# 2011 IIHF 12 Nations Tournament

The IIHF 12 Nations Invitational Tournament Series was held in Vierumäki, Finland (August 24–31), Courchevel, France (August 28–30), and Füssen, Germany (November 9–13). The competing nations will be the national women's teams. This is a new tournament introduced by the International Ice Hockey Federation. The goal is to close the large gaps in skill between countries by providing more competitive opportunities. The eight competing countries in Vierumaki, Finland are Canada, United States, Finland, Sweden, Russia, Switzerland, Slovakia and Japan. France, Germany, Norway and the Czech Republic also played in a mini-tournament simultaneously in Courchevel, France. Teams from Group B and C played in the tournament held in Füssen.
There were no medals awarded at the tournament, and its main purpose was to develop players from countries attempting to qualify for the Olympic Games in 2014.
Mistaken Identity. The name of the tournament was mistakenly printed on several publications and websites as the "IIHF 8 Nations Tournament". The "IIHF 12 Nations Invitational Tournament Series" was the official name for the tournament.

## Participating nations

| Group A  Canada  Finland  Sweden  United States | Group B  Japan  Russia  Slovakia  Switzerland | Group C  Germany  France  Norway  Czech Republic |

## Group A/B
### Round robin

* August 29: Jayna Hefford scored once in regulation time and twice in the shootout as Canada triumphed against the United States by a 4-3 mark in an exhibition game. Hilary Knight scored on the Americans' first two shots for a 2-0 lead just 1:55 in as Liz Knox was pulled from the game. Gillian Apps tallied a goal less than a minute after Knight’s second goal and Jocelyne Larocque evened at 7:41, as four goals were registered in the first eight minutes.
The teams exchanged goals late in the second period. Brianna Decker scored for the US, while Jayna Hefford replied with a power play goal. Afterwards, Genevieve Lacasse and Jessie Vetter made a combined 31 saves in the third period and overtime, forcing a shootout between the rivals. In the first five rounds of said shootout, Hefford and Kelli Stack traded goals. Afterwards, Hefford proceeded to give Canada another lead as she scored again in the shootout. Jennifer Wakefield followed to beat Vetter for the game winner.

### August 24

| Date | Teams | Result | Notes |
| August 24 | USA vs. Russia | USA, 12-0 | Hat trick scored by Hilary Knight |
| August 24 | Canada vs. Switzerland | Canada, 16-0 | Jayna Hefford scored a hat trick |
| August 24 | Finland vs. Japan | Finland, 7-0 | |
| August 24 | Sweden vs. Slovakia | Sweden, 4-1 | |

### August 25

| Date | Teams | Result | Notes |
| August 25 | USA vs. Japan | USA, 13-0 | Kelli Stack and Jen Schoullis each scored a hat trick |
| August 25 | Canada vs. Russia | Canada, 14-1 | Meghan Agosta scored a hat trick and added two assists |
| August 25 | Finland vs. Slovakia | Finland, 2-0 | |
| August 25 | Sweden vs. Switzerland | Sweden, 4-2 | |

### August 27

| Date | Teams | Result | Notes |
| August 27 | USA vs. Switzerland | USA, 11-1 | |
| August 27 | Canada vs. Slovakia | Canada, 11-0 | Vicki Bendus registered a hat trick and added one assist Canada outshot Slovakia 73-8 |
| August 27 | Finland vs. Russia | Finland, 2-1 | |
| August 27 | Sweden vs. Japan | Sweden, 8-2 | |

### August 28

| Date | Teams | Result | Notes |
| August 28 | USA vs. Canada | USA, 4-0 | Shutout by Molly Schaus |
| August 28 | Sweden vs. Russia | Sweden, 4-3 | |
| August 28 | Finland vs. Switzerland | Finland, 12-0 | |
| August 28 | Slovakia vs. Japan | Slovakia, 4-0 | |

### August 30

| Date | Teams | Result | Notes |
| August 30 | Canada vs. Finland | Canada, 3-2 | Caroline Ouellette had three assists |
| August 30 | USA vs. Sweden | USA, 2-0 | |

### August 31

| Date | Teams | Result | Notes |
| August 31 | Sweden vs. Canada | Sweden, 6-4 | Canada lost for just the second time in 66 all-time international meetings against Sweden by a 6-4 mark. |
| August 31 | USA vs. Finland | USA, 6-0 | Molly Schaus and Jessie Vetter both played and shared the shutout |

### September 2 and 3

| Date | Teams | Result | Notes |
| September 2 | Sweden vs. Finland | Sweden, 3-1 | |
| September 3 | Sweden vs. Finland | Sweden, 4-2 | |

## Group C

All games for Group C were contested at the Olympic Ice Rink in Courchevel, France from August 28–30. Norway players Helene Martinsen led all Group C players in scoring with 8 points, while teammate Andrea Dalen ranked second in Group C scoring with 6 points.

### Schedule

| Date | Teams | Result |
| August 28 | France vs. Germany | Germany, 2-1 |
| August 28 | Czech Republic vs. Norway | Norway, 5-3 |
| August 29 | Czech Republic vs. Germany | Germany, 4-1 |
| August 29 | France vs. Norway | Norway, 6-1 |
| August 30 | Germany vs. Norway | Germany, 4-3 (OT) |

## Group B/C

The tournament was played in Füssen, Germany from November 9–13.

### Round robin

All teams took part in four games.

### November 9

| Date | Teams | Result |
| November 9 | Russia vs. Czech Republic | Russia, 1-0 |
| November 9 | Japan vs. Norway | Norway, 4-3 SO |
| November 9 | Switzerland vs. France | Switzerland, 2-1 |
| November 9 | Slovakia vs. Germany | Germany, 3-0 |

### November 10

| Date | Teams | Result |
| November 10 | Switzerland vs. Czech Republic | Czech Republic, 6-3 |
| November 10 | France vs. Slovakia | Slovakia, 1-0 |
| November 10 | Norway vs. Russia | Norway, 3-2 |
| November 10 | Germany vs. Japan | Japan, 3-1 |

### November 12

| Date | Teams | Result |
| November 12 | Switzerland vs. Norway | Norway, 5-3 |
| November 12 | Slovakia vs. Czech Republic | Czech Republic, 4-2 |
| November 12 | Russia vs. Germany | Germany, 3-2 SO |
| November 12 | Japan vs. France | Japan, 5-1 |

### November 13

| Date | Teams | Result |
| November 13 | Norway vs. Slovakia | Norway, 3-1 |
| November 13 | Czech Republic vs. Japan | Japan, 2-1 |
| November 13 | Russia vs. France | Russia, 7-1 |
| November 13 | Germany vs. Switzerland | Germany, 2-1 |