Even before the start of the last game DEB-Selection against France at the 2023 IIHF Women's Ice Hockey World Championship Division I in Ritten (Italy) it is clear that the team led by U18 national coach Franziska Busch is back in the top division after just one year. Thanks to the victorious games against Norway, Hungary, Austria and Italy as well as today's defeat by the hosts against Hungary, the DEB-Selection can no longer take 1st place in the table.
In all games of the tournament, the U18 women's national team impressed with a unified team performance. After the 3-1 opening win against Norway, the DEB-Selection had the upper hand against Hungary 3-1. This was followed by the deserved 2-0 win against Austria. With the 1-0 win against the team from Italy, decided in a penalty shootout, the U18 women's national team secured the decisive points. They were convincing in the last game against France DEB-Selection again as a tight-knit group. In a fast, open game in which both teams did not neglect their defense, the score was 1 to 2 after the 0st and 0nd periods. Three minutes after the start of the last period, France attacker Jade Bernoussi scored the first goal of the game , which Anastasia Gruss equalized three and a half minutes later to make it 1-1. In the last third and in the following overtime, no further goals were scored and both teams had to go to a penalty shootout, from which the team from France ultimately emerged victorious (1:2).
Charlott Schaffrath was named the best defender of the tournament and Chiara Schultes was named the best goalkeeper of the tournament.
Franziska Busch, U18 women’s national coach: "We made it. I am incredibly proud – of each and every one of them. I also have great respect for the entire team. After the difficult preparation, the players managed to turn the switch and give their best here in Italy. As a close-knit team, we followed our match plan in every game and improved from game to game. I would like to thank all the players, especially all the players who will now be leaving the U18 due to age, and hope that they were able to take a lot with them from their time with the U18 for their future path.”
Christian Künast, DEB-Sports Director: “We are really happy about the deserved promotion to the top division after the performances we have shown. The whole team was completely convincing and always appeared as a cohesive unit. This was our big strength in this tournament. Congratulations to the team and especially to Franziska Busch, who managed to form a close-knit group. We look forward to the challenge of playing against the best teams in the world in the top division next year!”