The 2015 IIHF U18 Women's World Championship was the eighth IIHF U18 Women's World Championship. The top division tournament was played in Buffalo, United States, from 5 to 12 January 2015. Twenty nations played in three levels, with promotion and relegation for the top and bottom teams at each level.
The United States won their fourth title, after defeating Canada in overtime in the gold medal game, with Jincy Roese scoring on the power play. This was the eighth consecutive final between the two nations, evening their all-time records. The bronze medal game was also a rematch from the previous year, this time the Russians defeated the Czechs earning their first ever medal at this level.
Format The preliminary round is divided into two pools that placed the top four seeds into Group A, and the bottom four in Group B. The top two finishers in Group A advances directly to the semifinals, while the two remaining teams and the top two in Group B will play a quarterfinal round. The bottom two teams from Group B will play a relegation series to determine the one team that gets relegated.
Preliminary round All times are local (UTC–5).
Group A
Group B
Relegation series The third and fourth placed team from Group B played a best-of-three series to determine the relegated team.
Final round
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Fifth place game
Bronze medal game
Gold medal game
Final rankings
Tournament awards Best players selected by the directorate Best Goalkeeper Valeria Tarakanova Best Defenseman Jincy Roese Best Forward Sarah Potomak
Source:
Media All Stars Goalkeeper Valeria Tarakanova Defenceman Jincy Roese Defenceman Micah Hart Forward Fanuza Kadirova Forward Sarah Potomak Forward Melissa Samoskevich Most Valuable Player Sarah Potomak Source:
Statistics
Scoring leaders
PosPlayerCountryGPGAPts+/−PIM 1 Sarah Potomak 5 5 4 9 +8 4 2 Rebecca Gilmore 5 2 7 9 +4 6 3 Melissa Samoskevich 5 6 2 8 +6 6 4 Fanuza Kadirova 6 5 3 8 +5 0 5 Jincy Roese 5 3 5 8 +4 0 6 Élizabeth Giguère 5 3 4 7 +7 6 6 Anna Shokhina 5 3 4 7 +7 0 8 Anniina Kaitala 5 2 4 6 +3 0 9 Sanni Hakala 5 5 0 5 +1 4 9 Alina Müller 5 5 0 5 – 4GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/− = P Plus–minus; PIM = Penalties In MinutesSource: IIHF.com
Goaltending leaders (minimum 40% team's total ice time)
PosPlayerCountryTOIGAGAASv%SO 1 Andrea Brändli 310:00 8 1.55 94.94 1 2 Anni Keisala 240:00 5 1.25 94.74 1 3 Kaitlin Burt 225:51 4 1.06 92.31 0 4 Marlène Boissonnault 245:51 7 1.71 91.95 0 5 Valeria Tarakanova 328:02 15 2.74 91.85 0TOI = Time on ice (minutes:seconds); GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; Sv% = Save percentage; SO = ShutoutsSource: IIHF.com
Division I
Division I 'A' The Division I 'A' tournament was played in Vaujany, France, from 4 to 10 January 2015.
In Division I play the French earned their first ever promotion to the top level. They opened the tournament with a shootout win over Norway and won the rest of their games earning a trip to St. Catherines for 2016.French fly to Canada
Division I Qualification The Division I Qualification tournament was played in Katowice, Poland, from 19 to 25 January 2015. Denmark won all five games in their debut, earning promotion to the Division I 'A' tournament for 2016.
References
External links Official website AllSportDB.com Event page 2015 IIHF World Women's U18 Championship at Eurohockey.com