2018 IIHF U20 Challenge Cup of Asia

The 2018 IIHF U20 Challenge Cup of Asia was an international men's under-20 ice hockey tournament run by the International Ice Hockey Federation. The tournament took place between 12 and 17 December 2017 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and was the fourth edition held since its formation in 2012 under the IIHF Challenge Cup of Asia series of tournaments. To be eligible as a "junior", a player cannot be born earlier than 1998. Malaysia won the tournament after winning all five of their round-robin games and finishing first in the standings. Kyrgyzstan finished in second place and the United Arab Emirates finished third.

2018 IIHF U20 Challenge Cup of Asia

Tournament details
Host country	Malaysia
Venue(s)	1 (in 1 host city)
Dates	12 – 17 December 2017
Teams	5
Final positions
Champions	Malaysia (1st title)
Runner-up	Kyrgyzstan
Third place	United Arab Emirates
Tournament statistics
Games played	10
Goals scored	120 (12 per game)
Attendance	3,201 (320 per game)
Awards
MVP	Mohammad Hariz Mohammad Oryza Ananda
← 2014 2019 →

Overview

The 2018 IIHF U20 Challenge Cup of Asia began on 12 December 2017 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia with games played at the Malaysia National Ice Skating Stadium (MyNISS).^[1] The tournament is the first U20 Challenge Cup of Asia to be held since 2014. All four teams from the 2014 edition, Japan, Kazakhstan, MHL Red Stars and South Korea, did not return due to the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) restructuring the tournament for countries which do not participate in the IIHF World U20 Championships.^[2][3] In August 2017 the IIHF announced the participants for the tournament.^[4] India, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia and the Philippines all made their debut in under-20 international competition.^{[4][5][6][7][8]} The United Arab Emirates returned to international competition having last played a series of exhibition games in 2013 during the 2013 IIHF World U20 Championships.^[9][10]

The tournament consisted of a single round-robin with each team competing in four games.^[11] Malaysia won the tournament after winning all five of their games and finished first in the standings.^[11] Kyrgyzstan finished second after losing only to Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates finished in third.^[11] Malaysia's Mohammad Hariz Mohammad Oryza Ananda led the tournament in scoring with 18 points and was named the most valuable player.^[12][13] Shahrul Ilyas Abdul Shukor of Malaysia finished as the tournaments leading goaltender with a save percentage of 97.56.^[14] The IIHF Directorate however awarded best goalkeeper to Abdulrahman Al Hosani of the United Arab Emirates.^[15] Malaysia's Chee Ming Bryan Lim was named the best forward and Benjamin Jorge Imperial of the Philippines was named the best defenceman.^[15]

Standings

The final standings of the tournament.

Team	Pld	W	OTW	OTL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Malaysia	4	4	0	0	0	36	7	+29	12
Kyrgyzstan	4	3	0	0	1	36	14	+22	9
United Arab Emirates	4	2	0	0	2	18	21	−3	6
Philippines	4	1	0	0	3	19	36	−17	3
India	4	0	0	0	4	11	42	−31	0

Source: Tournament Progress (PDF). International Ice Hockey Federation. 2017-12-17

Fixtures

All times are local. (MST – UTC+8)^[1]

12 December 2017 15:30

India

0–6 (0–5, 0–1, 0–0)

United Arab Emirates

MyNISS Attendance: 227

Game reference
	6 min	Penalties	10 min
	13	Shots	34

12 December 2017 19:15

Philippines

0–11 (0–4, 0–3, 0–4)

Malaysia

MyNISS Attendance: 563

Game reference
	14 min	Penalties	10 min
	15	Shots	49

13 December 2017 19:00

Kyrgyzstan

12–4 (4–2, 5–1, 3–1)

Philippines

MyNISS Attendance: 188

Game reference
	28 min	Penalties	24 min
	49	Shots	23

14 December 2017 15:30

United Arab Emirates

2–10 (2–3, 0–4, 0–3)

Kyrgyzstan

MyNISS Attendance: 122

Game reference
	22 min	Penalties	28 min
	20	Shots	42

14 December 2017 19:00

Malaysia

12–4 (3–2, 5–2, 4–0)

India

MyNISS Attendance: 329

Game reference
	8 min	Penalties	20 min
	66	Shots	14

15 December 2017 19:00

Philippines

4–8 (0–5, 2–3, 2–0)

United Arab Emirates

MyNISS Attendance: 133

Game reference
	32 min	Penalties	16 min
	26	Shots	34

16 December 2017 15:30

India

5–11 (2–4, 3–6, 0–1)

Philippines

MyNISS Attendance: 115

Game reference
	8 min	Penalties	6 min
	22	Shots	44

16 December 2017 19:00

Malaysia

6–1 (4–1, 1–0, 1–0)

Kyrgyzstan

MyNISS Attendance: 477

Game reference
	16 min	Penalties	8 min
	26	Shots	22

17 December 2017 15:30

Kyrgyzstan

13–2 (3–0, 5–0, 5–2)

India

MyNISS Attendance: 221

Game reference
	8 min	Penalties	10 min
	54	Shots	10

17 December 2017 19:00

United Arab Emirates

2–7 (1–1, 0–3, 1–3)

Malaysia

MyNISS Attendance: 826

Game reference
	62 min	Penalties	12 min
	17	Shots	46

Scoring leaders

List shows the top ten skaters sorted by points, then goals, assists, and the lower penalties in minutes.^[12]

Player (Team)	GP	G	A	Pts	+/–	PIM	POS
Mohammad Hariz Mohammad Oryza Ananda (MAS)	4	11	7	18	+18	2	F
Nurul Nizam Deen Versluis (MAS)	4	7	10	17	+16	2	F
Chee Ming Bryan Lim (MAS)	4	6	7	13	+13	0	F
Benjamin Jorge Imperial (PHI)	4	6	4	10	–1	0	D
Andrei Trishkin (KGZ)	3	6	3	9	+10	0	D
Mohamed Al Mehairbi (UAE)	4	6	3	9	+1	4	F
Ersultan Mirbek Uulu (KGZ)	4	6	3	9	+11	6	D
Islambek Abdyraev (KGZ)	4	4	5	9	+5	6	F
Tsewang Dorjay (IND)	4	6	2	8	–14	2	F
Nikolai Magiev (KGZ)	4	4	4	8	+11	4	F

Leading goaltenders

Only the top five goaltenders, based on save percentage, who have played at least 40% of their team's minutes are included in this list.^[14]

Player (Team)	MIP	SOG	GA	GAA	SVS%	SO
Shahrul Ilyas Abdul Shukor (MAS)	139:53	41	1	0.43	97.56	1
Kadyr Alymbekov (KGZ)	103:34	27	4	2.32	85.19	0
Abdulrahman Al Hosani (UAE)	227:09	122	19	5.02	84.43	1
Temir Muktarbek (KGZ)	136:08	52	10	4.41	80.77	0
Jaiden Mackale Roxas (PHI)	130:55	80	16	7.33	80.00	0