Turkmenistan Wins Division II AWG Tournament After Perfect Record

In just their tournament debut, Turkmenistan has won the 2017 Division II Asian Winter Games for their first ever gold medal.

Turkmenistan's perfect 4-0 record was capped off with a 7-3 victory over Kyrgyzstan, who had a perfect record themselves. Seven different players contributed to the seven goals scored for Turkmenistan, with captain Ahmet Gurbanov getting the game started off with a goal at 5:04. Turkmenistan would take a 2-0 lead before Kyrgyzstan got goals from defender Oleg Kolody and forward Vladimir Nichipurenko to make tie it up after a period of play.

Nichipurenko would score again in the third period, but by then it was already too late. Turkmenistan scored three straight goals before Nichipurenko added his second, only to see Turkmenistan further strengthen their lead with a 7-3 eventual victory.

With three wins against friendly competitors and another four at the Asian Winter Games, Turkmenistan is still perfect early in their hockey lifespan. The country does have a league with eight teams, with 15 of the national team players coming from Galkan. The country has been playing hockey for the last ten years, but after meeting funding goals recently, the team was finally able to make their tournament debut.

Up next for Turkmenistan is the 2017 Division I Challenge Cup of Asia when the team makes their debut at that event. The team will compete against Macau, Qatar, India, Kuwait, Oman, and the Philippines, who will also be playing in their first CCOA event.

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