Over the past three days, our Belgium U18 National Team completed an important set of preparation activities ahead of the IIHF U18 World Championship in Belgrade (Serbia) later this April. The program started on Monday in Herentals with a structured on-ice training session, before moving to Geleen for two international games on Tuesday and Wednesday.
On Tuesday, Belgium faced the Netherlands at Laco Glanerbrook and delivered a convincing 1–9 victory. Niels Bernard opened the scoring twice in the first period (15:38 and 19:15), setting the tone early, while Finn Gregory added both goals and assists throughout the game and finished as one of the key offensive drivers.
Belgium extended the lead in the second period through Finn Gregory (37:22) and then accelerated in the third, with goals from Mathys Mansfield on the power play (42:26), Arthur Van Mele (43:15), Gregory again (47:50 and 50:02), Quirinus Aerts (51:46) and Mansfield (56:39). The team also showed discipline and structure in special teams situations, successfully killing key moments and controlling the game from start to finish.
On Wednesday, Belgium played Spain in Geleen and the result (1–6) did not reflect the effort shown over large parts of the game. After conceding first, Belgium responded on the power play through Finn Gregory (16:05) to equalize at 1–1 at the end of the first period, keeping the contest balanced going into the middle frame.
The turning point came in the second period, where a short three-minute lapse proved costly and led to three quick Spanish goals, shifting the momentum decisively. Belgium will take the lessons from this game into the next phase of preparation, as the group continues building consistency and readiness for Belgrade.
(foto : Lex Eckhardt)