1997 IIHF European U18 Championship

The 1997 IIHF European U18 Championship was the thirtieth playing of the IIHF European Junior Championships.

Group A

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Played April 12 to the 20th, in Znojmo and Třebíč, Czech Republic. Switzerland shocked everyone by opening the tournament with wins over the Czechs and the Russians. Although they tired by the end of the tournament, their win over Slovakia assured them of their first (and only) medal in the European Juniors.

First round

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Group 1
TeamSUICZERUSUKRGF/GAPoints
1.   Switzerland4:36:22:412:094
2.  Czech Republic3:44:48:115:093
3.  Russia2:64:48:214:123
4.  Ukraine4:21:82:807:182
Group 2
TeamFINSWESVKGERGF/GAPoints
1.  Finland3:35:03:011:035
2.  Sweden3:36:26:315:085
3.  Slovakia0:52:67:209:132
4.  Germany0:33:62:705:160

Final round

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Championship round
TeamFINSWESUIRUSCZESVKGFPoints
1.  Finland(3:3)8:14:23:2(5:0)23:089
2.  Sweden(3:3)4:24:44:1(6:2)21:128
3.   Switzerland1:82:4(6:2)(4:3)3:016:176
4.  Russia2:44:4(2:6)(4:4)8:320:214
5.  Czech Republic2:31:4(3:4)(4:4)4:214:173
6.  Slovakia(0:5)(2:6)0:33:82:407:2600
7th place
Ukraine  2:1
(1:0, 0:1, 1:0)
2:5
(0:3, 2:0, 0:2)
2:1 o.t.
(1:0, 0:1, 0:0, 1:0)
 Germany

Germany, losing the best of three series in overtime, was relegated to Group B for 1998.

Tournament Awards

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Kauppinen, a defenceman, set a record for the lowest point total to lead a tournament.

Group B

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Played March 21 to the 30th, in Maribor and Celje, Slovenia.

First round

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Group 1
TeamNORPOLBLRSLOGF/GAPoints
1.  Norway4:25:23:412:084
2.  Poland2:47:34:213:094
3.  Belarus2:53:75:410:162
4.  Slovenia4:32:44:510:122
Group 2
TeamDENHUNFRAITAGF/GAPoints
1.  Denmark4:36:46:016:076
2.  Hungary3:45:36:514:124
3.  France4:63:56:513:162
4.  Italy0:65:65:610:180

Final round

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Championship round
TeamNORPOLHUNBLRDENFRATeamPoints
1.  Norway(4:2)2:2(5:2)4:32:217:118
2.  Poland(2:4)5:5(7:3)6:43:123:177
3.  Hungary2:25:51:1(3:4)(5:3)16:155
4.  Belarus(2:5)(3:7)1:14:28:618:215
5.  Denmark3:44:6(4:3)2:4(6:4)19:214
6.  France2:21:3(3:5)6:8(4:6)16:241
7th place
Italy  7:3
(3:1, 3:0, 1:2)
7:2
(3:0, 4:1, 0:1)
 Slovenia

Norway was promoted to Group A, and Slovenia was relegated to Group C, for 1998.

Group C

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Played March 12 to the 16th in Miercurea-Ciuc and Gheorgheni, Romania.

First round

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Group 1
TeamGBRESTROMNEDGF/GAPoints
1.  Great Britain8:05:23:116:036
2.  Estonia0:83:28:411:144
3.  Romania2:52:35:009:082
4.  Netherlands1:34:80:505:160
Group 2
TeamLATAUTLTUCROGF/GAPoints
1.  Latvia3:310:25:118:065
2.  Austria3:36:11:010:045
3.  Lithuania2:101:65:208:182
4.  Croatia1:50:12:503:110

Placing round

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7th placeCroatia  2:1
(1:0, 1:0, 0:1)
 Netherlands
5th placeRomania  4:2
(1:0, 1:2, 2:0)
 Lithuania
3rd placeEstonia  4:3 o.t.
(2:1, 0:0, 1:2, 1:0)
 Austria
FinalGreat Britain  4:3
(0:2, 3:0, 1:1)
 Latvia

Great Britain was promoted to Group B and the Netherlands was relegated to Group D, for 1998.

Group D

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Played in Belgrade, FR Yugoslavia from March 4 to 9. The hosts completely dominated, with forward Csaba Prokec scoring 29 points in their 5 games.[1]

TeamYUGESPBULISRISLTURGF/GAPoints
1.  Yugoslavia11:016:214:221:052:1114:0510
2.  Spain0:115:33:311:620:3039:2607
3.  Bulgaria2:163:55:35:27:0022:2606
4.  Israel2:143:33:59:513:0030:2705
5.  Iceland0:216:112:55:94:2017:4802
6.  Turkey1:523:200:70:132:4006:9600

Yugoslavia was promoted to Group C for 1998.

References

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  • Complete results
  • Duplacey, James (1998). Total Hockey: The official encyclopedia of the National Hockey League. Total Sports. pp. 530–2. ISBN 0-8362-7114-9.