april 30 – on the second matchday of the 2026 iihf ice hockey world championship division i group b, china faced top-seeded romania and clinched their first victory with a dramatic 4–3 golden goal in overtime.
china』s starting lineup: goalkeeper tu yueran (#30), zhang pengfei (#8), yu jilong (#12), zhang jiaqi (#16), wang jing (#19), hou yuyang (#23).
romania started aggressively in the first period, but china competed hard, disrupting possession multiple times. goalkeeper tu yueran made precise saves to deny successive attacks. at 8:00, romania scored on a power play. at 19:11, china countered as hou yuyang (#23) delivered a brilliant pass from behind the net, and wang jing (#19) lifted a shot home to equalize.
in the second period, china stayed active, applied pressure, and even managed two shorthanded steals, creating constant threats in front of the romanian net. at 36:46, zhang jiaqi (#16) fired a long-range shot from the blue line to put china ahead, and the period ended with china leading 2–1.
the final period was tense. at 46:52, romania leveled the score at 2–2. romania quickened their attacking pace, but china remained disciplined and tracked back in time to deny further chances. at 56:56, huang yixiang (#22) passed to the slot, and chen zimeng (#6) followed up with a timely shot to restore china』s lead. romania responded at 57:44 to tie the game again.
with the score locked after regulation, the game went to overtime. in ot, hou yuyang (#23) carried the puck forward and was slashed from behind, earning a penalty shot. hou made no mistake, scoring the golden goal to seal a 4–3 victory for china.
china will face the netherlands on may 2.
