# 2023 IIHF U18 Women's World Championship

The 2023 IIHF U18 Women's World Championship was the 15th IIHF U18 Women's World Championship in ice hockey which took place in Östersund, Sweden, 8–15 January 2023.

## Top Division

The Top Division tournament is played in Östersund, Sweden from 8 to 15 January 2023.

### Match officials

Ten referees and ten linesmen were selected for the tournament.

### Preliminary round

All times are local (UTC+1).

#### Group A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Canada | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 3 | +12 | 9 | Semifinals |
| 2 | United States | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 7 | +8 | 6 | Semifinals |
| 3 | Sweden (H) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 3 | Quarterfinals |
| 4 | Finland | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 22 | −20 | 0 | Quarterfinals |

#### Group B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Czechia | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 6 | +6 | 9 | Quarterfinals |
| 2 | Slovakia | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 8 | +5 | 6 | Quarterfinals |
| 3 | Switzerland | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 8 | −3 | 3 | Relegation round |
| 4 | Japan | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 13 | −8 | 0 | Relegation round |

### Relegation round

The third and fourth placed team from Group B played a best-of-three series to determine the relegated team.

### Final round

Teams will be reseeded for the semifinals in accordance with the following ranking:
* tier of the group;
* position in the group.
| Rank | Team | Group | Pos |
| 1 | Canada | A | 1 |
| 2 | United States | A | 2 |
| 3 | Sweden | A | 3 |
| 4 | Finland | A | 4 |
| 5 | Czechia | B | 1 |
| 6 | Slovakia | B | 2 |

#### Bracket

| Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | | Final | Final |
| | | 14 January | 14 January | | |
| | | 1 Canada (OT) | 3 | |
| 12 January | 12 January | | 1 Canada (OT) | 3 | |
| 12 January | 12 January | 4 Finland | 2 | |
| 3A Sweden | 6 | 4 Finland | 2 | |
| 3A Sweden | 6 | | | | 15 January | 15 January |
| 2B Slovakia | 1 | | | | 15 January | 15 January |
| 2B Slovakia | 1 | | | | 1 Canada | 10 |
| | | | | | 3 Sweden | 0 |
| | | 14 January | 14 January | | | |
| | | 2 United States | 1 | | | |
| 12 January | 12 January | | 2 United States | 1 | | |
| 12 January | 12 January | 3 Sweden | 2 | | Third place | Third place |
| 4A Finland | 3 | 3 Sweden | 2 | | Third place | Third place |
| 4A Finland | 3 | | | | 15 January | 15 January |
| 1B Czechia | 2 | | | | 15 January | 15 January |
| 1B Czechia | 2 | | | | 2 United States | 5 |
| | | | | | 4 Finland | 0 |

#### Gold medal game
### Awards and statistics
#### Awards

| Position | Player |
| Goaltender | Felicia Frank |
| Defenceman | Mira Jungåker |
| Forward | Nela Lopušanová |
| Position | Player |
| Goaltender | Felicia Frank |
| Defenceman | Mira Jungåker |
| Defenceman | Molly Jordan |
| Forward | Nela Lopušanová |
| Forward | Pauliina Salonen |
| Forward | Caitlin Kraemer |
| MVP | Nela Lopušanová |

#### Scoring leaders

List shows the top skaters sorted by points, then goals.
| Rank | Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM | POS |
| 1 | Nela Lopušanová | 5 | 9 | 3 | 12 | +5 | 2 | F |
| 2 | Caitlin Kraemer | 5 | 10 | 1 | 11 | +10 | 6 | F |
| 3 | Margaret Scannell | 5 | 4 | 4 | 8 | +4 | 4 | F |
| 4 | Alex Law | 4 | 3 | 4 | 7 | +8 | 2 | F |
| 5 | Emma Pais | 5 | 2 | 5 | 7 | +13 | 0 | F |
| 6 | Adéla Šapovalivová | 5 | 4 | 2 | 6 | +2 | 2 | F |
| 7 | Hilda Svensson | 6 | 4 | 2 | 6 | +2 | 2 | F |
| 8 | Joy Dunne | 5 | 3 | 3 | 6 | +2 | 6 | F |
| 8 | Tereza Plosová | 5 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 2 | F |
| 10 | Ema Tóthová | 5 | 0 | 6 | 6 | +5 | 0 | F |
GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/− = Plus/minus; PIM = Penalties in minutes; POS = Position Source: IIHF

