# 2019 IIHF Challenge Cup of Asia

The 2019 IIHF Challenge Cup of Asia was the 12th edition of the IIHF Challenge Cup of Asia, an annual international ice hockey tournament held by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). The tournament took place from 1 to 9 March 2019 at Malaysia National Ice Skating Stadium in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Last year's runner-up Thailand will not participate for the first time since the competition kicked off in 2008 and made their debut in Division III qualification tournament of the 2019 World Championships. Kuwait also participates in Division III qualification tournament and India unable to participate in the tournament due to lack of money. Only Oman returned after one year absence, bringing the number of participants reduced from nine to seven teams. Mongolia won the Challenge Cup of Asia for the second straight year, by defeating the Philippines in the final, while Singapore defeating hosts Malaysia, to win their first ever bronze medal in the tournament.

## Participants
### Group A

| Team | 2018 Results |
| Mongolia | Won gold medal last year. |
| Philippines | Won bronze medal last year. |
| Singapore | Finished 4th place last year. |
| Malaysia | Host, winner of Division I last year. |

### Group B

| Team | 2018 Results |
| Macau | Runner-up of Division I last year. |
| Indonesia | Finished 3rd place in Division I last year. |
| Oman | Did not participate last year. Last participation in 2017. |

### Match officials

4 referees and 6 linesmen were selected for the tournament.

## Preliminary round

All times are in Malaysia Standard Time (UTC+8).

### Group A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Philippines | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 11 | +9 | 9 | Advanced to Semifinals |
| 2 | Mongolia | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 25 | 14 | +11 | 6 | Advanced to Semifinals |
| 3 | Malaysia (H) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 15 | 18 | −3 | 3 | Advanced to Quarterfinals |
| 4 | Singapore | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 26 | −17 | 0 | Advanced to Quarterfinals |

### Group B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Indonesia | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 18 | 14 | +4 | 9 | Advanced to Quarterfinals |
| 2 | Macau | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 17 | −3 | 6 | Advanced to Quarterfinals |
| 3 | Oman | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 15 | 16 | −1 | 3 | Eliminated |

## Playoff round
### Bracket

| Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Final | Final | Final |
| | | | A1 | Philippines | 6 | | | |
| A4 | Singapore | 7 | A4 | Singapore | 1 | | | |
| B1 | Indonesia | 4 | | | | A1 | Philippines | 3 |
| | | | | | | A2 | Mongolia | 6 |
| | | | A2 | Mongolia | 12 |
| A3 | Malaysia | 8 | A3 | Malaysia | 6 |
| B2 | Macau | 1 | | | | Third place | Third place | Third place |
| | | | | | | A3 | Malaysia | 0 |
| | | | | | | A4 | Singapore | 4 |

### Final
## Final ranking

* 2019 IIHF Challenge Cup of Asia
* Mongolia 2nd title
| Rank | Group | Team | Final result |
| 1 | A | Mongolia | Champions |
| 2 | A | Philippines | Runners-up |
| 3 | A | Singapore | Third place |
| 4 | A | Malaysia | Fourth place |
| 5 | B | Indonesia | Quarterfinals |
| 6 | B | Macau | Quarterfinals |
| 7 | B | Oman | Preliminary round |
Source: IIHF.com

## Awards and statistics
### Awards

* Best players selected by the directorate:
** Best Goalkeeper: Paolo Spafford
** Best Defenceman: Batgerel Zorigt
** Best Forward: Wai Kin Tan
Source: IIHF.com

### Scoring leaders

| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/– | PIM | Pos |
| Gerelt Ider | 5 | 11 | 6 | 17 | +11 | 4 | F |
| Wai Kin Tan | 6 | 8 | 9 | 17 | +2 | 8 | F |
| Steven Füglister | 5 | 7 | 8 | 15 | +7 | 4 | F |
| Bryan Lee | 6 | 8 | 6 | 14 | +4 | 12 | F |
| Carl Montano | 5 | 7 | 6 | 13 | +6 | 4 | F |
| Chee Ming Lim | 6 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 0 | 0 | F |
| James Kodrowski | 5 | 4 | 9 | 13 | +7 | 6 | F |
| Ronald Wijaya | 5 | 5 | 6 | 11 | +4 | 2 | F |
| Erdenesükh Bold | 5 | 5 | 5 | 10 | +9 | 4 | F |
| Jiaju Ryan Tan | 6 | 7 | 2 | 9 | +1 | 0 | F |
Source: IIHF.com

### Goaltending leaders

Only the top five goaltenders, based on save percentage, who have played at least 40% of their team's minutes, are included in this list.
| Player | TOI | GA | GAA | SA | SV% | SO |
| Paolo Spafford | 200:00 | 11 | 3.30 | 125 | 91.20 | 0 |
| Mohamed Al-Balushi | 239:54 | 16 | 4.00 | 181 | 91.16 | 0 |
| Kenny Liang | 259:04 | 21 | 4.86 | 159 | 86.79 | 1 |
| Shahrul Ilyas Shukor | 243:46 | 22 | 5.42 | 161 | 86.34 | 0 |
| Leung Man-long | 299:43 | 25 | 5.00 | 181 | 86.19 | 0 |
Source: IIHF.com