Opposed to Hungary for their debut in the IA World Cup, the Blue Team suffered a narrow defeat in overtime (2-3 ap) and will need to react quickly to keep believing in a rise to the elite level.
It wasn’t the start the Blue Team was hoping for. After experiencing the emotion of a first Olympic tournament in Milan-Cortina, the players coached by Gregory Tarle found themselves back in the routine of the IA World Cup with the ambition to reach the elite level of ice hockey. However, facing a motivated Hungary team supported by their Vasas Icecenter crowd, the French team stumbled. Despite being more offensive, the French players fell against a wall named Aniko Nemeth, who blocked all sixteen attempts. The Hungarian team, resilient and opportunistic, managed to score after twelve minutes on the ice.
The Blue Team couldn’t catch a break either. Reka Dabasi won her duel against Alice Philbert to open the scoring. Despite having a numerical advantage shortly after, the Blue Team failed to erase their deficit before halftime. However, the situation changed in the second period. It only took five minutes for Estelle Duvin to equalize for the French team, breaking Aniko Nemeth’s vigilance. The tie was short-lived, though, as Isabel Lippai took the opportunity to put the host country back in front on the scoreboard. Despite their discipline issues, the Hungarian team managed to hold on to the lead and secure the victory.
Nevertheless, this match didn’t end after regulation time. With a little over five minutes left until the buzzer, Marie-Pierre Pelissou passed to Chloe Aurard-Bushee, who leveled the score, leading to overtime. However, to the disappointment of the Blue Team, this extra period lasted only two minutes. Emma Kreisz scored the winning goal for Hungary (2-3). The Blue Team takes solace in earning a point in the standings but will need to step up against Norway on Monday to keep their chances alive for one of the top two spots, guaranteeing promotion to the elite level in 2027.
ICE HOCKEY / IA WORLD CUP (F)
1st day – Sunday, April 12, 2026
China – Slovakia: 0-7
Italy – Norway: 2-1
France – Hungary: 2-3 (ap)
Standings
1- Slovakia 3 points
2- Italy 3
3- Hungary 2
4- France 1
5- Norway 0
6- China 0
The top two teams advance to the elite level. The last team will be relegated to Division IB.
