ANDORRA - The national women's team played the fourth match of their World Championship campaign today, April 11, at the IIHF Women's World Championships Division 2 Group A in Canillo, Andorra. Opponent today was Kazakhstan.
Kazakhstan was another tough opponent. The team finished sixth and last in Division 1 Group B last year and consequently relegated to Division 2 Group A. And it was noticeable. From the first face-off, the pressure on the Belgian goal was high. Then, in the third minute, the first goal is scored. Sviridova (#14/KAZ) is left uncovered and nets the first goal. Barely half a minute later, the Kazakhs strike again. A distance shot by Sayakhatkyzy (#12/KAZ) disappears into the Belgian goal. In the seventh minute, the Belgian opponent strikes for the third time. Kazakhstan's pressure remains high, their passing game extremely accurate and their finishing effective. The result is a fourth and fifth goal against in the first period. It will be another tough job for the Belgian Blades to close this considerable gap.
In the second period, coach Tim Vos changes goalies. Swinnen (#20/BEL) replaces Smits (#1/BEL). However, Team Kazakhstan also dominates the second period. Halfway through the period, however, the Belgians manage to score their first goal against. De Guchtenaere (#6/BEL) skates into the attacking zone and scores with a well-placed distance shot. The response from the Kazakhs does not take long. Pyatkova (#7/KAZ) dekes her way through the Belgian defense and puts the six on the scoreboard. And then De Guchtenaere (#6/BEL) strikes again, assisted by Bosmans (#19/BEL) and Steeno (#9/BEL). Kazakhstan's counter-goal follows almost immediately. Felzink (#3/KAZ) scores number seven seconds later.
In the third period, Team Kazakhstan scored two more goals in a row while playing shorthanded due to an interference penalty. Also, the final score of this match.
Final score BEL vs. KAZ: 2-9 (0-5; 2-2; 0-2)
MVP BEL: Jirne Wagemans (#8/defender)
Game Schedule
07.04 – 13:00 – BEL vs. TPE: 1-3
08.04 – 16:30 – ISL vs. BEL: 5-2
10.04 – 20:00 – ESP vs. BEL: 8-0
11.04 – 16:30 – BEL vs. KAZ: 2-9
13.04 – 13:00 – MEX vs. BEL