title: 2015 IIHF World U18 Championships
text: # 2015 IIHF World U18 Championships
  
  The 2015 IIHF U18 World Championship was the 17th IIHF World U18 Championship, and was hosted by Zug and Lucerne, Switzerland. The tournament began on 16 April 2015, with the gold medal game played on 26 April 2015.
  
  ## Top Division
  
  ### Officials
  
  The IIHF selected 12 referees and 10 linesmen to work the 2015 IIHF U18 World Championship. They were the following:
  
  Referees
  
  * Jimmy Bergamelli
  * Andreas Harnebring
  * Brett Iverson
  * Andreas Koch
  * Petri Lindqvist
  * Robert Mullner
  * Yuri Oskirko
  * Vladimír Pešina
  * Christopher Pitoscia
  * Marian Rohatsch
  * Ladislav Smetana
  * Per Gustav Solem
  
  Linesmen
  
  * Markku Buese
  * Franco Espinoza
  * Jiří Gebauer
  * Martin Korba
  * Ludvig Lundgren
  * Brian Oliver
  * Alexander Otmakhov
  * Nicolas Piche
  * Hannu Sormunen
  * Michael Tscherrig
  
  ### Preliminary round
  
  **Group A**
  
  | Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | 1 | Russia | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 7 | +13 | 12 | Quarterfinals |
  | 2 | United States | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 30 | 8 | +22 | 9 | Quarterfinals |
  | 3 | Slovakia | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 18 | −9 | 5 | Quarterfinals |
  | 4 | Sweden | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 16 | 17 | −1 | 3 | Quarterfinals |
  | 5 | Germany | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 30 | −25 | 1 | Relegation round |
  
  All times are local. (Central European Summer Time – UTC+02:00)
  
  **Group B**
  
  | Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | 1 | Canada | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 11 | +10 | 12 | Quarterfinals |
  | 2 | Finland | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 6 | +8 | 9 | Quarterfinals |
  | 3 | Czech Republic | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 10 | +2 | 6 | Quarterfinals |
  | 4 | Switzerland | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 14 | −9 | 2 | Quarterfinals |
  | 5 | Latvia | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 21 | −11 | 1 | Relegation round |
  
  All times are local. (Central European Summer Time – UTC+02:00)
  
  ### Relegation round
  
  The last-placed teams played a best-of-three series.
  
  * Germany is relegated to next year's Division I A; the third game was not played because the result of the relegation series had been decided.
  
  ### Knockout stage
  
  | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Gold Medal | Gold Medal | Gold Medal |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | A1 | Russia | 0 | | | | | | |
  | B4 | Switzerland | 5 | | | | | | |
  | B4 | Switzerland | 5 | B4 | Switzerland | 4 | | | |
  | | | | B2 | Finland | 5 | | | |
  | B2 | Finland | 3 | B2 | Finland | 5 | | | |
  | A3 | Slovakia | 0 | | | | | | |
  | A3 | Slovakia | 0 | | | | A2 | United States | 2 |
  | | | | | | | B2 | Finland | 1 |
  | A2 | United States | 7 | | | | | | | B2 | Finland | 1 |
  | B3 | Czech Republic | 2 | | | |
  | B3 | Czech Republic | 2 | A2 | United States | 7 | Bronze Medal | Bronze Medal | Bronze Medal |
  | | | | B1 | Canada | 2 |
  | B1 | Canada | 5 | B1 | Canada | 2 | B1 | Canada | 5 |
  | A4 | Sweden | 3 | | | | B4 | Switzerland | 2 |
  
  ### Scoring leaders
  
  List shows the top ten skaters sorted by points, then goals.
  
  | Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | Auston Matthews | 7 | 8 | 7 | 15 | +11 | 0 |
  | Jeremy Bracco | 7 | 3 | 10 | 13 | +10 | 2 |
  | Mathew Barzal | 7 | 3 | 9 | 12 | +2 | 0 |
  | Matthew Tkachuk | 7 | 2 | 10 | 12 | +10 | 2 |
  | Patrik Laine | 7 | 8 | 3 | 11 | +6 | 0 |
  | Jack Roslovic | 7 | 6 | 5 | 11 | +11 | 4 |
  | Mitchell Stephens | 7 | 5 | 5 | 10 | +1 | 10 |
  | Colin White | 7 | 6 | 3 | 9 | +8 | 0 |
  | Clayton Keller | 7 | 4 | 5 | 9 | +7 | 0 |
  | Mārtiņš Dzierkals | 6 | 3 | 6 | 9 | +2 | 10 |
  
  GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/− = Plus-minus; PIM = Penalties In Minutes Source: IIHF.com
  
  ### 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.
  
  | Player | TOI | SA | GA | GAA | Sv% | SO |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | Anton Krasotkin | 120:00 | 85 | 4 | 2.00 | 95.29 | 1 |
  | Veini Vehviläinen | 437:12 | 233 | 12 | 1.65 | 94.85 | 1 |
  | Ilya Samsonov | 180:00 | 121 | 8 | 2.67 | 93.39 | 0 |
  | Evan Sarthou | 312:44 | 82 | 6 | 1.15 | 92.68 | 1 |
  | Adam Húska | 278:39 | 160 | 14 | 3.01 | 91.25 | 0 |
  
