AKIPRESS.COM - South Korea stunned Kazakhstan for its second straight victory at the men's hockey world championships in Ukraine, Korea Herald reported.
South Korea, ranked 23rd, rallied with four third-period goals to take down No. 16 Kazakhstan 5-2 on Sunday (local time) at the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Championship Division I Group A at the Palace of Sports in Kiev. It was South Korea's first win over the Central Asian nation in 13 meetings.
Down 2-1 after two periods, South Korea stormed back with four unanswered goals in a six-minute span in the final period, with defenseman Alex Plante picking up two goals and an assist in the onslaught.
The six-nation competition, which goes through Friday, is the second-highest level of men's international hockey. The top two teams after the round-robin play will be promoted to the top-flight IIHF World Championship next year, while the worst team will drop to Division I Group B.
Other nations in the tournament are Austria (No. 17), Hungary (No. 19), Poland (No. 20) and Ukraine (No. 22).
South Korea defeated Poland 4-2 on Saturday to open the competition. It will next take on Hungary on Tuesday.
Plante, a Canadian native who recently acquired his South Korean passport, said he was "happy to be part of" the historic win in his first world championship.