Argentina won its first gold in international play this past weekend after beating Puerto Rico in the first-ever Amerigol Latam Spring Classic in Dallas.
Argentina has tasted hockey glory.
Just over a decade since its first international game against Mexico, Argentina won its first gold in international play after beating Puerto Rico in the first-ever Amerigol Latam Spring Classic in Dallas.
Argentina rolled through the tournament, winning all six of its games over a four-day span. It started with an 11-3 win over Venezuela before beating Colombia 8-3, Puerto Rico 4-2, Brazil 10-6 and Venezuela again 9-3 in the semifinal.
Puerto Rico finished second, while Colombia had the third-most points. Venezuela and Brazil rounded up the field.
The five-team tournament was in its debut event, piggybacking off of the success of the fall's Latam Cup. in Florida. For more on that tournament, click here.
Argentina has been an associate member of the IIHF since 1998, but has only competed in unofficial international tournaments. Argentina hasn't met all the requirements to participate in official IIHF competitions, just like the other teams that competed in Dallas.
Argentina's first men's national team tournament was the 2014 Pan American Ice Hockey Tournament, beating Brazil 5-3 in its second official game. Its biggest win was a 26-0 win over Chile to open up the 2017 edition of the tournament. Argentina only won one game at the Latam Cup last October, an 8-2 victory over Venezuela.