With a near-perfect tournament, the Netherlands’ stay in Division I Group B of the IIHF Women’s World Championship was a short one.
The Dutch team earned promotion with a record of 4-0-1-0 at the 2026 event at Polisportiu arena in Puigcerda, Spain.
Marco Kronenburg’s group steamrolled to the top of the table with shutouts in their first three games. Making her first national team start, 20-year-old Djarna Mans backstopped a 6-0 win over Spain before veteran Eline Gabrielle stepped in with clean sheets against Kazakhstan, Korea and, technically, Great Britain — a goaltenders’ duel that saw the Brits ultimately prevail in the shootout for the 1-0 victory.
Heading into the tournament’s final day on Saturday, the Netherlands held a two-point lead over Great Britain at the top of the standings. The Dutch needed a win to clinch gold. The Latvians gave them everything they could handle.
After 40 minutes, the score was tied 2-2. In the third period, Julie Zwarthoed and Maree Dijkema scored 1:07 apart to give the Dutch team the lead for good. Zwarthoed and Dijkema both scorerd again to seal the 6-3 win, with Dijkema’s tournament-leading fifth goal coming into an empty net.
Dijkema topped all scorers in the tournament with 10 points. With eight shots on goal and two assists, Kayleigh Hamers earned player of the game honors as her team secured top spot in Puigcerda.
Great Britain also finished with a win on Saturday, claiming silver thanks to a 3-1 victory over Kazakhstan.
With just one point separating the two teams going into their head-to-head clash, Jodie Alderson-Smith put the British team on the board with a power-play goal just 1:52 into the first period. Early in the middle frame, Great Britain extended its lead to 3-0 with goals that came 26 seconds apart from Robin Mullen and Alderson-Smith, her second of the day.
Anastassiya Orazbayeva got Kazakhstan on the board late in the second period, but there was no further scoring in the closely-contested game. The final shots were 20-19 in favour of the Kazakhs.
With a record of 2-2-1-0 including their shootout win over the Netherlands, Great Britain has continued its steady climb up the standings since earning promotion to Division I Group B in 2023. Their silver medal follows a third-place finish in 2025, fourth place in 2024 and fifth in 2023.
Kazakhstan’s bronze medal also moves them up one spot in the table after a fourth-place standing in 2025. Tied with Korea in the final standings with seven points each, Alexander Tebenkov’s Kazakh squad earned third place on the basis of the tiebreaker, thanks to their 4-3 head-to-head win over Korea on Friday.
Dijkema’s 10 points and plus-eight rating for the Netherlands earned her top forward honours for the week in Puigcerda.
The top defender came from the host team, Spain. Twenty-year-old Indira Bosch led all blueliners with five points. Two of her three goals came in Spain’s 3-0 win over Latvia on Friday.
Great Britain’s Nicole Jackson captured top goalkeeper honours. The 33-year-old made 140 saves on 149 shots faced. That gave her a save percentage of 93.96 and a goals-against average of 1.72. Her personal highlight was her 28-save shutout against the gold-medal-winning Netherlands squad.
1. Netherlands – 13 points (promoted to 2027 IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s World Championship Division I Group A)
2. Great Britain – 11 points
3. Kazakhstan – 7 points
4. Korea – 7 points
5. Latvia – 4 points
6. Spain – 3 points (relegated to 2027 IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s World Championship Division II Group A)
12 April: Great Britain 3 – Korea 2 (SO); Latvia 3 – Kazakhstan 2 (SO); Netherlands 6 – Spain 0
13 April: Korea 7 – Latvia 6; Netherlands 3 – Kazakhstan 0; Great Britain 3 – Spain 2
15 April: Netherlands 3 – Korea 0; Latvia 4 – Great Britain 3 (OT); Kazakhstan 3 – Spain 2
17 April: Great Britain 1 – Netherlands 0 (SO); Kazakhstan 4 – Korea 3; Spain 3 – Latvia 0
18 April: Netherlands 6 – Latvia 3; Great Britain 3 – Kazakhstan 1; Korea 0 – Spain 0
The Dutch team earned promotion with a record of 4-0-1-0 at the 2026 event at Polisportiu arena in Puigcerda, Spain.
