Spring is here and the calendar switches from March to April as the International Ice Hockey Federation's 2023 Women's World Championship Tournament begins at the Adirondack Bank Center in Utica.
Six of the 10 participating teams arrived in Utica last week and took the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the ice on which the tournament will be contested. Switzerland, from Pool A, joined up with five teams from Pool B (China, Denmark, Germany, Japan and Sweden) for early practice. The 2023 champion USA held an evaluation camp in Lake Placid and selected its roster on Sunday, arriving ahead of the first day of competition this Wednesday along with the other three teams in Pool A, Canada, Czech Republic and Finland. It is expected to be.
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Here are some things you need to know about the 12-day tournament taking place in the path of the solar eclipse on April 8th. During the first period of the Switzerland vs. Finland billiards game, the sky outside the arena briefly darkens.
history
The tournament is in its 23rd year, dating back to 1990, and has been held every non-Olympic year since 1997, and every other year before that. Tournaments were canceled in 2020 due to the coronavirus and in 2003 due to SARS.
Canada won the first eight tournaments and 12 of the previous 22 tournaments. The United States won the remaining 10 games and appeared in all finals, while Canada won the gold medal in 21 of 22 games.
The United States is the defending champion after defeating Canada 6-3 in Brampton, Ontario last year. It's the Canadians' ninth time hosting the tournament, and they've won it six times on home ice. Canada also won the first three tournaments held in the United States. Team USA won for the first time at home seven years ago in Plymouth, Michigan. Canada won in Lake Placid in 1994, Minneapolis in 2001 and Burlington, Vermont in 2012.
Finland is the only country to reach the finals, having lost to the United States in a shootout when it hosted the tournament in Espoo in 2019. Finland is also the third team to have played in all 22 tournaments. Sweden played in 21 matches and Switzerland played in 18 matches.
Germany returned to the top division in 2017 and will be in their 18th tournament this year, while Russia has also participated in 17 tournaments, but due to the IIHF suspension issued in the wake of the Russian invasion, they will be unable to participate in three tournaments. He has missed consecutive appearances. Ukraine in early 2022. Sweden has been invited to replace Russia in Denmark's 2022 Games, the first year of a new Games schedule that includes Olympic-year competition.
The United States and Canada both won 22 medals. Finland has 14 cases, Russia has three cases, the Czech Republic and Sweden each have two cases, and Switzerland has one case. The other nine countries failed to win any medals.
The 2025 Games will be held for the first time in the Czech Republic. It has also been performed in China, Denmark, Sweden, and Switzerland.
pool
If you go into a tournament and Pool A looks stronger than Pool B, that's by design. In 2023, the United States, Canada, Czech Republic, Switzerland, and Finland will be in the top five, and all are guaranteed to advance to the quarterfinals on April 11th.
Teams in Pool B are vying for the remaining three quarterfinal spots. Germany, Japan and Sweden are returning teams, while China and Denmark were promoted from Division IA as last year's finalists. China and Denmark will compete in place of France and Hungary, who were relegated from the First Division last year. The 2024 Division IA tournament will be held in Austria in late April.
Canada (12 gold, 9 silver, 1 bronze) and the United States (10-12-0) each won 22 medals, while Finland (0-1-13) won 14 medals. However, the remaining bronze medals went to the Czech Republic (2 medals). 8 tournaments), Sweden (2 tournaments), Switzerland (1 tournament), and Russia (3 tournaments).
The IIHF will hold six lower division women's tournaments this year, with a total of 45 countries participating. In addition to Russia, Belarus is also currently suspended from international competitions.
rule
Competitions are held based on international rules, and body checks are not allowed in women's competitions, and since the second World Championship in 1991, it has been treated as a light penalty.
Minor and double minor penalties are assessed, but there is no 5-minute major penalty. If you play in an international match, you will be automatically sent off.
Overtime shootouts were adopted internationally before being added to NHL and AHL games, but the IIHF removed them from the gold medal game in 2019 and replaced them with a 20-minute 3-on-3 Golden goal extra time was chosen.
The women's tournament was initially held every other year, and from 1997 became annual in non-Olympic years. In 2021, an Olympic year tournament was added to this cycle.
Player eligibility requires citizenship of the country represented, and all players who will be 18 years of age or older in the year of the tournament, as well as players between the ages of 16 and 18 with a medical exemption, are eligible.
Although the IIHF uses an international scale for its events, games are played at the NHL Rink in Utica. The Adirondack Bank Center playing surface is 15 feet narrower than a standard international rink.
