1998 IIHF World Championship
| Tournament details |
| Host country |
 Switzerland |
| Dates |
1–17 May |
| Teams |
16 |
| Venue(s) |
3 (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) |
|
|
The 1998 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championships were 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.
Qualifying Round (Austria) [edit]
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 beat 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 |
Points 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.
First Round [edit]
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 [edit]
|
Team |
Games |
Won |
Drawn |
Lost |
Points 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.
Group 2 [edit]
|
Team |
Games |
Won |
Drawn |
Lost |
Points difference |
Points |
| 1 |
 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.
Group 3 [edit]
France was relegated to the qualifiers for the 1999 IIHF World Championship.
Group 4 [edit]
|
Team |
Games |
Won |
Drawn |
Lost |
Points 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.
Consolation Round 9-12 Place [edit]
|
Team |
Games |
Won |
Drawn |
Lost |
Points 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 USA were relegated to the qualifiers for the 1999 IIHF World Championship.
Second Round [edit]
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 [edit]
|
Team |
Games |
Won |
Drawn |
Lost |
Points 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 |
Group 6 [edit]
Final Round [edit]
Semifinals [edit]
Match for third place [edit]
Medal Standings [edit]
See also [edit]
Citations [edit]
References [edit]
Switzerland
Sweden (7th title)
Finland
Czech Republic
Kazakhstan
Austria
Norway
Poland
Belarus
Germany
Japan
Canada
Slovakia
Italy
United States
France
Russia
Latvia
