France is returning to the top division of women’s hockey following a first-place finish at the 2026 IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s World Championship Division I Group A in Budapest, Hungary.
The French team opened with a 3-2 overtime loss to host Hungary but then won four straight games, taking 12 of 15 possible points. They secured top spot in their last game, defeating Slovakia 3-1 in a de-facto final.
“It’s a lot of emotions,” said French captain Lore Baudrit following the victory, amid speculation that she would retire. “It’s a special group. We are tight. We’ve built so much, we have some younger players because we have some injuries, and everything fits.”
Collectively, the French team scored 20 goals with a balanced attack. Estelle Duvin led with nine points, followed by Clara Rozier’s eight. Alice Philbert played all five games in goal, posting a goals-against average of 1.56 and a save percentage of 93.94.
After losing their opener, France got revenge on Italy for their Olympic loss, winning 3-2 in a shootout and Baudrit referenced that game as the team’s turning point. “We said we wanted to play like that, very strong defence, and take advantage of our chances, and we did.”
In the decisive game on the last day, Slovakia outshot France 27-16, but Philbert was fantastic in the French goal. She was beaten once, early in the second period when Janka Hlinkova deflected a Lilien Benakova point shot on a delayed penalty to tie the score, but stopped everything else. Gabrielle de Serres scored the eventual game-winner late in the middle frame and Chloe Aurard-Bushee scored a late empty-netter.
“We knew Slovakia would be a very good team, talented players, it would be a fight,” said Baudrit. “The first period was so fast, both sides, it was tight, both teams could win but it was our turn today and yeah, we fought till the end.”
Tied with France for the tournament lead with nine points heading into the last day, Slovakia could have secured top spot with a win. For the Slovaks, it marks the second straight year that they barely missed out on promotion to the top division, having finished tied for second last season but losing the head-to-head tiebreaker. One gets the sense, however, that their time is coming. Their offence was led by 21-year-old Barbora Kapicakova and 18-year-old Nela Lopusanova with eight points each.
“We’re very proud of our team; I’m proud of these girls,” said Hlinkova, the Slovak captain. “We couldn’t have had a better group and I think this tournament is just a testament to our character that we’re here, we’re a country that you can’t sleep on, we’re going to keep getting better and we’re going to keep coming after it.”
Hungary entered the final day with a slim possibility of finishing first, but it would have required a French overtime victory to give them the chance to take it on a head-to-head tiebreaker. With those chances dashed, they nonetheless won the last game for their home fans 4-1 over Norway to finish second. The Hungarians were the best defensive team in the tournament, conceding just seven goals against. Aniko Nemeth’s 1.40 goals-against average and 94.21 save percentage both led the tournament.
After opening the tournament with wins over Norway and Slovakia, the Italians were in a position to control their own destiny. However, two defeats by the thinnest of margins – 3-2 in a shootout to France and 3-2 in regulation to Hungary – finished them. Justine Reyes and Kristin della Rovere were the tournament’s co-leaders in points with 11 each and Nadia Mattivi led all defenders with seven points.
As one of the two teams coming down from the elite division, fifth place is a disappointing finish for Norway, which only managed to beat China in the tournament. Defender Emma Bergesen led the team in scoring with four points.
With a young roster than included 18 players under 24 and eight players making their World Championship debuts, China was overmatched in this tournament. The Chinese were outscored 30-1, with Ziyu Zhou scoring the team’s only goal in an 8-1 loss to France. As a result, China returns to Division I Group B for the first time since 2022.
Italy, Hungary, France and Norway will all return to Division I Group A in 2027, where they will be joined by one team promoted from Division I Group B – the Netherlands, who played in Group A from 2022 to 2025 – and one team relegated from the IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s World Championship this November in Denmark.
Final standings:
1. France – 12 points (promoted to 2027 IIHF Women’s World Championship top division)
2. Hungary – 11 points
3. Italy – 10 points
4. Slovakia – 9 points
5. Norway – 3 points
6. China – 0 points (relegated to 2027 Women’s World Championship Division I Group B)
Game results:
12 April: CHN 0-7 SVK, ITA 2-1 NOR, FRA 2-3 HUN (OT)
13 April: SVK 4-6 ITA, NOR 1-4 FRA, HUN 4-0 CHN
15 April: NOR 4-0 CHN, HUN 0-2 SVK, ITA 2-3 FRA (SO)
17 April: FRA 8-1 CHN, HUN 3-2 ITA, SVK 5-1 NOR
18 April: CHN 0-7 ITA, SVK 1-3 FRA, NOR 1-4 HUN
Directorate Awards:
Best Goalkeeper: Aniko Nemeth, Hungary
Best Defender: Nadia Mattivi, Italy
Best Forward: Estelle Duvin, France
The French team opened with a 3-2 overtime loss to host Hungary but then won four straight games, taking 12 of 15 possible points. They secured top spot in their last game, defeating Slovakia 3-1 in a de-facto final.
