The 1998 IIHF World Championship was held in Switzerland from 1–17 May 1998. The format expanded to 16 teams for the first time. The teams were divided into four groups of four with the top two teams in each advancing to the next round. The two groups of four then played a round robin with the top two teams in each moving on to the semi-finals. The semi-finals were a two-game total goals for series as was the final.
 | |
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country |  Switzerland |
| Venue(s) | 2 (in 2 host cities) |
| Dates | 1–17 May |
| Opened by | Flavio Cotti |
| Teams | 16 |
| Final positions | |
Champions  |  Sweden (7th title) |
Runner-up  |  Finland |
Third place  |  Czech Republic |
| Fourth place | Switzerland |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Games played | 49 |
| Goals scored | 276 (5.63 per game) |
| Scoring leader(s) | Peter Forsberg (11 pts) |
Venues
edit| Zürich | Basel | |
| Hallenstadion Capacity: 12,500 | St. Jakobshalle Capacity: 9,000 | |
 |  |
Qualifying Round (Austria)
editPlayed 6–9 November 1997 in Klagenfurt. The Kazakhs, Austrians, and Norwegians finished virtually even. In head-to-head match-ups they each had one win and one loss, they each had scored as many as they had allowed. The Kazakhs scored six goals, the other two both five, pushing them to first. The Norwegians had beaten Poland by three, on the final day the Austrians pushed their advantage over Poland to four, giving them the final spot in the World Championship.[1]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Kazakhstan | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 7 | +5 | 4 |
| 2 |  Austria | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 5 | +4 | 4 |
| 3 |  Norway | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 5 | +3 | 4 |
| 4 |  Poland | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 13 | −12 | 0 |
Kazakhstan and Austria advanced to Group A, Norway and Poland competed in Group B.
| 6 November 1997 | Kazakhstan | 6-1 | Poland |
| 6 November 1997 | Austria | 1-3 | Norway |
| 8 November 1997 | Norway | 3-0 | Poland |
| 8 November 1997 | Austria | 4-2 | Kazakhstan |
| 9 November 1997 | Kazakhstan | 4-2 | Norway |
| 9 November 1997 | Austria | 4-0 | Poland |
First round
editIn each group, the top two nations advanced to the next round. Third place teams played a final round against each other to determine who escaped having to qualify for next year's tournament. Fourth place teams did not play further, they were automatically entered in qualifiers for next year's tournament. The highlight of the round was the French victory of the US, the first ever in an official match.[2]
Group 1
edit| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Czech Republic | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 5 | +15 | 6 |
| 2 |  Belarus | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 10 | +2 | 4 |
| 3 |  Germany | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 13 | −5 | 2 |
| 4 |  Japan | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 19 | −12 | 0 |
Japan was relegated to the qualifiers for the 1999 IIHF World Championship.
| 1 May | Czech Republic | 8-2 | Japan | St. Jakobshalle, Basel |
| 1 May | Belarus | 4-2 | Germany | St. Jakobshalle, Basel |
| 3 May | Belarus | 2-4 | Czech Republic | St. Jakobshalle, Basel |
| 3 May | Germany | 5-1 | Japan | St. Jakobshalle, Basel |
| 5 May | Japan | 4-6 | Belarus | St. Jakobshalle, Basel |
| 5 May | Czech Republic | 8-1 | Germany | St. Jakobshalle, Basel |
Group 2
edit| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Canada | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 5 | +7 | 5 |
| 2 |  Slovakia | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 4 | +5 | 5 |
| 3 |  Italy | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 2 |
| 4 | Austria | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 15 | −12 | 0 |
Austria was relegated to the qualifiers for the 1999 IIHF World Championship.
| 1 May | Canada | 5-1 | Austria | Hallenstadion, Zürich |
| 1 May | Italy | 1-2 | Slovakia | Hallenstadion, Zürich |
| 3 May | Slovakia | 2-2 | Canada | Hallenstadion, Zürich |
| 3 May | Italy | 5-1 | Austria | Hallenstadion, Zürich |
| 5 May | Austria | 1-5 | Slovakia | Hallenstadion, Zürich |
| 5 May | Canada | 5-2 | Italy | Hallenstadion, Zürich |
Group 3
edit| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sweden | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 4 | +12 | 6 |
| 2 | Switzerland | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 10 | −1 | 2 |
| 3 |  United States | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 11 | −4 | 2 |
| 4 |  France | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 12 | −7 | 2 |
France was relegated to the qualifiers for the 1999 IIHF World Championship.
