Ukraine Women's Ice Hockey Team Loses to Turkey in Bucharest After Conceding Three Goals in the Third Period

The Ukraine women's ice hockey team lost its first points at the European Nations Cup stage in Bucharest, Romania. In their second group stage match, head coach Yevhen Alipov's players were defeated by the Turkish national team 2:3, despite leading by two goals after two periods. This defeat is the first for the Ukrainian team in this stage of the competition, where they previously secured an overtime victory over Lithuania.

Match Progression: From Confident Lead to Dramatic Retreat

The match started in favor of the hosts — in the 12th minute, Lekbas opened the scoring with an assist from Arslan. However, the Ukrainians quickly responded: near the end of the first period, Veronika Liskovych leveled the score, netting a goal in the 19th minute with assists from Tsimyrenko and Rozhok. The start of the second period brought even more confidence to the Ukrainian team — Liskovych scored a brace, capitalizing on a power play to put Ukraine ahead 2:1. By the break before the final period, the Ukrainians controlled the game and seemed to have secured the victory.

Third Period: Three Goals in Eight Minutes

The final third of the match became the turning point. In the 47th minute, Tandogan tied the game, and six minutes later, in the 53rd minute, Kafdagli scored the game-winner for Turkey with assists from Bagci and Secen. Thus, within eight minutes of the third period, the Turkish team managed to turn the tide of the match, overcoming a two-goal deficit and claiming three points. For the Turkish national team, this is their first victory at the current European Nations Cup stage — in their opening match of the tournament, the team lost to Romania 1:5.

Tournament Regulations and the Ukrainian Team's Prospects

According to the European Nations Cup regulations, only the group stage winners advance to the final stage. Teams that finish second through fourth conclude their performance at this stage. This means that for the Ukrainian national team, the final match of the tournament against the competition hosts — Romania — is of critical importance: only a victory can preserve their chances of advancing to the final stage. In the event of a defeat, the Ukrainians will likely exit the tournament at the group stage.

Context: The Path to the First Defeat

Before the match against Turkey, the Ukrainian national team had played one match at the European Nations Cup stage, snatching a victory over Lithuania in overtime. That encounter was the team's debut at this stage, and three points were added to Ukraine's tally. The match against Turkey was the first test in which the Ukrainian team failed to maintain the lead built up in the first two periods. Veronika Liskovych, who scored both goals for the Ukrainian team, remained the key attacking figure in both tournament matches.