Bulgaria women's national ice hockey team

The Bulgarian women's national ice hockey team (Bulgarian: Женски национален отбор по хокей на лед на България, romanized: Zhenski natsionalen otbor po khokeĭ na led na Bŭlgariya) represents Bulgaria in the IIHF Women's World Championship. The women's national team is controlled by Bulgarian Ice Hockey Federation. As of 2020, Bulgaria had 53 female players registered with the IIHF, down from 65 players in 2016.[2][3] The Bulgarian women's national team ranked 38th in the world in 2020.

Bulgaria
Женски национален отбор по хокей на лед на България (Bulgarian)
Shirt badge/Association crest
The coat of arms of Bulgaria is the badge used on national team jerseys.
AssociationBulgarian Ice Hockey Federation
Head coachSvetozar Angelov
AssistantsBorislav Blagoev
CaptainStefani Stoyanova
Most gamesthree players (36)
Top scorerMirela Zareva (15)
Most pointsMirela Zareva (29)
Team colors     
IIHF codeBUL
Ranking
Current IIHF33 Decrease 1 (28 August 2023)[1]
Highest IIHF23 (2011)
Lowest IIHF39 (2021)
First international
Italy  41–0  Bulgaria
(Liepāja, Latvia; 2 September 2008)
Biggest win
Bulgaria  6–1  Ireland
(Izmir, Turkey; 8 December 2012)
Biggest defeat
Slovakia  82–0  Bulgaria
(Liepāja, Latvia; 6 September 2008)
World Championships
Appearances11 (first in 2011)
Best result33rd (2011)
International record (W–L–T)
9–40–0

Qualification tournament for the 2010 Olympics

The Bulgaria participated in the women's qualification tournament for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. They played four games, facing Slovakia, Croatia, Italy, and Latvia. The team lost all four games in blowouts: 0–39 against Latvia, 1–30 against Croatia, 0–41 against Italy, and a record-setting 0–82 loss to Slovakia, which remains the highest goal differential ever recorded in an IIHF sanctioned match as of 2020.[4] Tallied in the game against Croatia, the only goal was scored by forward Olga Gospodinova and assisted by the defensemen Elina Milanova and Sofiya Iliycheva.[5]

World Championship record

In 2011, the Bulgarian women's national team debuted at their first IIHF Women's World Championship tournament, competing in Division V. They were scheduled to compete in the 2009 Division V tournament in Gdańsk Poland, but the tournament was cancelled for financial reasons.[6]

Year Division Result Overall rank
Bulgaria 2011Division V3rd33rd
Turkey 2013Division II B2nd34th
Mexico 2014Division II B3rd35th
Hong Kong 2015Division II B4th36th
Bulgaria 2016Division II B4th36th
Chinese Taipei 2017Division II B4th36th
Bulgaria 2018Division II B5th38th
South Africa 2019Division II B5th39th
Bulgaria 2020Division III4th38th
Lithuania 2021Division IIICancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic[7]
Bulgaria 2022Division III3rd34th
Romania 2023Division III5th37th

References
  1. "IIHF Women's World Ranking". IIHF. 28 August 2023. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
  2. http://www.iihf.com/iihf-home/countries/bulgaria.html Archived 27 June 2018 at the Wayback Machine
  3. "IIHF Member National Association Bulgaria". International Ice Hockey Federation. Archived from the original on 23 March 2019. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  4. "No Mercy". The Locker Room. 16 February 2010. Archived from the original on 8 July 2011. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  5. "Pre-Olympic Qualification Tournament, Women – Round Robin Game 3 – Game Summary, CRO – BUL 30–1 (8–0, 13–0, 9–1)" (PDF). International Ice Hockey Federation. 3 September 2008. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 December 2018. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
  6. "2009 IIHF Championship Program". International Ice Hockey Federation. 30 July 2008. Archived from the original on 30 July 2008. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
  7. Steiss, Adam (18 November 2020). "IIHF Council announces more cancellations". International Ice Hockey Federation. Archived from the original on 18 November 2020. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
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