Marco Kronenburg’s group steamrolled to the top of the table with shutouts in their first three games. Making her first national team start, 20-year-old Djarna Mans backstopped a 6-0 win over Spain before veteran Eline Gabrielle stepped in with clean sheets against Kazakhstan, Korea and, technically, Great Britain — a goaltenders’ duel that saw the Brits ultimately prevail in the shootout for the 1-0 victory.
Heading into the tournament’s final day on Saturday, the Netherlands held a two-point lead over Great Britain at the top of the standings. The Dutch needed a win to clinch gold. The Latvians gave them everything they could handle.
After 40 minutes, the score was tied 2-2. In the third period, Julie Zwarthoed and Maree Dijkema scored 1:07 apart to give the Dutch team the lead for good. Zwarthoed and Dijkema both scorerd again to seal the 6-3 win, with Dijkema’s tournament-leading fifth goal coming into an empty net.
Dijkema topped all scorers in the tournament with 10 points. With eight shots on goal and two assists, Kayleigh Hamers earned player of the game honors as her team secured top spot in Puigcerda.
Other Medal Winners
Great Britain also finished with a win on Saturday, claiming silver thanks to a 3-1 victory over Kazakhstan.
With just one point separating the two teams going into their head-to-head clash, Jodie Alderson-Smith put the British team on the board with a power-play goal just 1:52 into the first period. Early in the middle frame, Great Britain extended its lead to 3-0 with goals that came 26 seconds apart from Robin Mullen and Alderson-Smith, her second of the day.
Anastassiya Orazbayeva got Kazakhstan on the board late in the second period, but there was no further scoring in the closely-contested game. The final shots were 20-19 in favour of the Kazakhs.
With a record of 2-2-1-0 including their shootout win over the Netherlands, Great Britain has continued its steady climb up the standings since earning promotion to Division I Group B in 2023. Their silver medal follows a third-place finish in 2025, fourth place in 2024 and fifth in 2023.
Kazakhstan’s bronze medal also moves them up one spot in the table after a fourth-place standing in 2025. Tied with Korea in the final standings with seven points each, Alexander Tebenkov’s Kazakh squad earned third place on the basis of the tiebreaker, thanks to their 4-3 head-to-head win over Korea on Friday.
Players of the Tournament
Dijkema’s 10 points and plus-eight rating for the Netherlands earned her top forward honours for the week in Puigcerda.
The top defender came from the host team, Spain. Twenty-year-old Indira Bosch led all blueliners with five points. Two of her three goals came in Spain’s 3-0 win over Latvia on Friday.
Great Britain’s Nicole Jackson captured top goalkeeper honours. The 33-year-old made 140 saves on 149 shots faced. That gave her a save percentage of 93.96 and a goals-against average of 1.72. Her personal highlight was her 28-save shutout against the gold-medal-winning Netherlands squad.
Final Standings
1. Netherlands – 13 points (promoted to 2027 IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s World Championship Division I Group A)
2. Great Britain – 11 points
3. Kazakhstan – 7 points
4. Korea – 7 points
5. Latvia – 4 points
6. Spain – 3 points (relegated to 2027 IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s World Championship Division II Group A)
Game results
12 April: Great Britain 3 – Korea 2 (SO); Latvia 3 – Kazakhstan 2 (SO); Netherlands 6 – Spain 0
13 April: Korea 7 – Latvia 6; Netherlands 3 – Kazakhstan 0; Great Britain 3 – Spain 2
15 April: Netherlands 3 – Korea 0; Latvia 4 – Great Britain 3 (OT); Kazakhstan 3 – Spain 2
17 April: Great Britain 1 – Netherlands 0 (SO); Kazakhstan 4 – Korea 3; Spain 3 – Latvia 0
18 April: Netherlands 6 – Latvia 3; Great Britain 3 – Kazakhstan 1; Korea 0 – Spain 0