1978 World Ice Hockey Championships
1978 World Ice Hockey ChampionshipsTournament details |
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Host country |
Czechoslovakia |
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Dates |
26 April – 14 May |
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Teams |
8 |
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Venue(s) |
1 (in 1 host city) |
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Final positions |
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Champions  |
Soviet Union (15th title) |
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Runner-up  |
Czechoslovakia |
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Third place  |
Canada |
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Fourth place |
Sweden |
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Tournament statistics |
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Matches played |
40 |
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Goals scored |
322 (8.05 per match) |
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Attendance |
362,642 (9,066 per match) |
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Scoring leader(s) |
Erich Kühnhackl 16 points |
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The 1978 Ice Hockey World Championships took place in Prague, Czechoslovakia from 26 April to 14 May. Eight teams took part, with each team playing each other once in the first round, and then the four best teams meeting in a new round. This was the 45th World Championships, and also the 56th European Championships. The USSR won for the fifteenth time, narrowly defeating the incumbent Czechoslovaks.
On the final day, there was essentially a gold medal game, and a bronze medal game. The Soviets played the Czechoslovaks and needed to win by at least two to win the Championship.[1] They took a three nothing lead, and hung to win by two, capturing gold by being even head to head with the Czechoslovaks, but having a cumulative two goal advantage against everyone else. Canada and Sweden came into the final game even, so the winner would claim the bronze. Pat Hickey scored with a minute left in the game to give Canada a three to two victory, and the medal.[2]
Because of the allowance of professionals from the NHL into the tournament, a peculiar (and new) situation arose during this year's tournament. The Minnesota North Stars had players representing Canada (2), Sweden (3), and the United States (4).[3]
World Championship Group A (Czechoslovakia)
First round
26 April | Sweden  | 6-2
| West Germany | |
27 April | Soviet Union  | 7-4
| West Germany | |
29 April | Czechoslovakia  | 8-2
| West Germany | |
4 May | Czechoslovakia  | 5-0
| Canada | |
6 May | Czechoslovakia  | 6-4
| Soviet Union | |
8 May | Czechoslovakia  | 3-2
| Sweden | |
Final Round 1-4 place
10 May | Czechoslovakia  | 6-1
| Sweden | |
12 May | Czechoslovakia  | 3-2
| Canada | |
14 May | Soviet Union  | 3-1
| Czechoslovakia | |
Consolation Round 5-8 place
East Germany was relegated to Group B.
World Championship Group B (Yugoslavia)
Played in Belgrade March 17–26.
Undefeated Poland was promoted to Group A, and both Italy and Yugoslavia were relegated to Group C.
World Championship Group C (Spain)
Played in the Canary Islands (Las Palmas) 10–19 March.
|
Team |
Games |
Won |
Drawn |
Lost |
Points difference |
Points |
17 | Netherlands | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 74 - 17 | 13 |
18 | Austria | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 65 - 31 | 11 |
19 | Denmark | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 59 - 25 | 9 |
20 | China | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 47 - 30 | 8 |
21 | Bulgaria | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 27 - 30 | 7 |
22 | France | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 46 - 39 | 6 |
23 | Spain | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 26 - 84 | 2 |
24 | Belgium | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 13 - 101 | 0 |
The Netherlands and Austria were both promoted to Group B. China and Denmark also ended up being promoted to alleviate a political situation between the Chinese and the South Koreans.[4]
Ranking and statistics
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1978 IIHF World Championship Winners |
 Soviet Union 15th title |
Tournament Awards
- Best players selected by the directorate:
- Media All-Star Team:
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Final standings
The final standings of the tournament according to IIHF:
European championships final standings
The final standings of the European championships according to IIHF:
Citations
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. 146–7.