photo: © International Ice Hockey Federation
Lopusanova dazzles with tournament-high 18 points
Talk about a dominating performance in the Women’s Olympic Qualification Round 2 Group D. Playing on home ice in Piestany, Slovakia beat Kazakhstan, Iceland and Slovenia by a combined score of 37-2.
The Slovaks were expected to win this group, and they lived up to expectations, defeating the aforementioned foes by scores of 8-1, 15-1 and 14-0 respectively. As a result, Slovakia will play in the final qualification round in February, hoping to book their tickets to the 2026 Milan Olympics.
“We kept telling each other to keep ‘cool heads’ and humility and keep playing our game, which we did, so we’re very happy it worked out for us,” said 18-year-old forward Lilien Benakova, who scored three goals in the last game against Slovenia. “I’m glad I finally got the chance to play here. It was a big thing to play in front of Slovak fans, our parents and friends.
“And scoring a hat trick, it means a lot to me and I couldn’t have done it without my teammates, so I thank them too.”
Nela Lopusanova, the phenom who burst onto the scene by winning the MVP at the 2023 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 Women’s World Championship as a 14-year-old, led this tournament in scoring with a whopping 11 goals and 18 points. At age 16, this was her first major event at the senior women’s level.
The next closest scorers to Lopusanova were Slovak teammates Livia Kubekova, Ema Tothova and Laura Sulikova, who had seven points each. Sulikova was the tournament’s top-scoring defender.
Slovakia, which finished last at the women’s Deutschland Cup in November, has now won six games and two major tournaments in a row.
“We played pretty well at the Deutschland Cup and I’m glad that carried over into this tournament,” said Slovak head coach Miroslav Mosnar. “Of course, the quality of the opponents wasn’t the same, but we won both and we’re happy about that.”
Talk about a dominating performance in the Women’s Olympic Qualification Round 2 Group D. Playing on home ice in Piestany, Slovakia beat Kazakhstan, Iceland and Slovenia by a combined score of 37-2.
The Slovaks were expected to win this group, and they lived up to expectations, defeating the aforementioned foes by scores of 8-1, 15-1 and 14-0 respectively. As a result, Slovakia will play in the final qualification round in February, hoping to book their tickets to the 2026 Milan Olympics.
“We kept telling each other to keep ‘cool heads’ and humility and keep playing our game, which we did, so we’re very happy it worked out for us,” said 18-year-old forward Lilien Benakova, who scored three goals in the last game against Slovenia. “I’m glad I finally got the chance to play here. It was a big thing to play in front of Slovak fans, our parents and friends.
“And scoring a hat trick, it means a lot to me and I couldn’t have done it without my teammates, so I thank them too.”
Nela Lopusanova, the phenom who burst onto the scene by winning the MVP at the 2023 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 Women’s World Championship as a 14-year-old, led this tournament in scoring with a whopping 11 goals and 18 points. At age 16, this was her first major event at the senior women’s level.
The next closest scorers to Lopusanova were Slovak teammates Livia Kubekova, Ema Tothova and Laura Sulikova, who had seven points each. Sulikova was the tournament’s top-scoring defender.
Slovakia, which finished last at the women’s Deutschland Cup in November, has now won six games and two major tournaments in a row.
“We played pretty well at the Deutschland Cup and I’m glad that carried over into this tournament,” said Slovak head coach Miroslav Mosnar. “Of course, the quality of the opponents wasn’t the same, but we won both and we’re happy about that.”
Kazakhstan gave Slovakia its toughest test and shut out its other two opponents – Slovenia 3-0 and Iceland 2-0 – to finish second with six points. Arina Chshyolokova played all three games in goal, recording two shutouts. Offensively, Munira Sayakhatkyzy recorded three points, making her the highest-scoring non-Slovak in the tournament.
The Kazakh women’s team played in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, finishing eighth. Since then, the closest they’ve come is making it to the final qualifying round ahead of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games. Kazakhstan will play in the IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s World Championship Division I, Group B in Dumfries, Great Britain.
Slovenia opened the tournament with a 3-2 win over Iceland in the tournament’s closest game. Julia Blazinsek broke the 2-2 deadlock at 49:31 and then the Slovenes and goaltender Pia Dukaric withstood a late Icelandic assault to preserve the win. It was the second win ever for the Slovenian women in Olympic qualifying play. Slovenia will compete in Dumfries as well.
While Iceland lost all three of its games, the team was playing in the second round of qualifying for the first time ever, and gave both Slovenia and Kazakhstan very respectable battles (2-3 and 0-3). Silvia Bjorgvinsdottir and Teresa Snorradottir led the team offensively with two points each.
Iceland will play in the IIHF Women’s World Championship Division II, Group A in Bytom, Poland.
As for the Slovaks, there’s one more hurdle to clear to qualify for the 2026 Winter Olympics. It’s a tough one, but the Slovaks feel it’s a doable one, as in Qualification Group I in Bremerhaven, Germany. From 6 to 9 February, they will face Austria, Hungary and host Germany.
After that, Slovakia will compete in the 2025 IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s World Championship Division I, Group B in Shenzhen, China.
“We have the basic team together now but we also have some girls who are overseas and other who are injured, so we hope to have everybody together by then,” said Mosnar.
“We expect strong teams and tough games, so we want to prepare for them as best as we can and we’ll give it our all to make it happen,” said Benakova. “We’re halfway there, so let’s hope we can do it.”
The Kazakh women’s team played in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, finishing eighth. Since then, the closest they’ve come is making it to the final qualifying round ahead of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games. Kazakhstan will play in the IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s World Championship Division I, Group B in Dumfries, Great Britain.
Slovenia opened the tournament with a 3-2 win over Iceland in the tournament’s closest game. Julia Blazinsek broke the 2-2 deadlock at 49:31 and then the Slovenes and goaltender Pia Dukaric withstood a late Icelandic assault to preserve the win. It was the second win ever for the Slovenian women in Olympic qualifying play. Slovenia will compete in Dumfries as well.
While Iceland lost all three of its games, the team was playing in the second round of qualifying for the first time ever, and gave both Slovenia and Kazakhstan very respectable battles (2-3 and 0-3). Silvia Bjorgvinsdottir and Teresa Snorradottir led the team offensively with two points each.
Iceland will play in the IIHF Women’s World Championship Division II, Group A in Bytom, Poland.
As for the Slovaks, there’s one more hurdle to clear to qualify for the 2026 Winter Olympics. It’s a tough one, but the Slovaks feel it’s a doable one, as in Qualification Group I in Bremerhaven, Germany. From 6 to 9 February, they will face Austria, Hungary and host Germany.
After that, Slovakia will compete in the 2025 IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s World Championship Division I, Group B in Shenzhen, China.
“We have the basic team together now but we also have some girls who are overseas and other who are injured, so we hope to have everybody together by then,” said Mosnar.
“We expect strong teams and tough games, so we want to prepare for them as best as we can and we’ll give it our all to make it happen,” said Benakova. “We’re halfway there, so let’s hope we can do it.”