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Israel men's national junior ice hockey team

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Israel
Shirt badge/Association crest
AssociationIce Hockey Federation of Israel
Team colors     
IIHF codeISR
First international
 Estonia 12 – 3 Israel 
(Sofia, Bulgaria; 1996–1997)
Biggest win
 Israel 17 – 0 South Africa 
(Mexico City, Mexico; 19 January 2016)
Biggest defeat
 Croatia 16 – 1 Israel 
(Gangneung, South Korea; 28 January 2020)
IIHF World U20 Championship
Appearances10 (first in 1997)
Best result30th (2025)
International record (W–L–T)
25–20–0

The Israel men's national under 20 ice hockey team is the national under-20 ice hockey team of Israel. The team is controlled by the Ice Hockey Federation of Israel, a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation. Israel first played at the 1997 World Junior Championships, but did not return until 2016.

History

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Israel played its first U20 game during the 1997 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.[1] They were placed in Pool D with the games being held in Sofia, Bulgaria. Israel's first game was against Estonia which they lost 12–3.[2] The game is also recorded as Israel's largest ever loss.[1] Within Pool D Israel was drawn into a preliminary group against Estonia, South Africa, and Yugoslavia.[2] They finished the preliminary round in third place after managing to win their game against South Africa. Based on the positions in the preliminary round the teams were then drawn into placement games against the other preliminary group.[2] Israel was drawn into the placement game for fifth place against the hosts Bulgaria.[2] They won the game 7–3, which is also their largest ever win in international participation.[1]

After leaving the U20 level for several years, the team returned to the tournament for 2016. Playing in Division III, the lowest tier, they finished fourth out of the seven teams. The following year Israel finished fifth. They won the 2018 tournament, and were promoted to Division IIB for 2019.[3] A fifth-place finish ensured they stayed in Division IIB for 2020.

In the first match of the 2025 tournament, an incident occurred in which the Australian team refused to respect the Israeli national anthem and did not shake hands with the Israeli players.[4] After wins in the first two matches against Australia and Belgium, Israel lost to Serbia and the eventual tournament winners Spain. In the last round, Israel defeated Iceland and took second place in the group. This was Israel's best result through 10 World Championship tournaments. Mike Levin, who plays for the Niagara IceDogs in the OHL, was the top scorer of the tournament (7 goals, 4 assists), and was recognized as the best player on the team. Samson Goldstein placed second in scorers (3 goals, 6 assists) and was recognized as the best forward of the tournament.

International competitions

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The Israeli national junior team at the 2017 World Junior Championship Division III.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "Israel U20 All Time Results" (PDF). National Teams of Ice Hockey. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 August 2011. Retrieved 8 May 2011.
  2. ^ a b c d Müller, Stephan (2005). International Ice Hockey Encyclopaedia 1904–2005. Germany: Books on Demand. p. 283. ISBN 3-8334-4189-5.
  3. ^ Tchechankov, Ivan (27 January 2018). "Early promotion for Israel". IIHF.com. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
  4. ^ "תקרית באליפות העולם: שחקנים אוסטרלים ביזו את ההמנון הישראלי" (in Hebrew). israelhayom.co.il. 19 January 2025. Retrieved 28 January 2025.
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