# Ice hockey at the 2023 European Youth Olympic Winter Festival

Ice hockey at the 2023 European Youth Olympic Winter Festival comprised two ice hockey tournaments – a boys' under-17 tournament and a girls' under-16 tournament – during the Friuli-Venezia Giulia 2023 edition of the European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF). Both tournaments were held during 22 to 27 January 2023. The boys' tournament was played in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of Italy at the Fiera di Udine in Udine and the girls' tournament was played at the Eissportarena in Spittal an der Drau, Austria, the only event of the festival to be held in Austria.

## Medal summary
### Medal table

* Host nation (Italy)
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 1 | Czech Republic | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1 | Switzerland | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 3 | Latvia | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 3 | Slovakia | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 5 | Finland | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Totals (5 entries) | Totals (5 entries) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 |

### Medalists

| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Boys | SwitzerlandRobin AntenenNiklas BlessingDavid BossonNolan CattinJordan ForgetMischa GeisserJoel GrossniklausChristian KirschJoel KurtKimi KörblerGian MeierLeon MuggliElijah NeuenschwanderYannik PonzettoJamiro ReberBasile SansonnensNoé TarchiniDaniil UstinkovNils WehrliLoris Wey | LatviaKristers AnsonsSandis AuziņšEdvīns BērziņšOskars BriedisHarijs CjunskisDmitrijs DiļevkaEdvards EglītisOskars GusevsMaksims HaritoncevsArtūrs KohsAntons MacijevskisBruno PetrovičsRoberts Jānis PolisKrists RetenaisMarkuss SieradzkisAlekss SimanovičsToms TrockisMikus VecvanagsAleksandrs ZaprivodaLindars Zemņickis | FinlandOnni AmhamdiMatvey ButkovskiVertti HaikalaAatu HeinänenTuukka HeiskanenJoakim HirschovitsJonatan HirschovitsRobin HuttunenAtte Vikla JokeritAatu KarvinenVeeti LouhivaaraVeikka MononenAatu MyllykangasToni NymanHeikki PeipinenBenjamin PietiläKasper PikkarainenRoope RajalaLeo TuuvaViljami Vuorinen |
| Girls | Czech RepublicMadlen ChladováMagdaléna FelcmanováKaterina FialováAdéla FormováTereza GildainováVeronika HujováJulie JebouskováViktorie JílkováNatálie MusilováDaniela NovákováVeronika OrtováHana PanešováAdéla PánkováAneta ParoubkováKlaudie PietraszováBarbora ProškováVera StastkovaŠarlota StýblováJohanna TischlerLinda Vocetková | SlovakiaVanessa EibenováMichaela FeníkováAlica JuríkováLenka KarkoškováNikola KomlošTatiana KorčekováBianka KostkováNikita KrištofíkováEma LackováNela LopušanováBianka MaslákováLívia NogováZuzana SliackaMariana SumegováAlexandra TomasováLiana TomaštíkováZuzana TomečkováEma TóthováLaura TurňováJazmína Večerková | FinlandNelly AnderssonAnastasia BorodinaAbigail ByskataLeni Lilia GranrothElla-Sofia HautalaSara HolopainenIiris HämäläinenLaura KiveläJulia KuhtaKerttu Kuja-HalkolaEva LambergAnnika MarjatsaloVilma NurmistoEmilia PiekkariElli PohjanahoNoora PuhtoEnni RiikonenRiia SaarniiSenja SiivonenJannika Sten |

## Boys' tournament

The boys' ice hockey tournament at the 2023 European Youth Olympic Winter Festival was held at the Fiera di Udine in the Parco del Cormòr of Udine, Italy during 22 to 27 January 2023. It was the fourteenth boys' ice hockey tournament to be played as part of a European Youth Olympic Winter Festival, since the sport's introduction to the programme at the 1997 European Youth Olympic Winter Days.
Only players born in either 2006 or 2007 were eligible to compete in the tournament and, therefore, all players were 15 or 16 years old at the start of the tournament.
Switzerland went undefeated to claim their first EYOF ice hockey gold medal. First-time tournament medalists Lativa won silver and Finland rounded out the medal table with bronze. Germany, Slovakia, and tournament host Italy placed fourth, fifth, and sixth, respectively.
The Swiss team featured the top seven point scorers of the tournament: scoring leader Joel Grossniklaus, who scored 2 goals and 6 assists for 8 points; followed by Yannik Ponzetto and Loris Wey, who both tallied 7 points on 2 goals and 5 assists; Daniil Ustinkov, the tournament's top scoring defenseman, and Jordan Forget, who both notched a goal and 5 assists; David Bosson, who scored 4 goals and 1 assist; and Jamiro Reber, who recorded 3 goals and 2 assists. Reber tied with German Simon Seidl and Finn Aatu Karvinen for seventh on the points table, followed by Finland's Matvey Butkovskiy at tenth with 2 goals and 3 assists.
The leading scorers of those teams not represented in the top-ten of the points table were: Matthias Pardatscher (1+1) and Gianmarco Fraschetta (1+1) for Italy, Oskars Nils Briedis (0+5) for Latvia, and Pavol Prokopovič (1+4) for Slovakia.

