Korean ice hockey team puts on a show in front of passionate home crowd at Gangwon

Korea beat Turkey 4-1 in women’s 3x3 ice hockey at the Gangwon 2024 Youth Olympics on Monday, taking their third win in a row in front of a packed home crowd at Gangneung Hockey Centre in Gangneung, Gangwon.

Korea, in white, compete against Turkey in women's 3x3 ice hockey at the Gangwon 2024 Youth Olympics in Gangneung, Gangwon on Monday. [JIM BULLEY]

GANGNEUNG, Gangwon — Korea beat Turkey 4-1 in women’s 3x3 ice hockey at the Gangwon 2024 Youth Olympics on Monday, taking their third win in a row in front of a packed home crowd at Gangneung Hockey Centre in Gangneung, Gangwon.

Korea overpowered Turkey over all three periods, goalkeepers Ahn Se-won and Park Jeong-hyun holding down a strong defense as their rotating lineup of teammates managed the seemingly impossible task of sneaking the puck through miniscule gaps in the Turkish defense to score points.

One common misconception about the Youth Olympics is that the age of the competitors in some way limits the athleticism on display. Anybody that has sat through a game of 3x3 ice hockey in Gangwon this week knows that could not be further from the case.

In Youth Olympics ice hockey, age is clearly just a number. In the gladiators’ arena of a rink, 16-year-olds get smashed just as hard and thrown on the ground just as much as their older competitors.

And then there’s the 3x3 element. Unlike in regular ice hockey — where a team of players takes on another team of players in a format that rings true across nearly every team sport — 3x3 ice hockey is a sort of intense relay, with trios of players rotating on the ice every 45 seconds.

The goalkeeper alone plays the whole game, their three teammates having to leave the puck wherever it falls when a loud buzzer calls them off the pitch. The set-up allows for not only the physical clashes of a regular ice hockey game, but also strategically placing the puck in the best possible position whenever the buzzer goes and the all-out sprint to reach it as players enter the ice.

Korea beat Turkey 4-1 in women's 3x3 ice hockey at the Gangwon 2024 Youth Olympics in Gangwon on Monday. [JIM BULLEY]

The Korean women’s team has got off to a good start in Gangwon. After losing their opening game against China 6-3 on Saturday, Korea rallied to take two victories on Sunday — 12-2 against Australia and 7-0 against Mexico.

The team is due back on the ice again on Monday evening as of press time, facing Italy at 7 p.m. before they take on Hungary and the Netherlands in their final preliminary round games on Tuesday.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]