepped up to bury it into an open net. The defender, who plays for Lahti Pelicans, is having a big few days: on Thursday the 28-year-old became a father for the first time.
“It was fun and emotional to score for my boy,” the new dad reflected. “But when we don’t get the win, it doesn’t really mean much.
“I felt like we started well but then we gave the momentum over to them and we couldn’t really get it back.”
There was little sign of Kazakhstan as an attacking force: it wasn’t until midway through the first that Oleg Bolyakin’s men managed a shot on goal and only in the final moments did Tobias Normann face any significant pressure on the Norwegian net. Gaitamirov’s venomous shot rattled the goalie, but his team carried its lead into the intermission.
That gave some momentum for Kazakhstan and the second period brought the first power play of the afternoon. It went to the Kazakhs and produced a tying goal from Starchenko. A well-worked play saw Nikita Mikhailis fake a shot before picking out the veteran captain in the circle to rip a shot to the top corner.
Pavlenko, whose day job is in the rather more modest surroundings of Russia’s second tier VHL, then pulled off a highlight reel stop to deny Andreas Martinsen with a fine reflex glove save.
And the Kazakh goalie continued to impress with a big double stop in the third as Norway looked to convert its first power play of the tournament. Martinsen was again his victim with the initial pad block, then came another sharp glove save as Thomas Berg-Paulson looked to convert the rebound.
Then came another save, this time more improvised. Simen Andre Edvardsen tried to loop one over Pavlenko’s shoulder from close range. The goalie tracked its flight closely and scooped it out from behind the back of his head before it could drop into the net.
And those saves looked even bigger when the teams got back to equal strength and Kazakhstan got in front for the first time on 52:08. Alikhan Asetov saw his shot blocked by Ostrem Salsten and it looked like the chance had gone, but the puck went back to the Barys Astana forward and his cross-ice feed set up Volkov for a goal on his Ice Hockey World Championship debut.
Volkov, who plays his club hockey in Kazakhstan’s Pro Ligasy with Arlan Kokshetau, was named as 13th forward and spent much of the first period warming the bench.
“It was cold, my feet were freezing!” he smiled. “But once I got on the ice, it all went away. The first three shifts were tough but then I got into it and everything went smoothly. During the first intermission they told me to get ready, so I got ready.”
There was some late anxiety for the Kazakhs when Adil Beketayev took a penalty on 57:07. Norway called Normann to the bench to play six-on-four but Pavlenko stayed big to preserve his team’s lead. A final save to deny Jacob Berglund - who once played for Barys - closed out a win that sets Kazakhstan dreaming of a push for the quarter-finals.
“We’re people too,” Gaitamirov said. “We’re from great leagues. We have a great team with great players. And of course, we dream too. We have a dream to make the playoffs, just like everyone else. Maybe go as high as we can.”
Norway vs Kazakhstan - 2025 IIHF WM
OF