# Germany women's national ice hockey team

The German women's national ice hockey team represents Germany at the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Women's World Championship and other international ice hockey tournaments. The women's national team was ranked eighth in the IIHF World Ranking in 2020. It is organized under the direct administration of the Deutscher Eishockey-Bund (DEB).
Women's participation in ice hockey in Germany has slowly declined in the past decade – in 2011 the country had 2,549 female players registered with the IIHF but reported only 2,251 in 2020.

## History

The first international game for the German women's national team took place on 3 December 1988 in Geretsried against Switzerland. The final score was 6–5 for the Swiss, but the Germans avenged the loss in their second match. Against the Swiss, the Germans obtained their first victory.
In preparation for the 2013 IIHF Women's World Championship, the Carleton Ice House, home of the Carleton Ravens women's ice hockey program, served as the training facility for the German team. Former Ravens team captain Sara Seiler served as a member of the German squad. Of note, the Ravens hosted Germany in an exhibition game, which saw the Germans prevail by a 3–0 tally, with goals from Julia Zorn, Franziska Busch, and Andrea Lanzl.
Germany's best finish at the Worlds was in 2017, where they finished fourth after an upset victory over Russia in the quarterfinals.

## Tournament record
### Olympic

* 2002 – Finished in 6th place
* 2006 – Finished in 5th place
* 2014 – Finished in 6th place

### World Championship

* 1990 – Finished in 7th place (as West Germany)
* 1994 – Finished in 8th place
* 1999 – Finished in 7th place
* 2000 – Finished in 7th place
* 2001 – Finished in 5th place
* 2004 – Finished in 6th place
* 2005 – Finished in 5th place
* 2007 – Finished in 8th place
* 2008 – Finished in 9th place (relegated to Division I)
* 2009 – Finished in 11th place (2nd in Division I)
* 2011 – Finished in 9th place (1st in Division I, promoted to Top Division)
* 2012 – Finished in 7th place
* 2013 – Finished in 5th place
* 2015 – Finished in 8th place (relegated to Division IA)
* 2016 – Finished in 9th place (1st in Division IA, promoted to Top Division)
* 2017 – Finished in 4th place
* 2019 – Finished in 7th place
* 2020 – Cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic
* 2021 – Finished in 8th place
* 2022 – Finished in 9th place
* 2023 – Finished in 8th place
* 2024 – Finished in 6th place

### European Championship

* 1989 – Won bronze medal (as West Germany)
* 1991 – Finished in 6th place
* 1993 – Finished in 4th place
* 1995 – Finished in 5th place
* 1996 – Finished in 6th place

## Team
### Current roster

Roster for the 2024 IIHF Women's World Championship.
Head coach: Jeff MacLeod
| No. | Pos. | Name | Height | Weight | Birthdate | Team |
| 5 | D | Charlott Schaffrath | 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) | 70 kg (150 lb) | (2005-12-26) 26 December 2005 (age 18) | ECDC Memmingen |
| 6 | F | Theresa Wagner | 1.64 m (5 ft 5 in) | 59 kg (130 lb) | (1995-05-05) 5 May 1995 (age 29) | ERC Ingolstadt |
| 7 | F | Franziska Feldmeier | 1.64 m (5 ft 5 in) | 68 kg (150 lb) | (1999-02-05) 5 February 1999 (age 25) | ECDC Memmingen |
| 8 | D | Ronja Hark – A | 1.58 m (5 ft 2 in) | 60 kg (130 lb) | (2003-08-17) 17 August 2003 (age 21) | ECDC Memmingen |
| 9 | F | Svenja Voigt | 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in) | 60 kg (130 lb) | (2004-03-29) 29 March 2004 (age 20) | St. Cloud State Huskies |
| 11 | F | Nicola Eisenschmid | 1.66 m (5 ft 5 in) | 66 kg (146 lb) | (1996-09-10) 10 September 1996 (age 28) | ECDC Memmingen |
| 13 | F | Luisa Welcke | 1.66 m (5 ft 5 in) | 66 kg (146 lb) | (2002-04-29) 29 April 2002 (age 22) | Boston University Terriers |
| 14 | D | Carina Strobel | 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in) | 61 kg (134 lb) | (1997-09-11) 11 September 1997 (age 27) | ECDC Memmingen |
| 16 | F | Jule Schiefer | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) | 65 kg (143 lb) | (2001-09-12) 12 September 2001 (age 23) | ECDC Memmingen |
| 17 | F | Emily Nix | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) | 77 kg (170 lb) | (1998-01-12) 12 January 1998 (age 26) | ERC Ingolstadt |
| 18 | F | Bernadette Karpf | 1.67 m (5 ft 6 in) | 63 kg (139 lb) | (1996-07-03) 3 July 1996 (age 28) | ERC Ingolstadt |
| 20 | D | Daria Gleißner – C | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) | 70 kg (150 lb) | (1993-06-30) 30 June 1993 (age 31) | ECDC Memmingen |
| 21 | D | Tabea Botthof | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | 75 kg (165 lb) | (2000-06-01) 1 June 2000 (age 24) | Mad Dogs Mannheim |
| 25 | F | Laura Kluge – A | 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in) | 63 kg (139 lb) | (1996-11-06) 6 November 1996 (age 27) | ECDC Memmingen |
| 26 | D | Tara Schmitz | 1.66 m (5 ft 5 in) | 62 kg (137 lb) | (1998-03-16) 16 March 1998 (age 26) | Mad Dogs Mannheim |
| 28 | D | Nina Jobst-Smith | 1.69 m (5 ft 7 in) | 66 kg (146 lb) | (2001-08-30) 30 August 2001 (age 23) | Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs |
| 29 | F | Nina Christof | 1.64 m (5 ft 5 in) | 66 kg (146 lb) | (2002-08-18) 18 August 2002 (age 22) | RPI Engineers |
| 32 | D | Lucia Schmitz | 1.64 m (5 ft 5 in) | 64 kg (141 lb) | (2000-04-15) 15 April 2000 (age 24) | Mad Dogs Mannheim |
| 33 | F | Lilli Welcke | 1.66 m (5 ft 5 in) | 65 kg (143 lb) | (2002-04-29) 29 April 2002 (age 22) | Boston University Terriers |
| 34 | F | Celina Haider | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) | 62 kg (137 lb) | (2000-07-20) 20 July 2000 (age 24) | ERC Ingolstadt |
| 35 | G | Sandra Abstreiter | 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in) | 78 kg (172 lb) | (1998-07-23) 23 July 1998 (age 26) | PWHL Ottawa |
| 67 | G | Lisa Hemmerle | 1.67 m (5 ft 6 in) | 62 kg (137 lb) | (1995-12-11) 11 December 1995 (age 28) | ERC Ingolstadt |
| 95 | G | Hannah Loist | 1.71 m (5 ft 7 in) | 62 kg (137 lb) | (2007-07-18) 18 July 2007 (age 17) | Grizzlys Wolfsburg |

### Notable former players

* Claudia Grundmann
* Michaela Lanzl
* Christina Oswald
* Denise Soesilo
* Raffaela Wolf

### Former coaches

* 1988–1989: Pia Sterner
* 1989–1990: Pierre Delisle
* 1990–1994: Hanspeter Amend
* 1994–1995: Alfred Neidhart
* 1995–2002: Rainer Nittel
* 2002–2014: Peter Kathan
* 2014–2018: Benjamin Hinterstocker
* 2018–2019: Christian Künast
* 2020–2021: Franziska Busch
* 2021–2023: Thomas Schädler
* 2023–present: Jeff MacLeod