Southern Stampede's Max Macharg (17), Harrison Macharg (15), Callum Burns (16) and Lachlan Frear (16) were of a mind the championship should have been theirs.
As grey as their moods were, the disappointment has a silver lining in that New Zealand ice hockey has come so far in the past two years, teams now expect to win at a world stage.
The elder Macharg, Max, said the loss to China 6-3 in the final came as a shock to the side's system and it had arrived in Taiwan with higher expectations.
''We could have won. We just had a collapse in the second period.''
In its lead-up to the final, New Zealand beat Chinese Taipei 9-4, Mexico 2-0 and Bulgaria 6-2, and through the three goals it scored in the final were the only goals registered against the eventual champion.
Burns was named New Zealand's most valuable player for the tournament.
The three youngest will qualify again next year and Frear said they would have another shot at winning before aspiring to the national squads and, hopefully, an Ice Blacks debut.
Although being a finalist is familiar for the Queenstown boys, Frear does not want it to become a habit, and said he would now concentrate on the Stampede's 2013 season.
''We just want gold. We want to win the final.''
He said the quality of ice hockey at the world championships did the boys service in the skill department, but the New Zealand National Ice Hockey League was superior when it came to getting physical on the ice.
There were also great signs for ice hockey in the South Island because, apart from Auckland, the Southern franchise had the highest representation in the team with the four Stampede players, as well as Dunedin Thunder's Ben Roth, Jacob Hurring and Joe Orr.
The Thunder will begin its season against the Canterbury Red Devils in Christchurch on May 25, while the Stampede will also play away that day, against the Botany Swarm.
