Riko Kawaguchi

Riko Kawaguchi
川口 莉子
Born (2004-09-19) 19 September 2004 (age 20)
Height 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
Weight 70 kg (154 lb; 11 st 0 lb)
Position Goaltender
Catches Left
WJIHL team Daishin
National team  Japan
Playing career 2021–present

Riko Kawaguchi (Japanese: 川口 莉子, かわぐち りこ, Hepburn: Kawaguchi Riko, born 19 September 2004) is a Japanese ice hockey goaltender and member of the Japanese national team, currently playing with Daishin IHC in the Women's Japan Ice Hockey League (WJIHL) and the All-Japan Women's Ice Hockey Championship.

Playing career

In addition to playing with Daishin IHC, Kawaguchi plays with the ice hockey team of her secondary school, Bushūkan Junior and Senior High School [ja] in Kushiro, Hokkaido, Japan.[1]

International play

As a junior player with the Japanese national under-18 team, she participated in the 2022 IIHF U18 Women's World Championship Division I Group A. Kawaguchi played just over a third of Japan’s minutes in net and recorded a shutout against France.[2] The goaltending tandem of Kawaguchi and Ririna Takenaka backstopped Japan’s whitewash of the tournament, as both net minders denied every shot against to record perfect 0.00 goals against average.[3]

Kawaguchi debuted with the senior national team at the 2022 IIHF Women's World Championship. Serving as third goaltender behind Miyuu Masuhara and Akane Konishi, she dressed for two games and played as Konishi's relief in the preliminary round game against Canada, facing 36 shots in 32:13 minutes played.[4][5]

References

  1. ^ "川口 莉子 | 日本代表". Japan Ice Hockey Federation (in Japanese). Retrieved 26 January 2023.
  2. ^ Závodszky, Szabolcs (10 April 2022). "Japanese girls impress in Division I". International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
  3. ^ "2022 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 Women's World Championship Division I - Group A – Goalkeepers". International Ice Hockey Federation. 8 April 2022. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  4. ^ Podnieks, Andrew (28 August 2022). "Canada takes it to Japan". International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  5. ^ "2023 IIHF Women's World Championship – Player Statistics by Team: JPN - Japan". International Ice Hockey Federation. 4 September 2022. Retrieved 29 January 2023.