1994 Men's Ice Hockey World Championships


The 1994 Men's Ice Hockey World Championships was the 58th such event sanctioned by the International Ice Hockey Federation. Teams representing 35 countries participated in several levels of competition, with an additional two national teams failing to advance from a mid-season preliminary qualifying tournament. The competition also served as qualifications for group placements in the 1995 competition.
The top Championship Group A tournament took place in Italy from 25 April to 8 May 1994, with games played in Bolzano, Canazei and Milan. Twelve teams took part, with the first round being split into two groups of six, with the four best teams from each group advancing to the quarter finals. Canada beat Finland in a shootout to capture gold for the first time since 1961. This was Canada's 20th world title in ice hockey.
Great Britain returned to Group A for the first time since 1962, but failed to even earn a point. Slovakia, Belarus, Croatia, and Estonia all debuted in Group C, the Slovaks winning the top group, the Estonians winning the bottom group that would be called Group D in two years.

World Championship Group A (Italy)

First Round

Group 1

Group 2

Quarterfinals

Consolation Round 11–12 Place

Semifinals

Match for third place

Final

World Championship Group B (Denmark)

Played in Copenhagen and Aalborg 7–17 April. As in Group C1, a two to one score on the final day sealed victory over a former Soviet nation. This time Switzerland narrowly defeated Latvia.
TeamGamesWonDrawnLostPoints differencePoints
13761052 - 0913
14760161 - 0912
15751145 - 2111
16731337 - 387
17730431 - 276
18721423 - 335
19710618 - 432
20700711 - 980

Switzerland was promoted to Group A while China was relegated to Group C1.

World Championship Group C1 (Slovakia)

Played in Poprad and Spišská Nová Ves 18–27 March. The hosts, shortly after losing in the quarterfinals of the Olympics, were expected to have a relatively easy time playing in Group C. However, all three former Soviet republics gave them very tough games, and prevailing by a single goal in the final game sealed their victory. North Korea was supposed to be the eighth team in this tournament, but did not participate.
TeamGamesWonDrawnLostPoints differencePoints
21642043 - 0310
22650135 - 1110
23632149 - 078
24632152 - 128
25620426 - 274
26610514 - 472
27600603 - 1150

Slovakia was promoted to Group B while absent North Korea was relegated to Group C2

World Championship Group C2 (Spain)

Qualifying Round

Played in November 1993. Two groups played to qualify for the final two spots in Spain.

Group 1 (Estonia/Lithuania)

Group 2 (Croatia)

Played in Zagreb
TeamGamesWonDrawnLostPoints differencePoints
1220058 - 014
2200201 - 580

Croatia and Estonia qualified for Group C2.

First Round

Played in Barcelona

Group 1

Group 2

Final Round 28–31 Place

Estonia was promoted to Group C1

Consolation Round 32–35 Place

Ranking and statistics

Tournament Awards

The final standings of the tournament according to IIHF:
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12

Scoring leaders

List shows the top skaters sorted by points, then goals.
Player
Mats Sundin85914+134F
Paul Kariya85712+122F
Saku Koivu85611+144F
Valeri Kamensky65510+1212F
Jari Kurri84610+112F
Magnus Svensson8819+98D
Mikko Mäkelä8549+136F
Igor Fedulov6459+116F
Andrei Kovalenko6358+102F
Jere Lehtinen6358+144F
Jonas Bergqvist8358+84F
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
Mikhail Shtalenkov29651.01.9622
Bill Ranford37071.14.9561
Jarmo Myllys41091.32.9422
Michael Puschacher27191.99.9260
Guy Hebert300183.60.9070
Source:

Citations