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Sofia, Bulgaria is the place where Division II Group B of the 2024 IIHF World Championships will be held. Georgia is here due to punishment from Group A; Belgium is looking to move up after finishing second last year; Taiwan joins the group; and Turkey and New Zealand hopes to hang on. Learn more about each squad with this preview.
Mountain Scene
By GUY WILLIAMS
After some time away, three SkyCity Stampede fan favourites are preparing for their Queenstown comebacks this weekend.
As we count down to Stampede’s first pair of regular season ice hockey games, at the Queenstown Ice Arena this Friday and Saturday, league MVP, Liam Stewart, former Ice Black captain Bert Haines, and resort born-and-bred goaltender Aston Brookes are returning to a potent line-up.
Brookes will once again be setting up shop in front of goal, bolstering already strong resources in that position in the form of Matt Swirtz and Joel Hasselman.
The 27-year-old Ice Black returned to the resort with his partner in December after three years on Australia’s Central Coast, between Sydney and Newcastle, where he played for the Sydney Bears for two seasons before having a handful of games for the Newcastle Northstars in last year’s severely Covid-disrupted season.