Korea defeats U.K. to stay in hockey division

Korea pushed Great Britain off the relegation cliff with a come-from-behind 4-1 victory at the Ice Hockey World Championship Division 1 Group A game in Budapest yesterday, Korean time.

With the victory, Korea has retained its prestigious membership in the second-highest world championship division sanctioned by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). Korea joined Division 1 Group A last year after winning the 2012 World Championship Division 1 Group B.

It is Korea’s second victory in the Division 1 Group A after it stunned host Hungary 5-4 last Tuesday. Korea finished fifth at the Division 1 Group A with five points, a point behind Japan. Great Britain finished sixth after failing to win a point.

The two best teams in the six-team division will be promoted to the top division next year, while the worst team will be relegated to Group B of Division 1.

Kazakhstan and Italy will be promoted to the highest division. Kazakhstan finished first, beating all five opponents, including Italy, which it defeated 3-0 in the decider on Saturday. Italy won the other four games.

At the Sport Arena, Robert Dowd gave Great Britain a 1-0 lead in the first period, but Shin Sang-hoon leveled it with a second-period goal. Yoon Ji-man and naturalized Korean Brock Radunske, who scored a shootout attempt against Hungary, added two more in the same period. Kim Ki-sung sealed the victory with a goal in the third period.

Korean head coach Byun Sun-wook said that the two victories have boosted confidence in his team.

“We rushed too much in the game against Japan and had to play more relaxed and play defense first,” the coach told the IIHF Web site, referring to Korea’s 6-5 loss to Japan on Wednesday.

“We tried to counterattack, and we were successful today.”

By Moon Gwang-lip [joe@joongang.co.kr]