Youthful 'swagger' a boost for NZ at ice hockey world champs

The Ice Blacks and Ice Ferns are all set for their respective Ice Hockey World Championships next month, heading overseas with plenty of confidence following what has been a watershed 12 months for the sport in Aotearoa.

After all, there's no reason they can't replicate the success of their junior outfits.

Last March, the New Zealand under-18 men's team won gold in South Africa, then the New Zealand women's under-18s also won their world championship event in Bulgaria in January 2024.

That was then followed up by a silver medal by the under-20 men two weeks later.

Such results not only earn the athletes a memento to cherish, but promote teams to a higher division the following year — meaning higher ranked opponents, but also more opportunities to test themselves. Finishing last at a world championship means relegation.

So when the newly-promoted under-18 mens side managed to remain in Division 3A earlier this month in Turkey, it was all the more reason to celebrate.

The accolades are a reflection of the New Zealand ice hockey community, Ice Blacks forward Michael Attwell told 1News.

"New Zealand's put a lot of emphasis in the juniors and the junior programme," Attwell said.

"There's a few people that have put a lot of time and effort in and I think now it's really starting to show with the under-18s winning gold last year, being able to stay in the division above this year and then also the under-18s we have in our team now, it just shows the growth of the juniors we've got in the country."

Co-head coach AJ Spiller - who was also in charge of the under-18 men's golden run last year — added the newest Ice Blacks bring more than just youthfulness to the team on the back of their winning campaigns.

"They definitely have some swagger to them but I don't think that's a bad thing — I think that's a good thing to have that and it's kind of energising for everybody!"

That swagger is already starting to bear fruit for the Ice Blacks though, after a historic three-Test series against the Mighty Roos in Australia this month.

Despite being an entire division below their trans-Tasman rivals, the Ice Blacks forced a game three decider after trading blows in the first two Tests which both went into overtime. The 2-1 win in the second match made history as their first victory over the Mighty Roos on Australian soil.

While the Australians ultimately won the series, Attwell said his side still came away winners.

"We'll carry a lot of confidence from it to world champs," he said.

"I don't think a lot of people thought we'd do that well and I guess we went in as underdogs and to lose the first one in overtime and then take the second, and then be two-all in the last period of the last game, it's super good for us."

Spiller added he also saw signs of a winning culture blossoming.

"We weren't sure what to expect when we got there. I know our players were ready to go and wanted to compete and they definitely proved that they could," Spiller said.

"You've got young guys who want to make a name for themselves and veterans who want to step up for those guys too and they kind of just fed off of each other and it was a really good thing to watch."

It's been a similar story for the Ice Fernz and their head coach Jeff Boehme.

Boehme stepped into the role two years ago after assisting the side since 2016 and didn't take long to implement changes, adjusting the training programme to be more regional focused.

"I think at the beginning there were a few teething issues as you do as it was the first year but eventually we got our rhythm. It was good to see each other every week so while you don't see the people from the other regions, you see each other," Boehme explained.

"There's some young talents definitely coming through. They were the first team to go actually at the end of the first phase of that programme and that seems to have proved to be very positive in terms of fitness and being able to sustain all those games in a few weeks.

"We're really excited that the under-18s did so well. It's very exciting for our sport as a whole. They led the way and we're next so we're just going to give it our best shot and go for gold."

Between the results of the youth teams and then the injection of their best into the senior sides, both the Ice Blacks and Ice Ferns now head to Bulgaria and Turkey respectively backing their chances as they both chase promotion to Division II A.

The Ice Fernz are up first starting on Monday with Australia, South Africa, North Korea, Hong Kong and hosts Turkey standing in their way.

But along with the recent success of the under-18s, the squad knows they're right in the mix having won bronze medals in their last two tournaments as well.

"It's never easy, if there's one thing I've learned, it's never easy and you need a few bit of things to go your way to win it all," Boehme said.

"Even if you have confidence, things need to line up for you but there's no reason we can't win."

For the Ice Blacks, games against European foes Georgia, Belgium, Turkey and Bulgaria await as does Chinese Taipei. All are ranked between 36 and 53 in the world with the Kiwis currently 42nd but after pushing World No. 35 Australia to the limit, belief is on the rise.

I think we've started building a really good character in our team," Attwell said.

"We've got a really good vibe, we've got a really good bunch of guys, we showed in Australia that we're good enough to compete against good teams like Australia who are in a division above us and got bronze last year so I think we're creating a really good culture heading to world champs."

Further proof that recent results are just the tip of the iceberg of what's to come.