1998 IIHF World Championship
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 |
| Dates | 1–17 May |
| Teams | 16 |
| Venue(s) | 2 (in 2 host cities) |
| Final positions | |
Champions  |  Sweden (7th title) |
Runner-up  |  Finland |
Third place  |  Czech Republic |
| Fourth place | Switzerland |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 49 |
| Goals scored | 276 (5.63 per match) |
| Scoring leader(s) | Peter Forsberg (11 pts) |
1999 → | |
Venues
| Zürich | Basel | |
| Hallenstadion Capacity: 12,500 |
St. Jakobshalle Capacity: 9,000 | |
 |
 |
Qualifying Round (Austria)
Played 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]
| Team | Games | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goal difference | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Kazakhstan | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 12 - 07 | 4 |
| 2 |  Austria | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 09 - 05 | 4 |
| 3 |  Norway | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 08 - 05 | 4 |
| 4 |  Poland | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 01 - 13 | 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
In 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 USA, the first ever in an official match.[2]
Group 1
| Team | Games | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goal difference | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Czech Republic | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 20 - 05 | 6 |
| 2 |  Belarus | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 12 - 10 | 4 |
| 3 |  Germany | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 08 - 13 | 2 |
| 4 |  Japan | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 07 - 19 | 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
| Team | Games | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goal difference | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Canada | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 12 - 05 | 5 |
| 2 |  Slovakia | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 09 - 04 | 5 |
| 3 |  Italy | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 08 - 08 | 2 |
| 4 | Austria | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 03 - 15 | 0 |
Austria was relegated to the qualifiers for the 1999 IIHF World Championship.
| 1 May | Canada | 5-1 | Austria | Hallenstadion, Zurich |
| 1 May | Italy | 1-2 | Slovakia | Hallenstadion, Zurich |
| 3 May | Slovakia | 2-2 | Canada | Hallenstadion, Zurich |
| 3 May | Italy | 5-1 | Austria | Hallenstadion, Zurich |
| 5 May | Austria | 1-5 | Slovakia | Hallenstadion, Zurich |
| 5 May | Canada | 5-2 | Italy | Hallenstadion, Zurich |
Group 3
| Team | Games | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goal difference | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sweden | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 16 - 04 | 6 |
| 2 | Switzerland | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 09 - 10 | 2 |
| 3 |  United States | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 07 - 11 | 2 |
| 4 |  France | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 05 - 12 | 2 |
France was relegated to the qualifiers for the 1999 IIHF World Championship.
| 2 May | United States | 5-2 | Switzerland | Hallenstadion, Zurich |
| 2 May | Sweden | 6-1 | France | Hallenstadion, Zurich |
| 4 May | France | 3-1 | United States | Hallenstadion, Zurich |
| 4 May | Sweden | 4-2 | Switzerland | Hallenstadion, Zurich |
| 6 May | United States | 1-6 | Sweden | Hallenstadion, Zurich |
| 6 May | Switzerland | 5-1 | France | Hallenstadion, Zurich |
Group 4
| Team | Games | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goal difference | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Russia | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 19 - 11 | 6 |
| 2 | Finland | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 12 - 04 | 4 |
| 3 |  Latvia | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 12 - 15 | 2 |
| 4 | Kazakhstan | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 06 - 19 | 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
| Team | Games | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goal difference | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | Latvia | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 09 - 03 | 5 |
| 10 | Italy | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 09 - 05 | 4 |
| 11 | Germany | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 05 - 10 | 2 |
| 12 | United States | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 03 - 08 | 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, Zurich |
| 8 May | Italy | 1-1 | Latvia | Hallenstadion, Zurich |
| 10 May | Italy | 4-0 | United States | Hallenstadion, Zurich |
| 10 May | Germany | 0-5 | Latvia | St. Jakobshalle, Basel |
| 11 May | Germany | 4-4 | Italy | Hallenstadion, Zurich |
| 11 May | Latvia | 3-2 | United States | Hallenstadion, Zurich |
Second round
Group 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
| Team | Games | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goal difference | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sweden | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 - 02 | 6 |
| 2 | Finland | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 08 - 06 | 3 |
| 3 | Canada | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 - 12 | 3 |
| 4 | Belarus | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 05 - 13 | 0 |
| 7 May | Sweden | 1-0 (0-0, 1-0, 0-0) | Finland | Hallenstadion, Zurich |
| |||||
| 7 May | Belarus | 2-6 | Canada | Hallenstadion, Zurich |
| 9 May | Canada | 3-3 | Finland | Hallenstadion, Zurich |
| 9 May | Sweden | 2-1 | Belarus | Hallenstadion, Zurich |
| 10 May | Canada | 1-7 | Sweden | Hallenstadion, Zurich |
| 10 May | Finland | 5-2 | Belarus | Hallenstadion, Zurich |
Group 6
| Team | Games | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goal difference | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Czech Republic | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 06 - 03 | 5 |
| 2 | Switzerland | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 06 - 06 | 3 |
| 3 | Russia | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 - 07 | 3 |
| 4 | Slovakia | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 02 - 08 | 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
Bracket
| Semifinals | Finals | |||||||||
| 12 and 14 May – Zürich | ||||||||||
| Sweden | 4 | 7 | 11 | |||||||
| 16 and 17 May – Zürich | ||||||||||
| Switzerland | 1 | 2 | 3 | |||||||
| Sweden | 1 | 0 | 1 | |||||||
| 12 and 14 May – Zürich | ||||||||||
| Finland | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||
| Czech Republic | 1 | 2 | 3 | |||||||
| Finland | 4 | 2 | 6 | |||||||
| Bronze medal game | ||||||||||
| 15 May – Zürich | ||||||||||
| Czech Republic | 4 | |||||||||
| Switzerland | 0 | |||||||||
Semifinals
| 12 May | Sweden | 4-1 (1–0, 0–0, 3–1) | Switzerland | Hallenstadion, Zurich |
| 12 May | Czech Republic | 1-4 (1–1, 0–1, 0–2) | Finland | Hallenstadion, Zurich |
| 14 May | Switzerland | 2-7 (0–4, 0–1, 2–2) | Sweden | Hallenstadion, Zurich |
| 14 May | Finland | 2-2 (0–0, 0–1, 2–1) | Czech Republic | Hallenstadion, Zurich |
Final
| 16 May | Finland | 0-1 (0-0, 0-0, 0-1) | Sweden | Hallenstadion, Zurich Attendance: 9,300 |
| Ari Sulander | Goalies | Tommy Salo | Referee: Alex Dell | ||
| |||||
| 17 May | Sweden | 0-0 (0-0, 0-0, 0-0) | Finland | Hallenstadion, Zurich Attendance: 12,500 |
| Tommy Salo | Goalies | Ari Sulander | ||
Ranking and statistics
Tournament Awards
|
Final standings
The 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
List 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
Only 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
References
- 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
