The 2021 IIHF Women's World Championship was the 20th edition of the Top Division of the Women's Ice Hockey World Championship organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). The tournament was contested in Calgary, Alberta, from 20 to 31 August 2021, at WinSport Arena.2021 IIHF Women's World Championship official website2021 IIHF Women's World Championship statistics It was originally scheduled to be contested in Halifax and Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada. It was the 20th edition of the IIHF Women's World Championship Top Division tournament.

No divisional promotion and relegation occurred after this tournament as the Division I tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally scheduled from 7 to 17 April, the tournament was postponed to 6 to 16 May 2021 on 4 March. On 21 April 2021, the Province of Nova Scotia informed Hockey Canada and the IIHF that the tournament had been cancelled at the recommendation of Premier Iain Rankin "due to concerns over safety risks associated with COVID-19."

The IIHF and Hockey Canada released a joint statement pledging to explore all avenues for hosting the event in a different Canadian city during the summer of 2021. IIHF President René Fasel emphasized, "This does not mean that we will not have a Women's World Championship in 2021. We owe it to every single player that was looking forward to getting back on the ice after such a difficult year that we do everything possible to ensure this tournament can be moved to new dates and played this year." On 30 April 2021, the IIHF announced that the tournament would take place between 20 and 31 August 2021. On 2 June 2021, the venue was identified as WinSport Arena at Canada Olympic Park in Calgary.

The tournament was played behind closed doors.

Canada won the tournament for the record-extending eleventh time after defeating the United States in the final 3-2 in overtime. Finland captured bronze, by winning against Switzerland.

Participating teams

Group A

Hosts

1

Group B

– Promoted from Division I Group A in 2019 2 – Promoted from Division I Group A in 2019 2

1 Pursuant to a December 2020 ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on doping sanctions, Russian athletes and teams are prohibited from competing under the Russian flag or using the Russian national anthem at any Olympic Games or world championships through 16 December 2022, and must compete as "neutral athlete[s]." For IIHF tournaments, the Russian team will use the logo of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) and play under the name "ROC".

2 No divisional promotion and relegation occurred from 2020 as most tournaments were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rosters

Each team's roster must comprised a minimum of fifteen skaters (forwards and defencemen) and two goaltenders, and "due to the special situation with the COVID-19 pandemic and safety rules including no players being allowed to join late, the roster size for the tournament was exceptionally increased [from the standard 20 skaters and 3 goaltenders] to 25 players." All ten participating nations, through the confirmation of their respective national associations, were required to submit a "Long List" roster no later than two weeks before the start of the tournament. Final rosters will be submitted on 20 August 2021, one day before the tournament begins, but as no players can be added after arriving in Canada, rosters were effectively set when teams landed in Calgary on 11 August 2021.

Match officials Twelve referees and ten linesmen were selected for the tournament.

Referees Linesmen Cianna Lieffers Elizabeth Mantha Shauna Neary Lacey Senuk Anniina Nurmi Daria Ermak Maria Furberg Anna Wiegand Kelly Cooke Chelsea Rapin Jestina Vichorek Mackenzie Welter Julia Kainberger Alexandra Blair Jessica Chartrand Justine Todd Jenni Heikkinen Diana Mokhova Anna Hammar Kendall Hanley Jacqueline Spresser Sara Strong

Preliminary round All times are local (UTC−6).

Group A

Group B

Knockout stage Bracket There was a re-seeding after the quarterfinals.

Rank Team 1 A 1 12 +15 20 1 2 A 2 9 +8 13 2 3 A 3 6 +5 13 3 4 A 4 3 −12 4 4 5 A 5 0 −16 1 5 6 B 1 12 +13 16 7 7 B 2 9 +1 7 6 8 B 3 6 +2 7 8

Quarterfinals

5th–8th place placement games

Semifinals

Fifth place game

Third place game

Final

Final standings

No divisional relegation occurred after this tournament as the Division I tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Awards and statistics Awards

Best player selected by the Directorate Position Player Goaltender Anni Keisala Defenceman Lee Stecklein Forward Mélodie Daoust MVP Mélodie Daoust

All-Star team Position Player Goaltender Anni KeisalaDefenceman Lee Stecklein Erin AmbroseForward Mélodie Daoust Petra Nieminen Natalie Spooner

Scoring leaders List shows the top skaters sorted by points, then goals.

PlayerGPGAPts+/−PIMPOS Mélodie Daoust 7 6 6 12 +13 0 F Brianne Jenner 6 3 8 11 +13 4 F Natalie Spooner 7 4 5 9 +11 0 F Marie-Philip Poulin 6 3 6 9 +10 2 F Petra Nieminen 7 6 1 7 +3 0 F Alena Mills 6 5 2 7 +2 4 F Lee Stecklein 7 2 5 7 +12 0 D Hilary Knight 7 4 2 6 +3 2 F Grace Zumwinkle 7 4 2 6 +5 2 F Sarah Fillier 7 3 3 6 +6 6 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.

PlayerTOIGAGAASASv%SO Jennifer Harß 180:00 3 1.00 62 95.16 1 Anni Keisala 294:09 7 1.43 136 94.85 2 Saskia Maurer 214:03 7 1.96 120 94.17 0 Nicole Hensley 240:06 4 1.00 65 93.85 2 Klára Peslarová 358:14 7 1.17 105 93.33 2 TOI = Time on ice (minutes:seconds); SA = Shots against; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; Sv% = Save percentage; SO = Shutouts Source: IIHF

References

External links Official website of IIHF