Norway and Hungary Relegated Again

Norway and Hungary won't be back at the top division of the IIHF women's World Championships until at least 2027. After being promoted last year from the Division 1A tournament, the teams are immediately heading back down after failing to usurp another nation. 

Hungary only scored a single goal in the tournament during a 4-1 loss to Germany. They were outscored 11-1 in four games. Despite the goal differential, Hungary outshot their opponents 119-79 in that span, but didn't have the scoring, nor defensive play to overpower their opposition. 

Norway earned their only win against Hungary defeating them 3-0. They need to play Sweden to close out their tournament, but it's a mismatch where it will be difficult for Norway to compete. Offensively, Norway has done better than Hungary only being outscored 10-7 in the tournament to date.

The Division 1A Women's World Championships are underway in China, but it's too early to predict which nations will come up this year. It's unlikely that both China and Denmark will return after both nations lost their opening games. Currently, Austria and Slovakia look like the best bets to make the upward climb.