Anything can happen in age-group sport.
Teams can vary markedly from year to year but organiser Kyle
Matthews believes New Zealand has the potential to do well in
the division three under-20 world championships which get
under way in Dunedin today.
The home side will sit out the opening day, with Bulgaria and
China playing in the opening match at 3.30pm and Turkey and
the highly-rated Iceland meeting in the late game.
New Zealand's campaign begins tomorrow against one of the
so-called weaker sides in Bulgaria. Thursday's match against
Iceland shapes as New Zealand's toughest encounter of the
week but world rankings can count for very little out on the
ice.
"Of the teams which are here, Bulgaria is the bottom-ranked
team," Matthews said.
"But, because it is an age-group tournament, obviously the
strength of the team will change because you might have had
so many kids move on and you've got a whole new bunch. So it
is all a bit unknown until we see teams play their first
game.
"But Iceland are probably the favourite. They came down from
division two last year and will be looking to go back up. New
Zealand, at home, would hope to be very competitive and
possibly look to win."
As for the standard, Matthews believes the fans will be
treated to a good standard of play.
"We are not talking about professional ice hockey players -
it is division three, which is the lowest - but there are
some real talented players," he said.
"We've got a couple of European countries coming and China is
good so there is going to be some good ice hockey.
"Just as an example, Regan Wilson, who is a young man from
Dunedin and was at high school a year ago, well, he is
playing in the under-20 team and has also been selected for
the New Zealand senior team."
Matthews is hopeful the event will attract reasonable crowds
but he is also realistic and ticket prices have been set
accordingly.
It is just $10 for a tournament pass and $5 for children.
The opening ceremony starts at 2pm.
Schedule
All games at Dunedin Ice Stadium
Division three ice hockey under-20 world championship
Today: Bulgaria v China, 3.30pm; Turkey v Iceland,
7pm
Tomorrow: New Zealand v Bulgaria, 7pm
Thursday: China v Turkey, 3.30pm; Iceland v New
Zealand, 7pm
Friday: Bulgaria v Iceland, 7pm
Saturday: Turkey v Bulgaria, 3.30pm; China v New
Zealand, 7pm
Sunday: Iceland v China, 3.30pm; New Zealand v Turkey,
7pm
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