1976 Ice Hockey World Championships
The 1976 Ice Hockey World Championships were the 43rd Ice Hockey World Championships and the 54th European Championships in ice hockey. The tournament took place in Poland from 8 to 25 April, and the games were played in Katowice. Eight teams took part in the main tournament, with each team first playing each other once. The four best teams then took part in a medal play off, and the teams placed 5–8 took part in a relegation play-off. The teams took the results from the first round through to the second round with them.
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country |  Poland |
| Dates | 8–25 April |
| Teams | 8 |
| Final positions | |
Champions  |  Czechoslovakia (4th title) |
Runner-up  |  Soviet Union |
Third place  |  Sweden |
| Fourth place |  United States |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 40 |
| Goals scored | 289 (7.23 per match) |
| Attendance | 219,000 (5,475 per match) |
| Scoring leader(s) | Vladimír Martinec 20 points |
← 1975 1977 → | |
In response to charges of the rules regarding amateurism being unfair a change was implemented for this year.[1][2] The 1976 IHWC tournament was first to feature major league professionals from the NHL and WHA, although in the end only the United States made use of the new rule, recalling eight pros from the Minnesota North Stars and Minnesota Fighting Saints.[3][4] It is important to note, that such nations as the Soviet Union, had been using pros all along, while circumventing their status by listing them in the military.[5] The Americans promptly made the medal play off for the first time since 1962 after beating Sweden and tying Finland in the first round.
The Czechoslovakia national ice hockey team won nine games and were unbeaten, becoming world champions for the fourth time. The defending champions from the USSR finished 2nd after sensationally losing the opening game 4–6 to hosts Poland.[6] Sweden won the bronze after beating the Americans 7-3 in the medal round. In the European standings Sweden moved up one position leaving the Soviets with the bronze for the first time ever.
World Championship Group A (Poland)
First round
| Team | Games | Won | Drawn | Lost | Points Difference | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Czechoslovakia | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 54 - 07 | 14 |
| 2 | Soviet Union | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 37 - 15 | 10 |
| 3 | Sweden | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 22 - 18 | 8 |
| 4 | United States | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 19 - 23 | 7 |
| 5 | Poland | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 21 - 36 | 5 |
| 6 |  West Germany | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 19 - 35 | 4 |
| 7 |  Finland | 7 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 17 - 29 | 4 |
| 8 |  East Germany | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 11 - 37 | 4 |
| 8 April | West Germany | 1-4 (0-1, 0-1, 1-2) | Sweden |
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| 8 April | Czechoslovakia | 10-0 | East Germany |
| 8 April | United States | 3-3 (0-2, 2-0, 1-1) | Finland |
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| 8 April | Poland | 6-4 (2-0, 3-2, 1-2) | Soviet Union |
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| 30 | Shots | 37 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 9 April | Poland | 0-12 (0-2, 0-2, 0-8) | Czechoslovakia |
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| 9 April | Soviet Union | 4-0 (1-0, 1-0, 2-0) | East Germany |
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| 10 April | West Germany | 2-5 (1-0, 1-3, 0-2) | Finland |
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| 10 April | Sweden | 0-2 (0-1, 0-0, 0-1) | United States |
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| 11 April | Poland | 6-4 (3-0, 2-2, 1-2) | East Germany |
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| 11 April | Finland | 1-8 (0-1, 1-3, 0-4) | Soviet Union |
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| 11 April | Czechoslovakia | 3-1 (0-0, 2-0, 1-1) | Sweden |
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| 12 April | Poland | 3-5 (1-2, 1-1, 1-2) | West Germany |
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| 12 April | East Germany | 2-1 (0-0, 0-0, 2-1) | United States |
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| 13 April | Czechoslovakia | 7-1 (1-1, 4-0, 2-0) | Finland |
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| 13 April | Soviet Union | 6-1 (2-0, 2-0, 2-1) | Sweden |
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| 14 April | Poland | 2-4 (0-2, 1-1, 1-1) | United States |
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| 14 April | East Germany | 1-7 | West Germany |
| 15 April | Finland | 3-4 | Sweden |
| 15 April | United States | 2-10 | Czechoslovakia |
| 15 April | West Germany | 2-8 | Soviet Union |
| 17 April | Sweden | 8-2 | East Germany |
| 17 April | Poland | 3-3 | Finland |
| 17 April | Soviet Union | 2-3 | Czechoslovakia |
| 18 April | United States | 5-1 | West Germany |
| 18 April | Finland | 1-2 | East Germany |
| 19 April | Czechoslovakia | 9-1 | West Germany |
| 19 April | Poland | 1-4 | Sweden |
| 19 April | Soviet Union | 5-2 | United States |
Final Round 1–4 place
| Team | Games | Won | Drawn | Lost | Points difference | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Czechoslovakia | 10 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 67 - 14 | 19 |
| 2 | Soviet Union | 10 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 50 - 23 | 13 |
| 3 | Sweden | 10 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 36 - 29 | 12 |
| 4 | United States | 10 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 24 - 42 | 7 |
| 21 April | Czechoslovakia | 5-1 | United States |
| 21 April | Soviet Union | 3-4 | Sweden |
| 23 April | Sweden | 3-5 | Czechoslovakia |
| 23 April | United States | 1-7 | Soviet Union |
| 25 April | Sweden | 7-3 | United States |
| 25 April | Czechoslovakia | 3-3 | Soviet Union |
Consolation Round 5–8 place
| Team | Games | Won | Drawn | Lost | Points difference | Points | Tie H2H Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Finland | 10 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 35 - 41 | 8 | 5 |
| 6 | West Germany | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 26 - 41 | 8 | 5 |
| 7 | Poland | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 32 - 47 | 8 | 2 |
| 8 | East Germany | 10 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 19 - 52 | 5 |
East Germany was relegated to Group B. Poland was also relegated to make room for the return of team Canada.
