2012 IIHF Women's World Championship

The 2012 IIHF World Women's Championships was the 14th such event hosted by the International Ice Hockey Federation and took place in Vermont, United States, at the Gutterson Fieldhouse in Burlington, and the Cairns Arena in South Burlington. The competition also served as qualifications for the 2013 competition, and the 2014 Olympics. The Top Division was contested between eight teams from April 7 to April 14, 2012, in Burlington and was hosted by USA Hockey.

Canada won their tenth title by defeating the United States 5–4 in overtime. Caroline Ouellette scored the decisive goal. The Americans defeated the Canadians 9–2 in the group stage earlier in the tournament. The Swiss team, by finishing third, captured their first ever Women's World Championship medal.

Top Division
The Top Division was contested between eight teams from April 7 to April 14, 2012. The event was hosted by USA Hockey in Burlington, Vermont. A new format was used where the top four ranked teams were placed in Group A and were automatically qualified for the final round, and played in the preliminary round was only used to determine seeding for the next round. The top two teams received a bye into the semifinals. Meanwhile, the next four teams played the preliminary round in Group B. The top two teams from Group B joined the others for the final round, while the bottom two team played a best-of-three series, with the loser being relegated next year.

Group A

Group B
 * — promoted from 2011 Division I
 * — promoted from 2011 Division I
 * — promoted from 2011 Division I
 * — promoted from 2011 Division I

Rosters
Each team's roster for the 2012 IIHF Women's World Championship consisted of at least 15 skaters (forwards, and defencemen) and 2 goaltenders, and at most 20 skaters and 3 goaltenders. All eight participating nations, through the confirmation of their respective national associations, had to submit a roster by the first IIHF directorate meeting on 6 April 2012.

Preliminary round
All times are local (Eastern Time Zone – UTC−4).

Relegation round
Best of three.

All times are local (Eastern Time Zone – UTC−4).


 * The third game of the relegation series was cancelled because Germany won both meetings and Slovakia is therefore relegated to the 2013 Division I A.

Final round
All times are local (Eastern Time Zone – UTC−4).

Scoring leaders
List shows the top 10 skaters sorted by points, then goals.

Leading goaltenders
Only the top five goaltenders, based on save percentage, who have played 40% of their team's minutes are included in this list.

Tournament Awards

 * Media All-Stars
 * Goaltender: Florence Schelling
 * Defense: 🇺🇸 Gisele Marvin (USA), 🇨🇦 Laura Fortino (CAN)
 * Forwards: 🇺🇸 Monique Lamoureux-Kolls (USA), 🇺🇸 Kelli Stack (USA), 🇨🇦 Hayley Wickenheiser (CAN)
 * Best players selected by the directorate:
 * Best Goaltender: Florence Schelling
 * Best Defenceman: 🇫🇮 Jenni Hiirikoski (FIN)
 * Best Forward: 🇺🇸 Kelli Stack (USA)

Division I A
The Division I A tournament was played in Ventspils, Latvia, from March 25 to 31, 2012.

Division I B
The Division I B tournament was played in Hull, Great Britain, from April 9 to 15, 2012.

Division II A
The Division II A tournament was played in Maribor, Slovenia, from March 25 to 31, 2012.

Division II B
The Division II B tournament was played in Seoul, South Korea, from March 10 to 16, 2012.