Simply perfect! Austria's women win World Cham­pi­onship gold with victory over France

What a performance to finish the World Championship! Especially given that opponents France desperately needed points, while Austria had already secured promotion to the Top Division. Yet the hunger for more had not been satisfied. "We weren't satisfied with silver," said captain Anna Meixner, openly expressing the desire for gold.

Thanks to strong penalty killing, Austria came through five shorthanded situations unscathed in the first 22 minutes, before Emma Lintner converted a power play to give Austria the lead. With confidence and carefree determination, they confirmed the performances of recent days. Aggressive forechecking repeatedly won them the puck, which they quickly moved in front of the opposing goal.

Lisa Schröfl made it 2:0 in the 47th minute, before Theresa Schafzahl added an empty-net goal ten minutes later. France scored a consolation goal 18 seconds before the final siren. Clara Rozier denied Selma Luggin her third shutout in five games.

A blemish they were happy to accept. At the final siren, helmets and gloves flew across the ice, the players formed a celebratory huddle, and joy and pride were written all over their faces. Five wins from five games; only against the Netherlands did they fail to take the maximum number of points due to the overtime victory.

Anna Meixner: "Incredible. It is almost impossible to put into words. The fact that we picked up another three points today and secured gold is beyond words. I am incredibly proud of the team. For us, this was a unique opportunity to compete for a gold medal. The intermediate target had been achieved, as promotion had been secured, but we absolutely wanted to go for gold. We played solid ice hockey for 60 minutes; from the goalie and defenders through to the forwards, it was an incredible performance."

The venue for the 2026 World Championship will be decided and announced during the IIHF Congress at the 2025 Men's World Championship.

2025 IIHF Ice Hockey Women´s World Championship Division I, Group A

13–19 April 2025, Shenzhen, China

France vs. Austria 1:3 (0:0,0:1,1:2)
Sat, 19 April 2025, 10:30 (16:30 local time)
France goalscorer: Clara Rozier (59./PP1)
Austria goalscorers: Emma Lintner (25./PP1), Lisa Schröfl (47.), Theresa Schafzahl (57./EN)

Austria lined up with:

Goalies: 25 Luggin Selma, 1 Adamitsch Anja (backup)

Line 1: 23 Matzka Antonia, 12 Fazokas Annika; 10 Meixner Anna, 7 Schafzahl Theresa, 2 Picka Vanessa

Line 2:  5 Nagy Laura, 17 Wittich Charlotte; 24 Trummer Anja, 6 Lintner Emma, 18 Obermayer Hanna

Line 3: 18 Billa Anna Marlene, 9 Schröfl Lisa; 16 Kutzer Leonie, 13 Grascher Tamara, 21 Dauböck Lena

Line 4: 15 Leitner Laura, 19, Tekin Artemis; 3 Schwarzer Hanna, 14 Schall Tamina, 4 Linzbichler Marja 

Already played:

Austria vs. Netherlands 3:2 after overtime (0:1,1:1,1:0,1:0)
Thu, 17 April 2025, 10:30 (16:30 local time)
Austria goalscorers: Emma Lintner (34'), Annika Fazokas (46', 64') 
Netherlands goalscorers: Esther de Jong (13'), Bieke van Nes (26')

Slovakia vs. Austria 2:3 (1:1,1:0,0:2)
Wed, 16 April 2025, 07:00 (13:00 local time)
Slovakia goalscorer: Hana Fančovičová (15', 23')
Austria goalscorers: Anja Trummer (14'/PP1), Anna Meixner (52'/PP1, 60'/PP1)

China vs. Austria 0:3 (0:1,0:1,0:1)
Mon, 14 April 2025, 14:00 (20:00 local time)
Austria goalscorers: Anna Meixner (9'), Emma Lintner (28'), Annika Fazokas (48'/PP1)

Austria vs. Denmark 3:0 (0:0,1:0,2:0)
Sun, 13 April 2025, 10:30 (16:30 local time)
Austria goalscorers: Annika Fazokas (39'), Anna Meixner (46'), Theresa Schafzahl (60'/EN)