### Preliminary round
#### Group A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Germany | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 9 | +3 | 5 | Semifinals |
| 2 | Finland | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 7 | +1 | 4 | Semifinals |
| 3 | Slovakia | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 11 | −4 | 0 | Fifth place game |

#### Group B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Switzerland | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 1 | +11 | 6 | Semifinals |
| 2 | Latvia | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 6 | +2 | 3 | Semifinals |
| 3 | Italy (H) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 14 | −13 | 0 | Fifth place game |

### Play-off round

| Semifinals | Semifinals | Final | Final |
| 25 January | 25 January |
| A1 Germany | 2 |
| A1 Germany | 2 | 27 January | 27 January |
| B2 Latvia | 3 | 27 January | 27 January |
| B2 Latvia | 3 | Latvia | 0 |
| 25 January | 25 January | | Latvia | 0 |
| 25 January | 25 January | Switzerland | 5 |
| B1 Switzerland | 8 | Switzerland | 5 |
| A2 Finland | 3 | | |
| A2 Finland | 3 | Third place | Third place |
| | | 26 January | 26 January |
| | | 4 Germany | 1 |
| | | Finland | 4 |
Source: EYOF 2023

#### Gold medal game
### Awards

Best players selected by the Directorate
| Position | Player |
| Goaltender | Elijah Neuenschwander (SUI) |
| Defenceman | Leon Muggli (SUI) |
| Forward | Joel Grossniklaus (SUI) |
| MVP | Daniil Ustinkov (SUI) |
Source: EYOF 2023

## Girls' tournament

The girls' ice hockey tournament at the 2023 European Youth Olympic Winter Festival was held at the Eissportarena in Spittal an der Drau, Austria during 22 to 27 January 2023. It was the second girls' ice hockey tournament to be played as part of a European Youth Olympic Winter Festival, following the inaugural tournament at Vuokatti 2022.
Only players born in either 2007 or 2008 were eligible to compete in the tournament and, therefore, all players were 14 or 15 years old at the start of the tournament.
Slovakia placed first in Group A after losing only one game in the preliminary round, a 3–4 loss to Switzerland. The Czech Republic, defending gold medalists from 2022, were unbeaten in the preliminary round and topped the Group B standings to earn placement in their second consecutive gold medal game. The dominance of the Czech team continued as they outscored Slovakia 4–1 to remain the only team to have won EYOF gold in girls' ice hockey. Slovakia claimed their first EYOF girls' ice hockey medal with silver.
Finland narrowly missed placing first in Group A after amassing a win-loss record, goal differential, and points total identical to that of Slovakia but, because their one loss came against Slovakia, were held to second place and progressed to their second consecutive bronze medal game. In the preliminary round rematch between the 2022 gold medal match teams, Sweden onceagain pushed the Czech Republic to overtime before ultimately losing in the shootout. With the overtime loss as the only blemish on their record, Sweden finished second in Group B. Continuing in dramatic fashion, Sweden tied the score against Finland in the last five minutes of regulation to push the bronze medal game to overtime. After a scoreless overtime period, Abigail Byskata scored the lone goal of the shootout to solidify Finland's second consecutive bronze medal victory.
Austria and Italy both made their EYOF girls' ice hockey debuts in 2023, making the fifth place game a matchup between two tournament newcomers. Italy's Federica Boaglio scored the only goal of the game, as Anna Corte Sualon earned a 42-shot shutout to capture a fifth place finish for the host nation.
Switzerland beat Germany 3–2 to claim seventh place.

### Preliminary round
#### Group A
##### Standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Slovakia | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 10 | +2 | 6 | Gold medal game |
| 2 | Finland | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 4 | +5 | 6 | Bronze medal game |
| 3 | Austria (H) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 10 | −3 | 3 | Fifth place game |
| 4 | Switzerland | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 8 | −4 | 3 | Seventh place game |
* 1 2 Finland 2–4 Slovakia
* 1 2 Switzerland 0–3 Austria

##### Results
#### Group B
##### Standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Czech Republic | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 5 | +14 | 8 | Gold medal game |
| 2 | Sweden | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 5 | +10 | 7 | Bronze medal game |
| 3 | Italy | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 16 | −8 | 3 | Fifth place game |
| 4 | Germany | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 21 | −16 | 0 | Seventh place game |

##### Results
### Final standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD |
| | Czech Republic | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 6 | +17 |
| | Slovakia | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 14 | –1 |
| | Finland | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 6 | +6 |
| 4 | Sweden | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 17 | 8 | +9 |
| 5 | Italy | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 16 | –7 |
| 6 | Austria (H) | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 11 | –4 |
| 7 | Switzerland | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 10 | –3 |
| 8 | Germany | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 24 | –17 |
Source: EYOF 2023

### Player statistics
#### Scoring leaders

Top-ten point scorers sorted by points, then goals.
| Rank | Player | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/− | POS |
| 1 | Nela Lopušanová | 4 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 6 | +3 | F |
| 2 | Linda Vocetková | 4 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 0 | +12 | F |
| 3 | Viktorie Jílková | 4 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 4 | +8 | F |
| 4 | Elsa Pallin | 4 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 0 | +5 | F |
| 5 | Edit Danielsson | 4 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 4 | +7 | F |
| 6 | Jannika Sten | 4 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 2 | +6 | F |
| 7 | Ema Lacková | 4 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 2 | ±0 | F |
| 8 | Eva Lamberg | 4 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 10 | +7 | F |
| 9 | Adéla Fromová | 4 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 2 | –1 | D |
| 10 | Julie Jebousková | 4 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 4 | +7 | F |
GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/− = Plus/minus; PIM = Penalties in minutes; POS = Position Source: EYOF 2023

#### Goaltenders

Goaltenders who played at least 40% of their team's minutes are included in this list, sorted by save percentage.
| Player | TOI | SOG | GA | GAA | Sv% | SO |
| Kerttu Kuja-Halkola | 120:0 | 73 | 4 | 2.00 | 94.52 | 1 |
| Kiara Matt | 198:2 | 107 | 6 | 1.81 | 94.39 | 1 |
| Daniela Nováková | 179:3 | 59 | 4 | 1.34 | 93.22 | 0 |
| Maja Helge | 161:4 | 100 | 7 | 2.60 | 93.00 | 0 |
| Anna Corte Sualon | 120:0 | 64 | 6 | 3.00 | 90.63 | 1 |
| Lia Rubin | 146:1 | 60 | 6 | 2.46 | 90.00 | 0 |
| Mariana Sumegová | 178:3 | 99 | 10 | 3.36 | 89.90 | 0 |
| Hannah Loist | 156:0 | 100 | 13 | 5.00 | 87.00 | 0 |
| Emma Fortarel | 120:0 | 56 | 10 | 5.00 | 82.14 | 0 |
TOI = Time on ice (minutes:seconds); SOG = Shots on goal; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; Sv% = Save percentage; SO = Shutouts Source: EYOF 2023

### Awards

Best players selected by the Directorate
| Position | Player |
| Goaltender | Kerttu Kuja-Halkola |
| Defenceman | Šarlota Stýblová |
| Forward | Nela Lopušanová |
Source: EYOF 2023

