Philippines claims Ice Hockey Worlds Div 4 crown with rout of Kuwait

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines swept their way to the crown in the 2023 Ice Hockey World Championships Division IV in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia as they routed Kuwait, 14-0, at the Steppe Arena on Sunday.

Hours after their tough OT win against the hosts to move one win away from the crown, the Filipinos picked up where they left off to conclude their campaign and get promoted to Division III-B by next year's edition.

The Philippines poured in a whopping nine goals in the final period to complete the rout.

It was a slow start for the Filipinos as only Kenwrick Sze found the back of the net just after 2:41 minutes in the match.

Only in the second period would the Philippines get to pad their lead, first with back-to-back goals from Carl Montano in quick succession.

Mikel Miller and Jorell Crisostomo then netted two goals more in the final minute of the period to give the Filipinos a 5-0 lead heading into the final period.

But it was really in the third that the Philippines opened the floodgates as six other players netted goals as well, including two from alternate captain Steven Fuglister.

The Philippines finished with eight points in the tournament with their three wins. All other teams in the division already have at least one loss.

They scored a total of 35 goals in three competitions and allowed only six with a goal difference of +29. Paolo Spafford tallied his second clean sheet of the tournament with the masterclass against Kuwait.