| 2 May | United States | 5-2 | Switzerland | Hallenstadion, Zürich |
| 2 May | Sweden | 6-1 | France | Hallenstadion, Zürich |
| 4 May | France | 3-1 | United States | Hallenstadion, Zürich |
| 4 May | Sweden | 4-2 | Switzerland | Hallenstadion, Zürich |
| 6 May | United States | 1-6 | Sweden | Hallenstadion, Zürich |
| 6 May | Switzerland | 5-1 | France | Hallenstadion, Zürich |
Group 4
edit| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Russia | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 11 | +8 | 6 |
| 2 | Finland | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 4 | +8 | 4 |
| 3 |  Latvia | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 15 | −3 | 2 |
| 4 | Kazakhstan | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 19 | −13 | 0 |
Kazakhstan was relegated to the qualifiers for the 1999 IIHF World Championship.
| 2 May | Russia | 8-4 | Kazakhstan | St. Jakobshalle, Basel |
| 2 May | Finland | 6-0 | Latvia | St. Jakobshalle, Basel |
| 4 May | Latvia | 5-7 | Russia | St. Jakobshalle, Basel |
| 4 May | Finland | 4-0 | Kazakhstan | St. Jakobshalle, Basel |
| 6 May | Kazakhstan | 2-7 | Latvia | St. Jakobshalle, Basel |
| 6 May | Russia | 4-2 | Finland | St. Jakobshalle, Basel |
Consolation Round 9-12 Place
edit| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | Latvia | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 3 | +6 | 5 |
| 10 | Italy | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 5 | +4 | 4 |
| 11 | Germany | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 10 | −5 | 2 |
| 12 | United States | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 8 | −5 | 1 |
Germany and the United States were relegated to the qualifiers for the 1999 IIHF World Championship.
| 8 May | United States | 1-1 | Germany | Hallenstadion, Zürich |
| 8 May | Italy | 1-1 | Latvia | Hallenstadion, Zürich |
| 10 May | Italy | 4-0 | United States | Hallenstadion, Zürich |
| 10 May | Germany | 0-5 | Latvia | St. Jakobshalle, Basel |
| 11 May | Germany | 4-4 | Italy | Hallenstadion, Zürich |
| 11 May | Latvia | 3-2 | United States | Hallenstadion, Zürich |
Second round
editGroup 2 and 3 first place teams played against group 1 and 4 second place teams in group 5, group 1 and 4 first place teams played against group 2 and 3 second place teams. The top two, from each group, advanced to the semi-finals.
Group 5
edit| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sweden | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 2 | +8 | 6 |
| 2 | Finland | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 6 | +2 | 3 |
| 3 | Canada | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 12 | −2 | 3 |
| 4 | Belarus | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 13 | −8 | 0 |
| 7 May | Sweden | 1-0 (0-0, 1-0, 0-0) | Finland | Hallenstadion, Zürich |
| |||||
| 7 May | Belarus | 2-6 | Canada | Hallenstadion, Zürich |
| 9 May | Canada | 3-3 | Finland | Hallenstadion, Zürich |
| 9 May | Sweden | 2-1 | Belarus | Hallenstadion, Zürich |
| 10 May | Canada | 1-7 | Sweden | Hallenstadion, Zürich |
| 10 May | Finland | 5-2 | Belarus | Hallenstadion, Zürich |
Group 6
edit| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Czech Republic | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 5 |
| 2 | Switzerland | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 3 |
| 3 | Russia | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 7 | +3 | 3 |
| 4 | Slovakia | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 8 | −6 | 1 |
| 7 May | Slovakia | 0-1 | Czech Republic | St. Jakobshalle, Basel |
| 7 May | Russia | 2-4 | Switzerland | St. Jakobshalle, Basel |
| 9 May | Czech Republic | 3-1 | Switzerland | St. Jakobshalle, Basel |
| 9 May | Russia | 6-1 | Slovakia | St. Jakobshalle, Basel |
| 10 May | Czech Republic | 2-2 | Russia | St. Jakobshalle, Basel |
