The preliminary round was divided into two pools that placed the top four seeds into Group A, and the bottom four in Group B. The top two finishers in Group A advanced directly to the semifinals, while the two remaining teams and the top two in Group B played a quarterfinal round. The bottom two teams from Group B played a relegation series to determine the one team that gets relegated.
Match officials
10 referees and 9 linesmen were selected for the tournament.[6]
Each team's roster 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.
Preliminary round
The schedule was announced on 10 September 2014.[7]
TOI = Time on ice (minutes:seconds); SA = Shots against; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; Sv% = Save percentage; SO = Shutouts
Source: IIHF.com