#### Leading goaltenders

Only the top five goaltenders, based on save percentage, who have played at least 40% of their team's minutes, are included in this list.
| Rank | Player | TOI | GA | GAA | SA | Sv% | SO |
| 1 | Hannah Clark | 247:32 | 5 | 1.21 | 103 | 95.15 | 1 |
| 2 | Talina Benderer | 240:38 | 5 | 1.25 | 90 | 94.44 | 1 |
| 3 | Annelies Bergmann | 236:54 | 8 | 2.03 | 117 | 93.16 | 1 |
| 4 | Michaela Hesová | 212:17 | 8 | 2.26 | 78 | 89.74 | 0 |
| 5 | Felicia Frank | 251:26 | 11 | 2.62 | 105 | 89.52 | 0 |
TOI = Time on ice (minutes:seconds); SA = Shots against; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; Sv% = Save percentage; SO = Shutouts Source: IIHF

### Final standings

| Pos | Grp | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Final result |
| 1 | A | Canada | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 5 | +23 | 14 | Champions |
| 2 | A | Sweden (H) | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 19 | 23 | −4 | 9 | Runners-up |
| 3 | A | United States | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 21 | 9 | +12 | 9 | Third place |
| 4 | A | Finland | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 32 | −25 | 4 | Fourth place |
| 5 | B | Czechia | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 20 | 12 | +8 | 12 | Fifth place game |
| 6 | B | Slovakia | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 17 | 20 | −3 | 6 | Fifth place game |
| 7 | B | Switzerland | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 9 | +3 | 9 | Avoided Relegation |
| 8 | B | Japan | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 20 | −14 | 0 | Relegated to the Division I A |

## Division I
### Group A

The tournament was held in Ritten, Italy from 9 to 15 January 2023.
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 1 | Germany | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 4 | +6 | 12 | Promoted to the 2024 Top Division |
| 2 | Italy (H) | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 5 | +3 | 9 | |
| 3 | France | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 8 | +3 | 9 | |
| 4 | Hungary | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 10 | +1 | 8 | |
| 5 | Austria | 5 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 11 | −5 | 4 | |
| 6 | Norway | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 16 | −8 | 3 | Relegated to the 2024 Division I B |
* 1 2 France 0–2 Italy

### Group B

The tournament was held in Katowice, Poland from 10 to 15 January 2023.
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 1 | Denmark | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 3 | +16 | 12 | Promoted to the 2024 Division I A |
| 2 | Poland (H) | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 3 | +12 | 9 | |
| 3 | Spain | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 9 | −3 | 5 | |
| 4 | South Korea | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 12 | −7 | 4 | |
| 5 | Chinese Taipei | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 20 | −18 | 0 | |
| – | China | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Withdrawn; relegated to the 2024 Division II A |

## Division II
### Group A

The tournament was held in Dumfries, Great Britain from 21 to 27 January 2023.
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 1 | Australia | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 7 | +9 | 12 | Promoted to the 2024 Division I B |
| 2 | Latvia | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 7 | +7 | 10 | |
| 3 | Netherlands | 5 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 10 | |
| 4 | Great Britain (H) | 5 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 8 | +3 | 10 | |
| 5 | Turkey | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 11 | −5 | 2 | |
| 6 | Mexico | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 20 | −14 | 1 | Relegated to the 2024 Division II B |
* 1 2 3 Latvia 4 Pts, Netherlands 4 Pts, Great Britain 1 Pt. Latvia defeated Netherlands 2–1 in overtime.

### Group B

The tournament was held in Sofia, Bulgaria from 26 January to 1 February 2023.
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion |
| 1 | Kazakhstan | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 5 | +30 | 15 | Promoted to the 2024 Division II A |
| 2 | Belgium | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 22 | 13 | +9 | 11 | |
| 3 | Iceland | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 15 | 14 | +1 | 9 | |
| 4 | New Zealand | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 19 | 14 | +5 | 6 | |
| 5 | Bulgaria (H) | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 15 | 21 | −6 | 4 | |
| 6 | Estonia | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 40 | −39 | 0 | |