Umeka Odaira came up big for Japan tonight in Italy, scoring five points and leading her team to a 6-1 win over Italy to send Japan back to the top level for next year. They had been demoted last year. Host Italy finishes second and Denmark, in last place, will be relegated to Division I-B for next year.

Austria 3-Denmark 2 (5:00 OT/PSS)

Artemis Tekin tied the game in the final minute of regulation and Vanessa Picka scored the only goal of the shootout to give Austria a 3-2 win to start the final day of WW18 Division I-A. The win put Austria in fourth place in the final standings, one placing better than last year, while winless Denmark earned their first point of the tournament with the extra time loss.
 
The Austrians were the better team all day, outshooting Denmark, 43-12. Only the fine goaltending of Mila Petersen, making her second start of the tournament, prevented a more lopsided score.
 
Teams traded goals early in the first, Austria striking first on a Laura Nagy goal, her second of the week. Just 86 seconds later, Olivia Ranum tied it, and midway through the second Nikita Bergmann put the Danes ahead on a five-on-three. It looked like the Danes would hang on for their first win, but with goalie Rosina Fichtinger on the bench for an extra skater, Tekin tied the game to force overtime. The extra five minutes settled nothing, paving the way for Picka’s heroics in the penalty-shot shootout.

Hungary 2-France 1

The Hungarians did it again, winning their third game in a row after losing the first two by shutout. The win gives them a third-place finish, also one placing up from 2023. The win today came after two scoreless periods and falling behind early in the third, a final period dominated by special teams.
 
Over the first 40 minutes both sides had two power plays each, which yielded nothing, but in the third an early penalty to Maja Horvath was exactly what France needed. Just nine seconds after the start of the penalty, Marleen Origlio put the French ahead, and when Hungary took another penalty a minute later, the French looked to be in control.
 
Dalma Gergely, however, turned a negative into a positive, scoring short-handed at 5:30 to make it a 1-1 game. Midway through the period, Petra Polonyi put Hungary ahead with a power-play goal of their own, and they had a great chance to increase the lead when Reka Hiezl was awarded a penalty shot. She was stopped by Violette Pianel Couriault, but no matter. The French couldn’t tie the game, and with the loss they finish in fifth place, two spots below their 2023 showing.

Japan 6-Italy 1

Well, Italy came into the game knowing they’d have to win in regulation to earn promotion, but Japan started the game intent on showing Italy—and its massive cohort of fans—this was going to be more difficult than they thought. The Japanese scored twice in the first six minutes to open a two-goal lead, and cruised to a 6-1 win to earn promotion into the top level next year. As with last year, Italy finishes second.
 
The Japanese were led by Umeka Odaira, who had three goals and two assists. Goalie Haruka Kuromaru, who played every minute this year, earned her fifth straight win, allowing only four goals along the way.
 
Odaira opened the scoring at 5:06 and added her second later in the period to make it 3-0. She assisted on an Ai Tada goal to close out a dominant first period in which Japan built a 4-0 lead. Although Olivia Cambruzzi scored the only goal of the second to bring the hosts a bit closer, Odaira completed her hat trick early in the third to make it 5-1 and remove any doubt about the outcome. A late goal from Kika Terauchi closed out the scoring.
 
NOTES: Italy’s Matilde Fantin led all players in goals (7) and points (11)…Kuromaru stopped 97 of 101 shots in goal from Japan, a whopping .962 save percentage. She also finished the tournament with a 5-0 record.