### Rosters

| Rank | Team | Roster |
| 1 | Czech Republic | Goaltenders: Kateřina Fialová, Daniela Nováková, Veronika Ortová Defencemen: Adéla Fromová, Veronika Hujová, Hana Panešová, Aneta Paroubková, Šarlota Stýblová, Johanna Tischler Forwards: Madlen Chladová, Magdaléna Felcmanová, Tereza Gildainová, Julie Jebousková (A), Viktorie Jílková (C), Natálie Musilová, Adéla Pánková, Klaudie Pietraszová, Barbora Prošková, Vĕra Šťástková, Linda Vocetková (A) Head coach: Jan Lucák Assistant coaches: Martin Cimrman, Dalimil Svoboda (goaltender) |
| 2 | Slovakia | Goaltenders: Mariana Sumegová, Zuzana Tomečková Defencemen: Vanessa Eibenová, Michaela Feníková, Bianka Kostková, Nikita Lilliana Krištofíková, Bianka Masláková, Lívia Nogová, Jazmína Večerková Forwards: Alica Juríková, Lenka Karkošková (A), Nikola Komloš, Tatiana Korčeková, Ema Lacková (C), Nela Lopušanová (A), Zuzana Sliacka, Alexandra Tomasová, Liana Tomaštíková, Ema Tóthová, Laura Turnová Head coach: Nicol Lucák Čupková Assistant coaches: Juraj Ostrolucký, Adam Štěpanovský (goaltender) |
| 3 | Finland | Goaltenders: Kerttu Kuja-Halkola, Emilia Piekkari Defencemen: Nelly Andersson, Sara Holopainen, Iiris Hämäläinen, Vilma Nurmisto, Elli Pohjanaho, Enni Riikonen, Riia Saarni (A) Forwards: Anastasia Borodina, Abigail Byskata (C), Leni Granroth, Ella-Sofia Hautala, Laura Kivelä, Julia Kuhta, Eva Lamberg (A), Annika Marjatsalo, Noora Puhto, Senja Siivonen, Jannika Sten Head coach: Mika Väärälä Assistant coaches: Marjo Voutilainen, Vesa Lehtonen, Severi Kinnunen (goaltender) |
| 4 | Sweden | Goaltenders: Maja Helge, Ebba Ridderstolpe Defencemen: Meja Andersson, Wilma Georgny, Nelly Johansson, Lovisa Norström, Nellie Svensson (A), Elsa Åberg Forwards: Evelina Arvidsson, Edit Danielsson (A), Tilda Edsman, Lovisa Engström, Moa Johannesson, Eimear Leacy (C), Linn Mattsson, Saga Nederman, Lionelle Näslund, Elsa Pallin, Stella Sjöberg, Ingrid Wikblom Head coach: Ulf Hall Assistant coaches: Linus Fagemo, Emil Karnatz (goaltender) |
| 5 | Italy | Goaltenders: Anna Corte Sualon, Emma Fortarel Defencemen: Maddalena Bedont, Olivia Cambruzzi (A), Aurora De Fanti, Martina Gay, Ginevra Eloise Leger, Nicole Varesco Forwards: Federica Boaglio, Olivia De Bertoli, Matilde Fantin (C), Annalisa Giuliani, Miriam Hackhofer, Manuela Heidenberger (A), Emily Innocenti, Carlotta Mellarè, Eleonora Pisetta, Nelly Schmid, Giorgia Todesco, Aurora Varesco Head coach: Massimo Fedrizzi Assistant coaches: Luca Giacomuzzi |
| 6 | Austria | Goaltenders: Leonie Eder, Kiara Matt Defencemen: Elisa Brunner (A), Sofia Fleisch, Gloria Henek (A), Eva Kollegger, Hana Ostadal, Valentina Prosen, Ida Schlöglmann Forwards: Britta Bachler, Malaya Bäck, Emma Kleinlercher, Emma Lintner, Pia Obermayr, Vanessa Picka, Alice Putscheck, Florentina Rumpl, Katharina Steiger, Artemis Tekin, Serena Unger (C) Head coach: Philipp Siutz Assistant coaches: Alexandra Gürtler, Patrick Platzer, Gernot Wegerer (goaltender) |
| 7 | Switzerland | Goaltenders: Amaya Iseli, Lia Rubin Defencemen: Miriana Bottoni, Melissa Capezzali, Sonja Inkamp, Ilana Leibundgut (A), Laure Mériguet, Lorena Wrann Forwards: Luana Birnstiel, Mila Croll, Elisa Dalessi, Naemi Herzig (C), Rebecca Langenegger (A), Shaira Lovecchio, Jael Manetsch, Norina Müller, Julia Näf, Sarina Ochsner, Jelena Sonderegger, Aiyana Vuillemin Head coach: Tatjana Diener Assistant coaches: Iris Müller, Melanie Häfliger, Andreas Ellenberger (goaltender) |
| 8 | Germany | Goaltenders: Lilli Gania, Hannah Loist Defencemen: Sarah Bouceka, Annica Busch, Lara Georgi (A), Scarlett Greb, Julie Ortner, Siena Müller Maldonado, Antonia Thume, Nele Zimmermann Forwards: Felicitas Bergmann, Liv Betten, Viktoria del Toso, Sandra Mayr, Frederike Pfalz, Madalena Seidel, Anabel Seyrer (A), Hanna Weichenhain (C), Zoe Wintgen, Theresa Zielinski Head coach: Jennifer Harß Assistant coaches: Franziska Busch, Ronja Jenike |
Source: EYOF 2023