Israeli national hockey team gained honor for their country by winning the gold medal in the world competition (Division B) on Saturday night. The win gives the team the boost to be part of the highly competitive Division A when the next competition comes around in a year’s time. The Blue and Whites rose three divisions in the past four years. They are now ranked among the top 32 teams in the world.

The Israeli team beat the Georgian national team by a score of 7 to 3 and finished at the head of their division with 14 points overall. The team won four games in regulation time and one in overtime.

Georgia got on the board first in the first period, but Israel stormed back with two goals by Sergei Frankel towards the end of the first period and four unanswered goals in the second. Georgia added two goals in the third period but Israel tagged on another goal to solidify the victory and claim the gold medal.

As part of the lower class of Division A, Israel will net year face China, Spain, Australia, Croatia and an additional country that will fall from the upper class in the division and will replace Serbia who is going form the lower class to the upper class in next year’s competition.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)