Kwon Hyeon-soo of Korea, left, battles Samat Daniyar of Kazakhstan, right, for the puck during the teams' Group A game of the men's hockey tournament at the Asian Winter Games at Harbin Ice Hockey Arena in Harbin, China, Feb. 10. Yonhap
Korea lost to Kazakhstan 2-1 to close out the group stage of the men's hockey tournament at the Asian Winter Games in China on Monday.
Korea couldn't make Kang Yoon-seok's first-period goal stand at Harbin Ice Hockey Arena in Harbin, as Kazakhstan scored two power-play goals in the third period for the comeback win. Kazakhstan finished the group stage with five straight wins in regulation, good for 15 points.
Korea ended in second place with 11 points from three regulation wins (nine points), one overtime win (two points) and one regulation loss.
Kazakhstan is chasing its third straight Asiad gold. Korea, who lost to Kazakhstan in the final of the 2017 Asian Games, is trying to win its first gold medal.
The top six Asian teams by the world rankings were all paired into Group A, with spots in the quarterfinals already assured. The two remaining places in the quarterfinals went to the winners of Groups B and C, Kyrgyzstan and Hong Kong.
Those two countries will meet in a playoff match Monday night. The winner will face Korea, and the loser will take on Kazakhstan in the quarterfinals on Tuesday.
The semifinals are scheduled for Thursday, followed by the bronze medal game and the gold medal game Friday, the final day of the Asian Games. (Yonhap)
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