It’s not how you start but how you finish.
Romania is a great example of that motto, as it dropped its first game of the IIHF World Women’s Under-18 Division II Group B Championship and then strung four wins together to win the gold medal. With the win in Cape Town, South Africa, Romania earned a berth in the 2027 World Women’s Under-18 Division II Group A Championship.
The opening-day 2-1 loss to Mexico on 26 January seemed to wake up the Romanians, as they then soundly defeated South Africa 30-0, outshooting their opponent 102-1. Forward Orsolya Feher led the way with two goals and six assists and defender Olivia Popescu (4-3—7) and forward Boglarka Antal (3-4—7) each had seven points.
Romania beat Iceland 5-1 and then concluded the tournament with back-to-back shutouts, 5-0 over Chinese Taipei and 6-0 over Belgium. Nicoleta Sabalin (19 saves) and Sophia Petre (16 saves) earned the shutouts for Romania in the final two wins.
Romania scored 47 goals and gave up just three en route to the championship.
Second place
Three teams ended up with nine points apiece but it was Iceland that grabbed the silver medal thanks to its 5-4 overtime victory over Chinese Taipei, which won bronze. Mexico also had 9 points but had to settle for fourth place after losing to both Iceland and Taipei.
Players of the tournament
Sabalin (Romania) was named top goalkeeper with a 0.971 save percentage and 0.33 goals against average. She posted two shutouts in three games. Shu Yu Hsieh (Chinese Taipei) was the top defender with six points, including two goals, in five games. Solrun Arnardottir (Iceland) was the top forward with three goals and 12 assists. She also had a plus-minus rating of plus-13.
Final standings:
- Romania – 12 points (promoted to 2027 World Women's Under-18 Division II Group A Championship)
- Iceland – 9 points
- Chinese Taipei – 9 points
- Mexico – 9 points
- Belgium – 6 points
- South Africa – 0 points (relegated to 2027 World Women’s Under-18 Division III Championship)
Game results:
26 January: BEL 2-4 TPE; ROU 1-2 MEX; ISL 21-0 RSA
27 January: TPE 3-2 MEX (OT); ISL 3-4 BEL (SO); RSA 0-30 ROU
29 January: BEL 0-1 MEX (SO); ISL 1-5 ROU; TPE 10-0 RSA
30 January: MEX 1-5 ISL; ROU 5-0 TPE; RSA 0-13 BEL
01 February: BEL 0-6 ROU; TPE 4-5 ISL (OT); MEX 14-1 RSA