The Australian men’s national under-20 team have defeated the Iceland men’s national under-20 team 6–5 in their final game of the 2026 IIHF Ice Hockey U20 World Championship Division II Group B tournament in Belgrade, Serbia. Artem Astafiev and Jed Lake led the scoring for Australia with two goals each, followed by Thomas Garas and Lachlan Sucher with one each. The IIHF award for best Australian player of the match was given to forward Jed Lake, forward Artem Astafiev was named the hardest worker for the team, and defenceman Luka Ouimette was given the player’s player award. The result is similar to the last time the two teams met at the 2025 World Championships where Australia won 5–4.
In the other games of the day, the Netherlands defeated Israel 6–2 and Serbia beat New Zealand 4–3. Australia finishes the tournament in second place with nine points from five games. The Netherlands finishes in first and earns promotion back to Division II Group A, while Iceland comes in last and is relegated to Division III Group A. The IIHF award for the tournament’s best defender and best Australian player of the tournament was presented to Daniel Koudelka.
Results
Australia
6–5
Iceland
SOG: 42
(0–2, 0–1, 6–2)
SOG: 27
– Game details: 12:30, 24 January 2026, Pionir Ice Hall. Game card.
Netherlands
6–2
Israel
SOG: 54
(4–0, 0–1, 2–1)
SOG: 29
– Game details: 16:00, 24 January 2026, Pionir Ice Hall. Game card.
Serbia
4–3
New Zealand
SOG: 55
(0–1, 1–1, 3–1)
SOG: 22
– Game details: 19:30, 24 January 2026, Pionir Ice Hall. Game card.
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