Jess Ryall will forever be part of New Zealand ice hockey history.
The 15-year-old forward, who represents the Dunedin Thunder and is a pupil at Mackenzie College, Fairlie, scored a dramatic late goal to seal what once seemed an unlikely achievement.
The New Zealand under-18 women’s team won the division two, group B world championship in Sofia, Bulgaria, on Monday.
"This result still feels so surreal," Queenstown-based captain Gracie Hellmrich said.
"Coming from such a small country with a very new team and winning a gold medal is just an incredible feeling.
"I feel so proud of all the girls knowing that we worked so hard to achieve this result as a team, supporting each other through a variety of ups and downs."
Hellmrich said the team had received "unreal" support from home and were also cheered on by some parents who had travelled to Bulgaria to see the young women make history.
Crunch time came on the final day of the tournament when the New Zealanders faced host nation Bulgaria, knowing they needed to win in regulation to claim the title. Lose, and they would potentially slip to bronze.
The score was tied 2-2 through two periods, despite a 32-16 advantage in shots for the Kiwis.
Eden Greaves gave New Zealand a 3-2 lead on a 5-on-3 advantage with 4min 29sec to go but Poyla Petrova quickly answered for Bulgaria.
New Zealand coach Matt Sandford pulled goaltender Zadia Paulse for an extra attacker and it quickly paid off.
Ryall scored the tournament-winning goal with 1min 34sec to play to seal the Kiwis’ promotion to the division two, group A tournament next year.
"It was a super intense and close game, but the New Zealand girls came together and took the game to another level to play the best game of our lives," Hellmrich said.
Queenstown forward Polly Bennetts and Canterbury forward Nerhys Gordon were the joint leading scorers at the tournament with 12 points. Gordon led all players with nine goals.
Sophie Sam and Camryn Linton were the other Dunedin Thunder players in the squad, while the other Queenstown representatives were Lucy Boniface, Inge Kemp, Aoife Orr and Jessie Strain.
New Zealand faced a challenging schedule of five games in six days as their first scheduled opponents, South Africa, arrived without their equipment.
The Kiwis won their first three games by out-scoring their opposition 27-1 before suffering a 5-2 loss to Belgium that set up the tense final day.
It was only a third appearance at a world under-18 championship for New Zealand.
Sandford had a good feeling about his youngsters before the final game.
"I could see the want and desire in the changing room," he said.