| 20 April | Poland | 5-4 | East Germany |
| 20 April | Finland | 4-4 | West Germany |
| 22 April | Poland | 5-5 | Finland |
| 22 April | East Germany | 1-1 | West Germany |
| 24 April | Finland | 9-3 | East Germany |
| 24 April | Poland | 1-2 | West Germany |
World Championship Group B (Switzerland)
Played in Aarau and Bienne 18–27 March.
| Team | Games | Won | Drawn | Lost | Points difference | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Romania | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 40 - 23 | 11 |
| 10 |  Japan | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 34 - 17 | 10 |
| 11 |  Norway | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 29 - 21 | 8 |
| 12 |  Switzerland | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 25 - 28 | 8 |
| 13 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Yugoslavia | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 37 - 26 | 8 |
| 14 |  Netherlands | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 22 - 30 | 6 |
| 15 |  Italy | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 23 - 41 | 5 |
| 16 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Bulgaria | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 23 - 47 | 0 |
Romania was promoted to Group A, and both Italy and Bulgaria were relegated to Group C.
| 18 March | Netherlands | 4-3 | Norway |
| 18 March | Switzerland | 5-1 | Bulgaria |
| 18 March | Italy | 2-8 | Yugoslavia |
| 18 March | Romania | 7-5 | Japan |
| 19 March | Italy | 8-3 | Bulgaria |
| 19 March | Switzerland | 5-4 | Yugoslavia |
| 20 March | Japan | 4-0 | Netherlands |
| 20 March | Romania | 2-1 | Norway |
| 21 March | Yugoslavia | 5-2 | Romania |
| 21 March | Switzerland | 4-2 | Netherlands |
| 21 March | Italy | 4-2 | Norway |
| 21 March | Bulgaria | 3-4 | Japan |
| 22 March | Yugoslavia | 9-7 | Bulgaria |
| 22 March | Switzerland | 4-1 | Italy |
| 23 March | Romania | 8-1 | Netherlands |
| 23 March | Norway | 3-2 | Japan |
| 24 March | Romania | 5-5 | Italy |
| 24 March | Japan | 3-2 | Yugoslavia |
| 24 March | Netherlands | 5-3 | Bulgaria |
| 24 March | Switzerland | 3-7 | Norway |
| 26 March | Japan | 10-0 | Italy |
| 26 March | Norway | 7-2 | Bulgaria |
| 26 March | Netherlands | 1-5 | Yugoslavia |
| 26 March | Switzerland | 2-7 | Romania |
| 27 March | Norway | 6-4 | Yugoslavia |
| 27 March | Switzerland | 2-6 | Japan |
| 27 March | Romania | 9-4 | Bulgaria |
| 27 March | Netherlands | 9-3 | Italy |
World Championship Group C (Poland)
Played in Gdańsk 8–13 March.
| Team | Games | Won | Drawn | Lost | Points difference | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 |  Austria | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 38 - 09 | 8 |
| 18 |  Hungary | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 30 - 09 | 6 |
| 19 |  France | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 14 - 18 | 4 |
| 20 |  Denmark | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 16 - 24 | 2 |
| 21 |  Great Britain | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 06 - 44 | 0 |
Both Austria and Hungary were promoted to Group B.
| 8 March | Austria | 4-3 | Denmark |
| 8 March | Hungary | 11-0 | Great Britain |
| 9 March | Great Britain | 2-21 | Austria |
| 9 March | Hungary | 6-1 | France |
| 10 March | France | 7-4 | Denmark |
| 11 March | Denmark | 7-3 | Great Britain |
| 11 March | Austria | 6-3 | Hungary |
| 12 March | France | 5-1 | Great Britain |
| 13 March | Hungary | 10-2 | Denmark |
| 13 March | Austria | 7-1 | France |
Ranking and statistics
Tournament Awards
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Final standings
The final standings of the tournament according to IIHF:
 | Czechoslovakia |
 | Soviet Union |
 | Sweden |
| 4 | United States |
| 5 | Finland |
| 6 | West Germany |
| 7 | Poland |
| 8 | East Germany |
European championships final standings
The final standings of the European championships according to IIHF:
| Czechoslovakia |
| Sweden |
| Soviet Union |
| 4 | West Germany |
| 5 | Poland |
| 6 | Finland |
| 7 | East Germany |
References
- Podnieks page 145
- Duplacey page 506
- NYTimes on status of Soviet Athletes
- Salming-less Sweden skips
- https://www.nytimes.com/1974/07/21/archives/soviet-amateur-athlete-a-real-pro-dr-john-nelson-washburn-is-an.html
- IIHF (2008). "Poland scores biggest shocker in World Championship history". IIHF.com. Retrieved 6 May 2017.
- 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. p. 145.
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