New Zealand's under-18 side produced a gallant effort to win a silver medal at the division three, group A world championships in Taiwan at the weekend.
The round-robin tournament finished with a bang as two unbeaten teams, New Zealand and China, clashed in a virtual final.
China's 6-3 win allowed it to claim promotion to division two.
The Junior Ice Blacks took the lead in the final game when Frazer Ellis (West Auckland Admirals) scored on the assist from Auckland's Oliver Hay.
But the Chinese showed their skill in the second period, rattling five goals past Canterbury goaltender Daniel Lee.
Two defencemen, Auckland's Keegan Maisey and Canterbury's Joshua Louw, scored later in the period for New Zealand, but the Chinese iced their win with the sole goal of the third period.
Earlier, the Junior Ice Blacks had continued their unbeaten run with a 6-2 win over Bulgaria.
The game was tied 1-1 before the Bulgarians took a 2-1 lead early in the third period.
New Zealand rebounded with five goals in the space of nine minutes. Dunedin Thunder players Benedict Roth and Joseph Orr scored, as did Southern Stampede forward Maxwell Macharg. Macharg, Roth and Harrison Macharg were all credited with assists.
Ellis (two goals and five assists), Hay (two goals and four assists) and Maxwell Macharg (three goals and two assists) led the Junior Ice Blacks in points. Roth's plus/minus mark of plus-6 led the team.
Both New Zealand's senior teams play in world championships next month.
The Ice Blacks are at the division two, group B championships in Turkey (April 21-27), facing Bulgaria, China, Israel, Mexico and the host country.
The Ice Ferns get a rare opportunity to play at home. The division two, group A championships are in Auckland (April 8-14), with Australia, Hungary, Italy, Poland and Slovenia coming this way.