  TOI = Time on ice (minutes:seconds); SA = Shots against; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; Sv% = Save percentage; SO = Shutouts Source: IIHF.com
  
  ### Tournament awards
  
  Most Valuable Player
  
  * Forward: Auston Matthews
  
  All-star team
  
  * Goaltender: Veini Vehviläinen
  * Defencemen: Vili Saarijärvi, Jonas Siegenthaler
  * Forwards: Patrik Laine, Denis Malgin, Auston Matthews
  
  IIHF best player awards
  
  * Goaltender: Ilya Samsonov
  * Defenceman: Vili Saarijärvi
  * Forward: Auston Matthews
  
  References: ,
  
  ### Final standings
  
  | | Team |
  | - | - |
  | | United States |
  | | Finland |
  | | Canada |
  | 4th | Switzerland |
  | 5th | Russia |
  | 6th | Czech Republic |
  | 7th | Slovakia |
  | 8th | Sweden |
  | 9th | Latvia |
  | 10th | Germany |
  
  * Relegated to the 2016 Division I A
  * 2014 IIHF U18 World champions
  * United States 9th title
  
  ## Division I
  
  ### Division I A
  
  The Division I A tournament was played in Debrecen, Hungary, from 12 to 18 April 2015.
  
  | Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | 1 | Denmark | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 8 | +20 | 14 | Promoted to the 2016 Top Division |
  | 2 | Belarus | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 11 | +8 | 12 | |
  | 3 | France | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 16 | 13 | +3 | 8 | |
  | 4 | Norway | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 14 | 12 | +2 | 8 | |
  | 5 | Kazakhstan | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 15 | 28 | −13 | 3 | |
  | 6 | Hungary | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 11 | 31 | −20 | 0 | Relegated to the 2016 Division I B |
  
  ### Division I B
  
  The Division I B tournament was played in Maribor, Slovenia, from 12 to 18 April 2015.
  
  | Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | 1 | Austria | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 6 | +20 | 15 | Promoted to the 2016 Division I A |
  | 2 | Slovenia | 5 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 27 | 21 | +6 | 10 | |
  | 3 | Japan | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 16 | 16 | 0 | 8 | |
  | 4 | Ukraine | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 14 | −1 | 6 | |
  | 5 | Italy | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 16 | 24 | −8 | 3 | |
  | 6 | Lithuania | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 25 | −17 | 3 | Relegated to the 2016 Division II A |
  
  ## Division II
  
  ### Division II A
  
  The Division II A tournament was played in Tallinn, Estonia, from 22 to 28 March 2015.
  
  | Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | 1 | South Korea | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 7 | +21 | 15 | Promoted to the 2016 Division I B |
  | 2 | Poland | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 18 | 10 | +8 | 12 | |
  | 3 | Great Britain | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 18 | 13 | +5 | 8 | |
  | 4 | Netherlands | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 18 | 22 | −4 | 6 | |
  | 5 | Croatia | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 24 | −15 | 3 | |
  | 6 | Estonia | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 11 | 26 | −15 | 1 | Relegated to the 2016 Division II B |
  
  ### Division II B
  
  The Division II B tournament was played in Novi Sad, Serbia, from 16 to 22 March 2015.
  
  | Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | 1 | Romania | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 12 | +34 | 14 | Promoted to the 2016 Division II A |
  | 2 | Spain | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 28 | 13 | +15 | 13 | |
  | 3 | Serbia | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 21 | 13 | +8 | 9 | |
  | 4 | Belgium | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 20 | 26 | −6 | 5 | |
  | 5 | China | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 14 | 27 | −13 | 3 | |
  | 6 | Australia | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 11 | 49 | −38 | 1 | Relegated to the 2016 Division III A |
  
  ## Division III
  
  ### Division III A
  
  The Division III A tournament was played in Taipei City, Taiwan, from 22 to 28 March 2015.
  
  | Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | 1 | Iceland | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 13 | +6 | 13 | Promoted to the 2016 Division II B |
  | 2 | Mexico | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 17 | 10 | +7 | 9 | |
  | 3 | Bulgaria | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 14 | 12 | +2 | 8 | |
  | 4 | Chinese Taipei | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 28 | 16 | +12 | 8 | |
  | 5 | Israel | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 16 | 15 | +1 | 7 | |
  | 6 | South Africa | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 35 | −28 | 0 | Relegated to the 2016 Division III B |
  
  ### Division III B
  
  The Division III B tournament was played in Auckland, New Zealand, from 17 to 19 March 2015.
  
  | Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | 1 | Turkey | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 5 | +9 | 6 | Promoted to the 2016 Division III A |
  | 2 | New Zealand | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 10 | +2 | 3 | |
  | 3 | Hong Kong | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 17 | −11 | 0 | |
  