1997 IIHF Women's World Championship

The 1997 IIHF World Women's Championships was held March 31 – April 6, 1997, in seven Canadian cities all in the Province of Ontario. Team Canada won their fourth consecutive gold medal at the World Championships defeating the United States, however this time the United States took Canada in the closest final so far, losing in overtime. Finland picked up their fourth consecutive bronze medal, with a win over China who made the Semi-Final for the second consecutive year.[1]

1997 IIHF World Women's Championship
Tournament details
Host country Canada
DatesMarch 31 – April 6
Teams8
Venue(s)Brantford, Brampton, Hamilton, Kitchener, London, Mississauga, North York (in 7 host cities)
Final positions
Champions  Canada (4th title)
Runner-up  United States
Third place  Finland
Fourth place China
Tournament statistics
Matches played20
Goals scored129 (6.45 per match)
Attendance60,418 (3,021 per match)
Scoring leader(s) Riikka Nieminen 10 points
← 1994
1999 →

This tournament also served as the qualifier for the Nagano Olympics, with the top five finishers joining host Japan. Sweden defeated first Switzerland, then Russia, in the consolation round to join the four semi-finalists in the Olympics.

Qualification

The following teams participated in the championship. Qualification was the top three from the 1996 Pacific Rim Championship, and the top five from the 1996 European Championship.

Final tournament

The eight participating teams were divided up into two seeded groups as below. The teams played each other once in a single round robin format. The top two teams from the group proceeded to the Final Round, while the remaining teams played in the Consolation Round.

First round
     Teams proceed to Final round
     Teams sent to Consolation round

Group A

Standings
Rk. Team GP W T L GF GA DIF PTS
1.  Canada 3300222+206
2.  China 32011812+64
3.  Russia 3012618-121
4.   Switzerland 3012620-141

Results

All times local

March 31, 1997
7:00 pm		China 6 – 2
( 3 - 0, 2 - 2, 1 - 0)		 RussiaHamilton
Attendance: 750
March 31, 1997
7:30 pm		Canada 6 – 0
( 1 - 0 , 2 - 0 , 3 - 0 )		  SwitzerlandKitchener
Attendance: 3,889
April 1, 1997
7:00 pm		China 11 – 3
( 5 - 2 , 3 - 0 , 3 - 1 )		  SwitzerlandMississauga
Attendance: 1,207
April 1, 1997
7:30 pm		Canada 9 – 1
( 3 - 0 , 3 - 0 , 3 - 1 )		 RussiaKitchener
Attendance: 5,559
April 3, 1997
7:30 pm		Switzerland  3 – 3
( 1 - 0 , 2 - 3 , 0 - 0 )		 RussiaNorth York
Attendance: 1,089
April 3, 1997
7:30 pm		Canada 7 – 1
( 5 - 0 , 1 - 0 , 1 - 1 )		 ChinaKitchener
Attendance: 5,457

Group B

Standings
Rk. Team GP W T L GF GA DIF PTS
1.  United States 3210203+175
2.  Finland 3210183+155
3.  Sweden 3012217-151
4.  Norway 3012219-171

Results

All times local

March 31, 1997
4:00 pm		Norway 0 – 7
( 0 - 2 , 0 - 3 , 0 - 2 )		 United StatesKitchener
Attendance: 3,100
March 31, 1997
4:00 pm		Finland 5 – 0
( 3 - 0 , 1 - 0 , 1 - 0 )		 SwedenBrampton
April 1, 1997
4:00 pm		Norway 2 – 2
( 2 - 0 , 0 - 1 , 0 - 1 )		 SwedenKitchener
Attendance: 3,068
April 1, 1997
7:00 pm		Finland 3 – 3
( 1 - 2 , 0 - 1 , 2 - 0 )		 United StatesBrantford
April 3, 1997
7:00 pm		Norway 0 – 10
( 0 - 3 , 0 - 3 , 0 - 4 )		 FinlandKitchener
Attendance: 3,401
April 3, 1997
7:00 pm		United States 10 – 0
( 4 - 0 , 3 - 0 , 3 - 0 )		 SwedenLondon
Attendance: 3,472

Playoff Round

Consolation Round 5-8 Place
April 4, 1997
4:00 pm		Sweden 7 – 1
( 2 - 0 , 1 - 1 , 4 - 0 )		  SwitzerlandKitchener
Attendance: 3,301
April 4, 1997
7:30 pm		Russia 2 – 1
( 1 - 1 , 1 - 0 , 0 - 0 )		 NorwayKitchener
Attendance: 2,849

Consolation Round 7-8 Place
April 6, 1997
2:00 pm		Switzerland  1 – 0
( 0 - 0 , 0 - 0 , 1 - 0 )		 NorwayKitchener
Attendance: 565

Consolation Round 5-6 Place
April 6, 1997
1:00 pm		Russia 1 – 3
( 1 - 0 , 0 - 2 , 0 - 1 )		 SwedenKitchener
Attendance: 2,471

Final round
  Semi finals
5 April 1997		     Finals
6 April 1997
                 
  A1  Canada 2   Gold Medal Game (OT)
  B2  Finland 1    
       Canada 4
       United States 3
  B1  United States 6    
  A2  China 0   Bronze Medal Game
 
 Finland 3
   China 0

Semifinals
April 5, 1997
1:00 pm		Canada 2 – 1
( 0 - 1 , 1 - 0 , 1 - 0 )		 FinlandKitchener
Attendance: 4,963
April 5, 1997
5:00 pm		United States 6 – 0
( 2 - 0 , 2 - 0 , 2 - 0)		 ChinaKitchener
Attendance: 3,832

Match for third place
April 6, 1997
4:00 pm		Finland 3 – 0
( 0 - 0 , 0 - 0 , 3 - 0 )		 ChinaKitchener

Final
April 6, 1997Canada 4 – 3
(1-0 , 1-2 , 1-1 , 1-0)		 United StatesKitchener
Attendance: 6,247

Champions
 1997 IIHF World Women Championship Winners 

Canada
4th title

Tournament Awards

The following was selected as the All-Star team of the tournament:

Final standings
Rk. Team Notes
 CanadaQualified for the 1998 Winter Olympic Games
 United StatesQualified for the 1998 Winter Olympic Games
 FinlandQualified for the 1998 Winter Olympic Games
4. ChinaQualified for the 1998 Winter Olympic Games
5. SwedenQualified for the 1998 Winter Olympic Games
6. RussiaQualified for the 1999 World Championships Qualification Tournament
7.  SwitzerlandQualified for the 1999 World Championships Qualification Tournament
8. NorwayQualified for the 1999 World Championships Qualification Tournament

Scoring leaders
Player GP G A Pts
Riikka Nieminen 55510
Hayley Wickenheiser 5459
Cammi Granato 5538
Tiia Reima 5448
Cassie Campbell 5268
Nancy Drolet 5426
Shelley Looney 5426
Karyn Bye 5426
Liu Hongmei 5336
Guo Wei 5336

References
  1. https://teamusa.usahockey.com/page/show/4286764-1997-iihf-women-s-world-championship
  • Duplacey, James (1998). Total Hockey: The official encyclopedia of the National Hockey League. Total Sports. pp. 487–9. ISBN 0-8362-7114-9.
  • Podnieks, Andrew (2010). IIHF Media Guide & Record Book 2011. Moydart Press. pp. 26–7, 229–30.
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