1985 Ice Hockey World Championships


The 1985 Ice Hockey World Championships took place in Prague, Czechoslovakia from 17 April to 3 May. Eight teams took part, with each team playing each other once. The four best teams then played each other once more with no results carrying over, and the other four teams played each other again to determine ranking and relegation. This was the 50th World Championships, and also the 61st European Championships of ice hockey. The home side, Czechoslovakia, became world champions for the 6th time, and the Soviet Union won their 23rd European title. For the European Championship, only games between European sides in the first round are included.
This was a historic tournament in a few respects. The Soviets were playing without goaltender Tretiak for the first time since 1969. This was Canada's best finish since returning to the Championships in 1977, and after defeating the Soviet Union for the first time in the World Championships since 1961, they played for gold on the last day. Despite Canada's silver medal, the first round saw a professionally stocked Canada lose to the Americans for the first time. Perhaps the most surprising aspect of the tournament was Sweden's poor play. After finishing second in the 1984 Canada Cup expectations were high, but they had their worst finish since 1937, playing in the relegation pool for the first time. It would also be East Germany's final appearance at the top level.
The tournament finished on a sour note when the US and Soviet Union faced off against each other for the bronze medal. Several fights broke out, resulting in suspensions of coaches Viktor Tikhonov and David Peterson, as well as players Irek Gimayev, Vyacheslav Fetisov and Tim Thomas. Additionally referee Kjell Lind was disciplined for failing to keep control of the game.

World Championship Group A (Czechoslovakia)

First Round

Final Round

Consolation Round

East Germany were relegated to Group B.

World Championship Group B (Switzerland)

Played in Fribourg March 21–31. In the final game, the Swiss had to win by more than four to win the tournament. While the margin was attainable, the unpredictable Dutch side shocked the home crowd beating them six to two.
TeamGamesWonDrawnLostPoints differencePoints
9761037 - 1313
10751129 - 1311
11750229 - 2210
12730418 - 246
13730431 - 366
14730436 - 256
15720528 - 384
16700717 - 540

Poland was promoted to Group A, and both Norway and Hungary were relegated to Group C.

World Championship Group C (France)

Played in Megève, Chamonix and Saint-Gervais March 14–23.
TeamGamesWonDrawnLostPoints differencePoints
17761054 - 1313
18760136 - 1312
19751145 - 2211
20740351 - 298
21730416 - 236
22720527 - 454
23710618 - 562
24700709 - 550

France and Yugoslavia were both promoted to Group B. For France this was their first return to this level since they boycotted in protest in 1972

Ranking and statistics

Tournament Awards

The final standings of the tournament according to IIHF:
4
5
6
7
8

European championships final standings

The final standings of the European championships according to IIHF:
4
5
6

Scoring leaders

List shows the top skaters sorted by points, then goals.
Player
Sergei Makarov109514+28F
Jiří Lála108513+96F
Viacheslav Fetisov106713+1915D
Nikolai Drozdetsky105712+174F
Hannu Järvenpää109211+410F
Vladimír Růžička108311+50F
Kent Nilsson86511−16F
Alexei Kasatonov95611+1314D
Mikhail Varnakov106410+170F
Dieter Hegen10551004F
Source:

Leading goaltenders

Only the top five goaltenders, based on save percentage, who have played 50% of their team's minutes are included in this list.
Player
Vladimir Myshkin580131.34.9361
Jiří Králík540171.89.9221
Kari Takko420233.29.8911
Karl Friesen520343.92.8860
John Vanbiesbrouck489465.64.8660
Source:

Citations