“It’s a lot of emotions,” said French captain Lore Baudrit following the victory, amid speculation that she would retire. “It’s a special group. We are tight. We’ve built so much, we have some younger players because we have some injuries, and everything fits.”
Collectively, the French team scored 20 goals with a balanced attack. Estelle Duvin led with nine points, followed by Clara Rozier’s eight. Alice Philbert played all five games in goal, posting a goals-against average of 1.56 and a save percentage of 93.94.
After losing their opener, France got revenge on Italy for their Olympic loss, winning 3-2 in a shootout and Baudrit referenced that game as the team’s turning point. “We said we wanted to play like that, very strong defence, and take advantage of our chances, and we did.”
In the decisive game on the last day, Slovakia outshot France 27-16, but Philbert was fantastic in the French goal. She was beaten once, early in the second period when Janka Hlinkova deflected a Lilien Benakova point shot on a delayed penalty to tie the score, but stopped everything else. Gabrielle de Serres scored the eventual game-winner late in the middle frame and Chloe Aurard-Bushee scored a late empty-netter.
“We knew Slovakia would be a very good team, talented players, it would be a fight,” said Baudrit. “The first period was so fast, both sides, it was tight, both teams could win but it was our turn today and yeah, we fought till the end.”
Tied with France for the tournament lead with nine points heading into the last day, Slovakia could have secured top spot with a win. For the Slovaks, it marks the second straight year that they barely missed out on promotion to the top division, having finished tied for second last season but losing the head-to-head tiebreaker. One gets the sense, however, that their time is coming. Their offence was led by 21-year-old Barbora Kapicakova and 18-year-old Nela Lopusanova with eight points each.
“We’re very proud of our team; I’m proud of these girls,” said Hlinkova, the Slovak captain. “We couldn’t have had a better group and I think this tournament is just a testament to our character that we’re here, we’re a country that you can’t sleep on, we’re going to keep getting better and we’re going to keep coming after it.”
Hungary entered the final day with a slim possibility of finishing first, but it would have required a French overtime victory to give them the chance to take it on a head-to-head tiebreaker. With those chances dashed, they nonetheless won the last game for their home fans 4-1 over Norway to finish second. The Hungarians were the best defensive team in the tournament, conceding just seven goals against. Aniko Nemeth’s 1.40 goals-against average and 94.21 save percentage both led the tournament.
After opening the tournament with wins over Norway and Slovakia, the Italians were in a position to control their own destiny. However, two defeats by the thinnest of margins – 3-2 in a shootout to France and 3-2 in regulation to Hungary – finished them. Justine Reyes and Kristin della Rovere were the tournament’s co-leaders in points with 11 each and Nadia Mattivi led all defenders with seven points.
As one of the two teams coming down from the elite division, fifth place is a disappointing finish for Norway, which only managed to beat China in the tournament. Defender Emma Bergesen led the team in scoring with four points.
With a young roster than included 18 players under 24 and eight players making their World Championship debuts, China was overmatched in this tournament. The Chinese were outscored 30-1, with Ziyu Zhou scoring the team’s only goal in an 8-1 loss to France. As a result, China returns to Division I Group B for the first time since 2022.
Italy, Hungary, France and Norway will all return to Division I Group A in 2027, where they will be joined by one team promoted from Division I Group B – the Netherlands, who played in Group A from 2022 to 2025 – and one team relegated from the IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s World Championship this November in Denmark.
Final standings:
1. France – 12 points (promoted to 2027 IIHF Women’s World Championship top division)
2. Hungary – 11 points
3. Italy – 10 points
4. Slovakia – 9 points
5. Norway – 3 points
6. China – 0 points (relegated to 2027 Women’s World Championship Division I Group B)
Game results:
12 April: CHN 0-7 SVK, ITA 2-1 NOR, FRA 2-3 HUN (OT)
13 April: SVK 4-6 ITA, NOR 1-4 FRA, HUN 4-0 CHN
15 April: NOR 4-0 CHN, HUN 0-2 SVK, ITA 2-3 FRA (SO)
17 April: FRA 8-1 CHN, HUN 3-2 ITA, SVK 5-1 NOR
18 April: CHN 0-7 ITA, SVK 1-3 FRA, NOR 1-4 HUN
Directorate Awards:
Best Goalkeeper: Aniko Nemeth, Hungary
Best Defender: Nadia Mattivi, Italy
Best Forward: Estelle Duvin, France