DUNEDIN, NEW ZEALAND – Katya Blong of the McGill University women's hockey team was named her country's most outstanding player and led New Zealand to a silver medal finish at the IIHF world championship for Div. 2, (Group B).
 
The 5-foot-8 forward from Auckland, N.Z., scored a tournament-leading seven goals (including two game-winners) and added a pair of assists in five preliminary round games. Her nine points ranked fifth in the tourney. In the two medal round games, Blong added three goals and an assist. She registered the overtime winner in a 4-3 conquest over Ukraine (April 14) and broke a 2-2 deadlock in a 3-2 victory over Turkey (April 20).
 
Blong, who turns 20 next week, only had five points (two goals) in 28 games overall with the Martlets this season. A science freshman majoring in kinesiology, she enrolled at McGill in 2024 after playing for the Ontario Hockey Academy in Cornwall, Ont.
 
It marks the second "Worlds" for Blong, who also played for the Kiwis in 2024, prior to enrolling at McGill. She is part of a select group of McGill Martlets that have played at an IIHF would championship, including four who represented a country outside of Canada, a group that includes Bridget O'Hare (Spain, 2022, 2023, 2024), Mia Väänänen (France, 2022, 2023) and Laura Ruhnke (Switzerland, 2005, 2007, 2008). Six others skated multiple times for Canada: Kim St-Pierre (1999-2001, 2004-2005, 2007-2009, 2011), Gillian Ferrari (2004, 2007, 2008, 2009), Charline Labonté (2005, 2007-2009, 2011-2013, 2016), Catherine Ward (2009, 2011-2013), Ann-Sophie Bettez (2019) and Mélodie Daoust (2019, 2021).
 
At the six-team tourney in New Zealand, Australia went 5-0 in the preliminary round, then swept two playoff games to capture gold on April 20. By winning the tourney title, the Australians were promoted to Div. 2, Group A for 2026. In the semifinals, the Aussies defeated Blong's New Zealand squad 4-3 in a post-overtime shootout. New Zealand (4-1) defeated Turkey 3-2 in the silver medal affair. Ukraine (3-1-1) settled for bronze. The other competing squads in the tourney included fourth-place Belgium (1-3-1), Hong Kong (1-4-0) and Turkey (1-4-0).
 
Th IIHF holds seven women's world championships (in addition to lower age category championships) each April to promote the sport globally to serve the diverse structure of international ice hockey. Teams are grouped for competitive balance and promoted or relegated based on their performance. The highest level is considered the senior championship and the 2025 tourney played in Czechia earlier this month featured the USA, Canada, Finland, Czechia, Switzerland, Germany, Sweden, Japan, Hungary and Norway.
 
The next best level is Div. 1 (Group A), which was held in Shenzhen (China) and featured Austria, Denmark, Slovakia, France, China and the Netherlands. The Div. 1 (Group B) tourney was held in Dumfries (Great Britain) and included squads from Italy, Latvia, Great Britain, Kazakhstan, Korea and Slovenia.
 
Teams in Div. 2 (Group A), held in Bytom (Poland), were: Spain, Poland, Iceland, Chinese Taipei, DPR Korea and Mexico. Teams in Div. 2 (Group B), held in Dunedin (New Zealand), were: Australia, New Zealand, Ukraine, Belgium, Honk Kong (China) and Turkey.
 
Teams in Div. 3 (Group A), held in Belgrade (Serbia), were: Lithuania, Thailand, Serbia, Romania, Croatia and South Africa. Teams in Div. 3 (Group B) championship in Sarajevo (Bosnia-Herzegovina) were: Bulgaria, Israel, Estonia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Singapore.
 
More information on the IIHF championship is available online.
 
SOURCE
Earl Zukerman
Sports Information Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
514-983-7012 (Tel.)
www.mcgillathletics.ca
earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca