South Korea has suffered its first loss at the women’s world hockey championship in Italy.
South Korea, ranked 17th, fell to the 19th-ranked China 2-1 at the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Women’s World Championship Division I Group B tournament in Asiago, Italy, on Monday (local time).
All three goals were scored in the second period. At the 6:25 mark, defenseman Hou Yue put China on the board with a floating point shot that fooled goalie Shin So-jung, after South Korean blueliner Park Ye-eun failed to clear the puck from behind her own net.
The Women’s World Hockey championship in Italy
The Division I Group B is the third-highest level of IIHF world championships. South Korea earned a promotion to this competition by winning the Division II Group A tournament last April.
The winner of the Division I Group B competition will be promoted to the Division I Group A next year. More so, the team in last place won’t suffer a relegation in 2019.
South Korea, having defeated Kazakhstan 2-1 in overtime on Sunday, is now in fourth place in the six-nation competition. It will next play the 18th-ranked Italy on Wednesday. Latvia (No. 16) and Poland (No. 22) are the other nations in the event, which runs through Saturday.
