2012 IIHF Women's World Championship Division I explained

Tourney Name:	IIHF Women's World Championship Division I
Year:	2012
Size:	250px
Country:	Latvia
Country2:	Great Britain
Dates:	25–31 March 2012 9–15 April 2012
Num Teams:	12
Venues:	2
Cities:	2
Prevseason:	2011 I / II
Nextseason:	2013

The 2012 IIHF Women's World Championship Division I consisted of two international ice hockey tournaments organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation. Division I A and Division I B represent the second and third tier of the IIHF Women's World Championship.

In 2011, these tournaments were known as Division I and Division II.

Division I Group A

Tourney Name:	IIHF Women's World Championship Division I A
Year:	2012
Country:	Latvia
City:	Ventspils
Dates:	25–31 March 2012
Num Teams:	6
Venues:	1
Cities:	1
Matches:	15
Goals:	82

The Division I Group A tournament was played in Ventspils, Latvia, from 25 to 31 March 2012.^[1] The winners, the Czech Republic, were promoted to the Top Division for 2013, while the bottom-ranked team, Kazakhstan, were relegated to Group B for 2013.

Participating teams

Team	Qualification
	placed 8th in Top Division last year and were relegated
	placed 2nd in Division I last year
	hosts; placed 3rd in Division I last year
	placed 4th in Division I last year
	didn't play last year, but retained their position in Division I
	placed 1st in Division II last year and were promoted

Final standings

Match results

All times are local (Eastern European Summer Time – UTC+3).

Statistics and awards

Scoring leaders

width=30	Pos	width=150	Player	width=120	Country	width=20	GP	width=20	G	width=20	A	width=30	Pts	width=30	+/−	width=30	PIM
1			5	4	5	9	+10	2
2			5	3	5	8	+9	10
3			5	4	3	7	+5	2
4			5	3	4	7	+5	2
5			5	4	2	6	+6	6
6			5	3	3	6	+3	4
6			5	3	3	6	+3	0
8			5	1	5	6	+5	0
9			5	4	1	5	–3	0
10			5	3	2	5	+2	2
10			5	3	2	5	+4	4

GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/− = Plus–minus; PIM = Penalties In MinutesSource: IIHF.com

Goaltending leaders

(minimum 40% team's total ice time)

width=30	Pos	width=150	Player	width=120	Country	width=20	TOI	width=20	GA	width=20	GAA	width=20	Sv%	width=20	SO
1			288:36	4	0.83	96.15	1
2			241:05	5	1.24	94.62	1
3			239:51	8	2.00	94.12	0
4			266:15	12	2.70	92.90	0
5			211:33	12	3.40	92.59	0

TOI = Time on ice (minutes:seconds); GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; Sv% = Save percentage; SO = ShutoutsSource: IIHF.com

Directorate Awards

Goaltender: Radka Lhotská,
Defenseman: Trine Martens,
Forward: Denise Altmann,

Source: IIHF.com

Division I Group B

Tourney Name:	IIHF Women's World Championship Division I B
Year:	2012
Country:	Great Britain
City:	Hull
Dates:	9–15 April 2012
Num Teams:	6
Venues:	1
Cities:	1
Matches:	15
Goals:	96

The Division I Group B tournament was played in Hull, Great Britain, from 9 to 15 April 2012.^[2] The winners, Denmark, moved up to Group A for 2013, while the last-placed team, Italy, were relegated to Division II Group A. Denmark won the three way tie-breaker with France and China by virtue of having a superior goal differential in the games those three nations played against each other (Denmark +3, China +1, France −4). Relegation was decided in similar fashion, by breaking a three way tie between Great Britain (+4), the Netherlands (−1), and Italy (−3).