Undefeated: Kazakhstan beats France at Ice Hockey World Championship
The Kazakhstan national hockey team played France in their final match at the 2026 IIHF World Championship Division I, Qazinform News Agency reports, citing Sports.kz.
Head coach Talgat Zhailauov iced the following lineup: Shutov (Nurek) — Nikitin-Breus, Simonov-Logvin-Lyapunov; Mikhailov-Daniyar, Starchenko-Shestakov-Muratov; Gaitamirov-Khoroshev, Savitski-Omirbekov-Gatiyatov; Orazov, Asetov-Shaikhmeddenov-Kaiyrzhan.
The first two periods remained scoreless. France opened the scoring in the third period, but Dmitri Breus equalized for Kazakhstan (51st minute). The game went into overtime and then a shootout, where Kazakhstan proved to be stronger, 2-1.
Earlier, Kazakhstan defeated Lithuania (4-1), Japan (6-0), Poland (3-2), and Ukraine (5-4 in a shootout). The team secured first place and earned promotion to the elite division.
