Riko Kawaguchi

Riko Kawaguchi is a Japanese ice hockey goaltender who represents the national team and currently plays for Daishin IHC in the Women's Japan Ice Hockey League as well as the All-Japan Women's Ice Hockey Championship.

Playing career

In addition to playing for Daishin IHC, Kawaguchi is also a member of the ice hockey team at, a well-known academic institution in Kushiro, Hokkaido, Japan.

While playing for Japanese national under-18 team, Kawaguchi took part in the 2022 IIHF U18 Women's World Championship Division I Group A. She guarded the net for a bit more than one-third of the team's total ice time and earned a shutout victory over France. Together with fellow goaltender Ririna Takenaka, the duo led Japan to a whitewash tournament performance, with both goalies stopping every shot they faced and finishing with a perfect 0.00 goals against average.
Kawaguchi earned her debut with the Japanese senior national team at the 2022 IIHF Women's World Championship. Selected as the team's third goaltender behind veterans Miyuu Masuhara and Akane Konishi, she gained valuable experience by dressing for two games during the tournament. Her first taste of international senior-level action came in a preliminary round matchup against powerhouse Team, where she was called into the game as a relief goaltender for Konishi. Despite the high-pressure situation, Kawaguchi held her ground admirably, playing for 32 minutes and 13 seconds and facing an intense offensive barrage with 36 shots on goal.