The puck drops on the world under-20 (division three) championships this afternoon when Mexico and China play at the Dunedin Ice Stadium.
New Zealand, which finished second a year ago in Turkey, will not have to wait long for its turn to hit the ice at 7pm against South Africa.
The Kiwis wrapped up their preparation for the tournament with a 6-1 win against South Africa in a warm-up game in Dunedin on Saturday, a performance which pleased coach Stephen Reid.
''It was really good, actually. Obviously, we got the result with a 6-1 win. It was really good to see some guys step up and put their hands up for some ice time,'' he said.
While the final scoreline looks comfortable, the game was locked at 1-1 after 40 minutes, before New Zealand blew it wide open in the final period.
The team arrived in Dunedin on Saturday after spending last week in camp in Auckland preparing for the championship.
Reid and his coaching staff had to trim the squad from 22 to 20 by Saturday, a decision made easier by injuries to Aucklanders Aaron Henderson and Scott Randell.
''Unfortunately, we suffered a couple of setbacks through injury, but that sorted the selection side of things out,'' Reid said.
New Zealand, which goes into the tournament ranked behind favourite China, lost the gold-medal match to Belgium in Turkey a year ago, and won its only gold medal in championship history in 2008 in Serbia.
Barring any upsets, the final match of the week between New Zealand and China on Sunday night will decide which team wins the gold medal.
As well as China, which was demoted after finishing last in the second division last year, and South Africa, New Zealand will be up against Mexico and Turkey.
The winner will gain promotion to the under-20 second division for next year's competition.
Reid singled out China as ''the big guys to knock off'', but said no team could be taken lightly.
''We need to respect all the teams. We watched Mexico train on [Saturday] night, and they have got some skilled players.''
With four games to play between tonight and Sunday, Reid is focused on one thing.
''We have come here with one goal, and that's to get promotion to division two ... that's what we're all about.''
Bulgaria had been slated to play but pulled out of the tournament last month.
Dunedin last hosted the championships in 2012 when New Zealand finished third behind Israel and China.
The 20-strong squad includes 10 players from the Southern region: Joe Orr, Callum Burns, Jacob Hurring, Thomas Carson-Pratt, Harrison Macharg, Lachlan Frear, Benjamin Harford, Benedict Roth, Hunter Waugh and Liam Henare.
At a glance
World under-20 (div 3) champs
Dunedin Ice Stadium
today to Sunday
The schedule.-
Mexico v China, today, 3.30pm
New Zealand v South Africa, today, 7pm
Turkey v South Africa, tomorrow, 7pm
China v Turkey, Thursday, 3.30pm
New Zealand v Mexico, Thursday, 7pm
South Africa v China, Friday, 7pm
Mexico v South Africa, Saturday, 3.30pm
New Zealand v Turkey, Saturday, 7pm
Turkey v Mexico, Sunday, 3.30pm
New Zealand v China, Sunday, 7pm.
