Austria has been promoted to the Top Division for the first time in the team’s history, going undefeated in Shenzhen, China to secure a historic finish at the IIHF Women’s World Championship Division I Group A tournament. Denmark will return to the Top Division as well thanks to a silver medal performance.
This gold medal for Austria comes a year after a fourth place finish in Division I Group A, and two years after their last podium finish.
Goalie Selma Luggin made an immediate impression, helping Austria to back-to-back 3-0 shutouts against Denmark and China to open the tournament. One of two goalies to earn two shutouts in Shenzhen (the other being Denmark’s Emma-Sofie Nordstrom), Luggin ended the tournament with a 95.65 save percentage, 0.99 goals against average, and the Top Goaltender title.
Annika Fazokas, who made a name for herself at the 2024 World Championships, impressed yet again, earning the Top Defender honours for a second tournament in a row. She was involved in all three goals in Austria’s opening game against Denmark, scoring the first and assisting on the other two.
Fazokas made it onto the gamesheet against China as well, as did captain and Ottawa Charge player Anna Meixner (who finished second overall in tournament scoring) and 16-year-old Emma Lintner.
The third day of competition featured a head-to-head contest between the two as of yet undefeated teams, Austria and Slovakia. Meixner was the difference maker, scoring two crucial power play goals in the third period to secure a 3-2 win for Austria, tying the game at 51:04 and then scoring the game winner with 33 seconds remaining.
Austria needed overtime to beat the Netherlands, who would end up finishing last and being relegated to Division I Group B. With the Dutch up 2-0, Lintner got Austria on the board in the second period. Fazokas had yet another stand out performance, tying the game in the third period and scoring the game winning overtime goal.
France had an opportunity on the final day of competition to spoil Austria’s win streak, but was unable to capitalize on a series of power plays, their only goal of the game coming with 19 seconds remaining, resulting in Austria capping off the tournament with a 3-1 win.
Despite being second in the standings going into this final game, France ended up finishing off the podium, bumped down to fourth with Denmark taking second and Slovakia third.
France had opened the tournament in exciting fashion with a 8-3 win over the Netherlands, which featured four point performances and shorthanded first period goals for Estelle Duvin and Chloe Aurard. Duvin scored two more in the second period for a hat trick, foreshadowing her eventual Top Forward distinction. She went on to lead the tournament in scoring with four goals and five assists, her fourth goal coming in France’s second game, a 4-1 loss to Slovakia.
Duvin set up linemate Clara Rozier for two goals in a 2-1 win over Denmark, and was the hero in France’s match-up with China as well. On the same day Austria and the Netherlands went to overtime, China and France went to a shootout, with Duvin scoring in the eighth round to secure the win.
With the silver medal, Denmark will join Austria in the Top Division next year. This result matches Denmark’s last performance in Division I Group A, where they finished second in 2023 to earn promotion. They will undoubtedly look to maintain a Top Division spot rather than repeat 2024’s tenth place performance that saw them be demoted back down to Division I Group A.
The Danes rebounded from their opening 3-0 loss to Austria with a 6-3 win over the Netherlands. In stark contrast to their first game, it was a busy first period, with Denmark scoring twice in the first three minutes. Denmark excelled in all scoring scenarios, with a shorthanded goal from the team’s leading scorer, Silke Glud, and two power play goals.
Experienced and new players stepped up; captain Nicoline Jensen assisted on four of Denmark’s goals, while 16-year-old Nikita Bergmann scored her first ever in her senior World Championship debut. Bergmann scored Denmark’s only goal in their 2-1 loss to France as well, proving after a dominant performance at the U18 World Championships that she can compete at the senior level as well.
Denmark capped off the tournament with two shutouts. Despite being outshot 35-15, they took a 2-0 win over Slovakia, with goals from Glud and Frederikke Foss. Jensen secured Denmark’s win over China on the final day, scoring her country’s only goal in a 1-0 win.
The bronze medal went to Slovakia, who followed their strong two-win start with the losses to France and Denmark. They finished on a good note however, beating the Dutch 4-1. Slovakia had perhaps the best depth of any team, with all but four players securing points and contributing to the offence. Hana Fancovicova was a standout player, with a two-goal game against Austria (her first ever goals at a senior World Championship).
It was a rough tournament for both China and the Netherlands. China was shutout three times, but when China and the Netherlands went head to head, it was China who won, 2-1. With the score tied 1-1 in the third period, Mengying Zhang was hooked on a breakaway, giving China a penalty shot that would end up deciding the game, with Zhang slipping the puck in five hole.
Hosts China struggled to get shots on net and to score throughout the tournament (only three players scored goals for them throughout the week, Zhang with two and Yue Qu and Xin Fang with one each). While the Netherlands were able to find the back of the net in all of their games—even taking the gold medallists to overtime—they weren’t able to secure a single win.