Hockey players of the junior national team of Turkmenistan beat the team of Mongolia - 6:4 at the ongoing first championship of Asia and Oceania among players under 18 in Ulaanbaatar and practically secured the second place.
Held under the auspices of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), the tournament brought together six teams. Juniors from Iran, Mongolia, the United Arab Emirates, Thailand, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan compete for the trophy in a one-round competition.
Two rounds before the finish line, the national teams of Turkmenistan and Mongolia, contending for second place, had 6 points each, and therefore their face-to-face duel was of great importance.
The first period was left for the Turkmen hockey players - 2:0. After the break, the opponent played two goals. However, the national team of Turkmenistan again took the lead - 3:2. The Mongolian team equalized the situation again before the second break – 3:3.
In the final period, Guvanchmyrat Jepbarov's wards were able to increase the lead by two goals - 5:3. 8 minutes before the end of the meeting, the hosts of the tournament with a powerful blow from the blue line reduced the gap to a minimum - 4:5. In the remaining time, the Mongolian hockey players, with the support of their fans, made a lot of efforts to transfer the game to overtime. In the last minutes, to save the game, they even changed the goalkeeper for a sixth outfield player, but in the end they conceded the sixth goal into an empty net. In the team of Turkmenistan, Alan Muhyyev and Matvey Arhipov scored twice, and Nazar Orazov and Serdar Durdyyev scored once.
After the game, in honour of the victory of our hockey players, under the arches of the «Steppe» arena, which can accommodate 2,600 people, the anthem of Turkmenistan was played, and the expert jury named the best players of the match. Those were: in the Mongolian team - goalkeeper Sodbileg Baatarkhuu, who made 21 saves, and in the team of Turkmenistan - forward Rovshen Ashyrov.
This is the third consecutive victory of Turkmen hockey players at the junior championship of Asia and Oceania. Earlier, our compatriots won against the teams of Thailand - 4:3 and the United Arab Emirates - 7:2.
The results of the remaining meetings of the 4th round: Iran - UAE - 2:7 (0:0, 1:5, 1:2), Uzbekistan - Thailand - 10:2 (2:0, 5:1, 3:1).
Thus, a round before the end of the championship, the junior team of Uzbekistan is leading with 12 points. The team of Turkmenistan took the second place after the victory over Mongolia 6:4 with 9 points. Mongolia and the United Arab Emirates, sharing 3-4 places, have 6 points each. Thailand has 3 points. The Iranian team closes the standings with 0 points, with which the team of Turkmenistan will play in the last round.
