Australia have claimed the silver medal in their final game at the IIHF Under 20 Division 2B World Championships last night, pouring on six goals in the third period in a come-from-behind 6-5 win over Iceland.
Needing a regulation win to jump second-placed Israel, the Mighty Bucks were 3-0 down heading into the final 20 minutes of their final game in Belgrade. The Bucks clawed the game back to 3-2 thanks to a pair from the Melbourne Ice’s Jed Lake, only to go 5-2 down after conceding two more goals 30 seconds apart. The Melbourne Mustangs' Artem Astafiev rode to the rescue, scoring two goals, two minutes apart with 11 minutes remaining.
Perth Thunder’s Lachlan Sucher drew the Bucks level with 7:12 to play, before Okanagan Hockey Ontario’s Tom Garas netted the winner 6:29 from the final whistle, sending the team into raptures and the silver medal down under.
It was the first time Australia has won a silver medal at the IIHF Under 20 World Championships in Division 2.
Australia finished second in the group on 9 points with 3 wins from 5 games, over Israel, New Zealand and Iceland respectively.
The Adelaide Adrenaline’s Daniel Koudelka, who was the 2025 AIHL Rookie of the Year, was named Defenceman of the Tournament and Australia’s Tournament MVP. The Central Coast Rhinos’ Ivan Kuleshov finished third in overall scoring with 3 goals and 7 assists.
Head Coach Jason Kvisle said he was speechless at the result and the response to the pressure in the third period.
“I had a great mentor in Rucky (Dave Ruck), so it was kind of like going into auto-pilot,” Kvisle said.
“We hurt ourselves against the Serbians, we really should have won that game, but who cares, silver’s a fantastic achievement. To come back in today’s game with six goals in the third period, I always believed in them and they didn’t need me losing my temper behind the bench.”
The loss relegated Iceland down to Division 3. The Netherlands had already sewn up the gold medal prior to their last game and secured promotion to Division 2A in 2027.
The AIHL congratulates all the players, coaches and support staff on their performance in Serbia and looks forward to seeing them back in Australia for AIHL26 in April.
