By Aric John Sy Cua – Manilia Times
Nine goals were scored in the third period as the Philippines continued to show their dominance at the International Ice Hockey Federation Division 4 World Championships at the Steppe Arena in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
After winning a close game 7-6 in overtime over hosts Mongolia on Saturday night, they made another rout, this time against Kuwait, with a 14-0 victory on Sunday.
Forward Kenwrick Sze scored for the Filipinos 2 minutes, 41 seconds into the first period before the rest of the team dominated the Kuwaitis.
Later in the game, forward Carl Montano scored two goals in the second period before being among seven different forwards who tallied nine goals in the third period, earning him a hat trick. All his goals have been on the power play.
Former captain Steven Füglister and current captain Manvil Billones each had two goals in the third period. Füglister had a three-point game, while Billones had four points.
Forwards Jan Aro Regencia and Miguel Relampagos also had three points, each of them having a goal and two assists.
Other goal scorers of the game included forwards Mikel Sean Miller and Jorell Crisostomo in the second period, as well as Lenard Lancero 2nd and Carlo Tigaronita in the 3rd period
The Philippines outshot Kuwait 62-17.
Goaltender Paolo Spafford had also logged a shutout, after stopping all 17 Kuwaiti shots.
Finnish head coach Juhani Ijäs’ squad had also swept the tournament, winning all their games, and will be promoted to the IIHF Division 3B next year, joining Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hong Kong, Singapore and Iran.
Malaysia will be relegated to Division 4 after losing all their games in the divisional tournament in Sarajevo earlier this month.