Division IA has reached a dramatic climax, the 2025 World Cup of Hockey is clear

Hockey Division IA, hosted this year by Bolzano, Italy, is now over. Of the six teams, the top two qualified for the next World Championships, with the last team heading to Division IB. Hungary dominated the evenly-matched tournament, with a mini-table deciding the runner-up.

The wild course of the tournament was decided only on the last day of play. Slovenia, who were already assured of advancing, lost to Hungary, who rose to the top and eventually won the whole group.

Home team Italy had to swallow the bitterness of third place, which is also the first non-advancing team. The big surprise in this year’s edition was Romania, which also nurtured hopes of qualification for a long time.

It defeated Japan 4-2 in the noon match and was relegated. But then Italy, the home team, clearly beat South Korea 8-1, and at that point they were promoted. However, the latter needed Slovenia to beat Hungary, which in the end did not happen.

The Hungarians took the lead in the 8th minute thanks to Hari. That was also all of the first period in terms of substance. In the 26th minute, Slovenia got the equaliser from Ticar. At the end of the third period, however, Hungary broke the game. Twenty-two year old Kristof Papp converted a numerical advantage into a goal.

Slovenia, like Italy and Romania, ended up with 9 points. The runner-up was then decided by a mini-table, which the Slovenians clearly dominated thanks to 6-1 triumphs over Romania and 2-0 over Italy. South Korea, on the other hand, surprisingly fared the worst, dropping three points to Division IB, to be replaced by Ukraine.

Both Hungary and Slovenia will return to the elite after one year. At the last championship, the former team fared better, gaining three points and being relegated due to a 4:3 defeat after a shootout with Austria, who also gained three points at the tournament. On the other hand, the Slovenians had zero points.

Sweden and Denmark will host the 2025 World Championship. The ban on the Russian and Belarusian national teams will remain in place for this championship as well. The main host country is Sweden, where the culmination of the championship will also take place.

Source: hockey.cz