| 10 May | Switzerland | 1-1 | Slovakia | St. Jakobshalle, Basel |
Final round
edit
Bracket
edit| Semifinals | Finals | |||||||||
| 12 and 14 May – Zürich | ||||||||||
| Sweden | 4 | 7 | 2 | |||||||
| 16 and 17 May – Zürich | ||||||||||
| Switzerland | 1 | 2 | 0 | |||||||
| Sweden | 1 | 0 | 1 | |||||||
| 12 and 14 May – Zürich | ||||||||||
| Finland | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||
| Czech Republic | 1 | 2 | 0 | |||||||
| Finland | 4 | 2 | 1 | |||||||
| Bronze medal game | ||||||||||
| 15 May – Zürich | ||||||||||
| Czech Republic | 4 | |||||||||
| Switzerland | 0 | |||||||||
Semifinals
edit| 12 May | Sweden | 4–1 (1–0, 0–0, 3–1) | Switzerland | Hallenstadion, Zürich |
| 12 May | Czech Republic | 1–4 (1–1, 0–1, 0–2) | Finland | Hallenstadion, Zürich |
| 14 May | Switzerland | 2–7 (0–4, 0–1, 2–2) | Sweden | Hallenstadion, Zürich |
| 14 May | Finland | 2–2 (0–0, 0–1, 2–1) | Czech Republic | Hallenstadion, Zürich |
Match for third place
edit| 15 May | Czech Republic | 4–0 (0–0, 3–0, 1–0) | Switzerland | Hallenstadion, Zürich |
Final
edit| 16 May | Finland | 0–1 (0–0, 0–0, 0–1) | Sweden | Hallenstadion, Zürich Attendance: 9,300 |
| Ari Sulander | Goalies | Tommy Salo | Referee: Alex Dell | ||
| |||||
| 17 May | Sweden | 0–0 (0–0, 0–0, 0–0) | Finland | Hallenstadion, Zürich Attendance: 12,500 |
| Tommy Salo | Goalies | Ari Sulander | ||
Ranking and statistics
edit| 1998 IIHF World Championship winners |
|---|
 Sweden 7th title |
Tournament Awards
edit- Best players selected by the directorate:
- Best Goaltender:
Ari Sulander - Best Defenceman:
František Kučera - Best Forward:
Peter Forsberg
- Best Goaltender:
- Media All-Star Team:
- Goaltender: Tommy Salo
- Defence: Jere Karalahti, František Kučera
- Forwards: Peter Forsberg, Ville Peltonen, Mats Sundin
- Goaltender:
Final standings
editThe final standings of the tournament according to IIHF:
 | Sweden |
 | Finland |
 | Czech Republic |
| 4 | Switzerland |
| 5 | Russia |
| 6 | Canada |
| 7 | Slovakia |
| 8 | Belarus |
| 9 | Latvia |
| 10 | Italy |
| 11 | Germany |
| 12 | United States |
| 13 | France |
| 14 | Japan |
| 15 | Austria |
| 16 | Kazakhstan |
Places eleven through sixteen were not relegated but had to play in qualifying tournaments for inclusion in the 1999 championship.
Scoring leaders
editList shows the top skaters sorted by points, then goals.
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM | POS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peter Forsberg | 7 | 6 | 5 | 11 | +9 | 0 | F |
| Mats Sundin | 10 | 5 | 6 | 11 | +13 | 6 | F |
| Raimo Helminen | 10 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 0 | 0 | F |
| Ville Peltonen | 10 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 0 | 8 | F |
| Radek Bělohlav | 9 | 6 | 3 | 9 | +7 | 2 | F |
| Pavel Patera | 9 | 6 | 3 | 9 | +6 | 12 | F |
| Viktor Kozlov | 6 | 4 | 5 | 9 | +5 | 0 | F |
| Sergei Berezin | 6 | 6 | 2 | 8 | +2 | 2 | F |
| Oleg Znaroks | 6 | 5 | 3 | 8 | +4 | 2 | F |
| Mikael Renberg | 10 | 5 | 3 | 8 | +6 | 6 | F |
Source: quanthockey.com
Leading goaltenders
editOnly the top five goaltenders, based on save percentage, who have played 40% of their team's minutes are included in this list.
| Player | MIP | GA | GAA | SVS% | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tommy Salo | 540 | 7 | 0.78 | .959 | 3 |
| Ari Sulander | 477 | 10 | 1.26 | .956 | 2 |
| Mike Rosati | 299 | 8 | 1.61 | .950 | 1 |
| Milan Hnilička | 430 | 10 | 1.40 | .940 | 2 |
| François Gravel | 94 | 4 | 2.55 | .938 | 0 |
Source: quanthockey.com
See also
editCitations
editReferences
edit- Complete results
- Duplacey, James (1998). Total Hockey: The official encyclopedia of the National Hockey League. Total Sports. pp. 498–528. ISBN 0-8362-7114-9.
- Podnieks, Andrew (2010). IIHF Media Guide & Record Book 2011. Moydart Press. pp. 161–3.
- Archive Switzerland 1998
- Qualifying tournament details