The Division IIB World Juniors have come to a close on Friday, with Croatia being crowned as the champions, earning them a spot in the Division IIA U20 tournament for 2016.
Croatia had a flawless tournament, winning all five games with ease. Their closest battle came in the fifth and final game of the week, a 3-2 victory over Spain. The final match was an important one, with both teams battling for the chance at promotion. Both of Spain’s goals came within the final ten minutes of the game, but with the team unable to pull their goalie until the final 22 seconds of the battle, their comeback appeared to have come too late.
It was a big victory for Croatia, who were relegated from Division IIA at the end of the 2014 tournament.
At the other end of the spectrum, Iceland gathered zero points in five games to fall down to the bottom Division III tournament for 2016. Last year, the team barely stayed alive after beating China in the battle for fourth place.
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