1951 Ice Hockey World Championships

1951 Ice Hockey World Championships

Tournament details
Host country	France
Venue(s)	Palais des Sports
Dates	9–17 March
Teams	7
Final positions
Champions	Canada (14th title)
Runner-up	Sweden
Third place	Switzerland
Fourth place	Norway
Tournament statistics
Games played	21
Goals scored	180 (8.57 per game)
Scoring leader(s)	Stan Obodiac 10 goals

The 1951 World Ice Hockey Championships were the 18th World Championships and the 29th European Championships in ice hockey for international teams. The tournament took place in France from 9th to 17 March and the matches were played in the capital city, Paris. Thirteen nations took part, and were first split into two groups. The seven best teams were placed in the first group, and the six others were placed into the "Criterium Européen", which would later become the B World Championships. The A World Championships were played in a league, with each team playing each other once.

Canada, represented by the Lethbridge Maple Leafs, became world champions for the 14th time. Highest ranking European team Sweden finished second, winning their fifth European Championships, finishing ahead of the Swiss on goal differential by three.

This tournament would be the last time France hosted elite group of World Championships until 2017, when Paris will co-host the Championship along with Cologne in eastern Germany.

World Championships Group A (France)

Date	Matches A World Championships 1951	Result	Period.
9 March	Norway – United States	3–0	0–0,1–0,2–0
10 March	Canada – Finland	11–1	4–0,4–0,3–1
10 March	Sweden – Great Britain	5–1	0–1,1–0,4–0
10 March	Switzerland – Norway	8–1	4–1,3–0,1–0
11 March	Sweden – United States	8–0	4–0,1–0,3–0
11 March	Canada – Norway	8–0	3–0,1–0,4–0
12 March	United States – Finland	5–4	1–0,1–3,3–1
12 March	Switzerland – Great Britain	7–1	2–0,4–1,1–0
13 March	Sweden – Norway	5–2	1–0,4–1,0–1
13 March	Switzerland – Finland	4–1	1–0,2–1,1–0
13 March	Canada – Great Britain	17–1	0–1,7–0,10–0
14 March	Switzerland – Sweden	3–3	1–2,1–1,1–0
15 March	Norway – Great Britain	4–3	0–0,1–2,3–1
15 March	Sweden – Finland	11–3	5–0,1–1,5–2
15 March	Canada – United States	16–2	5–0,6–2,5–0
16 March	Norway – Finland	0–3	0–1,0–0,0–2
16 March	Canada – Switzerland	5–1	0–1,3–0,2–0
16 March	United States – Great Britain	6–6	1–4,2–1,3–1
17 March	Finland – Great Britain	3–6	0–2,3–0,0–4
17 March	Switzerland – United States	5–1	3–0,1–1,1–0
17 March	Canada – Sweden	5–1	1–0,2–0,2–1

Table

Place	Team	Matches	Won	Drawn	Lost	Difference	Points
1	Canada	6	6	0	0	62–6	12
2	Sweden	6	4	1	1	33–14	9
3	Switzerland	6	4	1	1	28–12	9
4	Norway	6	2	0	4	10–27	4
5	Great Britain	6	1	1	4	18–42	3
6	United States	6	1	1	4	14–42	3
7	Finland	6	1	0	5	15–37	2

World Championships Group B (France)

Date	Matches B World Championships 1951	Result	Period.
10 March	France – Italy	1–4	0–1,0–2,1–1
11 March	Netherlands – Italy	1–3	1–0,0–2,0–1
11 March	France – Austria	7–3	1–0,1–0,5–3
11 March	Yugoslavia – Belgium	3–13	0–5,0–3,3–5
12 March	Austria – Belgium	5–3	0–1,3–1,2–1
12 March	Netherlands – Yugoslavia	5–2	0–0,4–1,1–1
13 March	Belgium – Italy	3–6	1–0,0–1,2–5
14 March	France – Yugoslavia	10–3	3–2,3–1,4–0
14 March	Austria – Netherlands	3–4	1–1,1–2,1–1
15 March	Italy – Yugoslavia	6–1	1–0,4–1,1–0
15 March	France – Belgium	10–0	2–0,3–0,5–0
16 March	Belgium – Netherlands	1–2	0–2,1–0,0–0
16 March	Austria – Italy	2–7	1–1,0–3,1–3
17 March	Austria – Yugoslavia	3–4	1–1,1–0,1–3
17 March	France – Netherlands	7–5	1–2,3–1,3–2

Table

Place	Team	Matches	Won	Drawn	Lost	Difference	Points
8	Italy	5	5	0	0	26–8	10
9	France	5	4	0	1	35–15	8
10	Netherlands	5	3	0	2	17–16	6
11	Austria	5	1	0	4	20–25	2
12	Belgium	5	1	0	4	20–30	2
13	Yugoslavia	5	1	0	4	13–37	2

World Championship medals

1951 World Championships	Country
Gold	Canada
Silver	Sweden
Bronze	Switzerland
4	Norway
5	Great Britain
6	United States
7	Finland

European Championship medals

1951 European Championships	Country
Gold	Sweden
Silver	Switzerland
Bronze	Norway
4	Great Britain
5	Finland

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. p. 133.