1963 Ice Hockey World Championships

The 1963 Ice Hockey World Championships was the 30th edition of the Ice Hockey World Championships. The tournament was held in Stockholm, Sweden from March 7 to March 17, 1963. The Soviet Union won the tournament for the third time, starting their roll of nine straight championships.[1] For the Soviets it was also their seventh European title.

1963 Ice Hockey World Championships
Tournament details
Host country Sweden
Dates7–17 March
Teams8
Final positions
Champions  Soviet Union (3rd title)
Runner-up  Sweden
Third place  Czechoslovakia
Fourth place Canada
Tournament statistics
Games played28
Goals scored256 (9.14 per game)
Attendance216,056 (7,716 per game)
Scoring leader(s)Canada Harold Jones (12 points)
← 1962
1964 →

A new tie-breaking method was introduced and was effective for this World Championship only: Any tie on points for a medal place would be decided according to goal differential involving only the top five placed nations. If a tie for a medal place continued among only two teams, the second step was to award the superior medal to the winner of the game played between the two. The purpose of the change was to lessen the incentive for top teams to run up the score on weaker teams. This formula was immediately called upon to decide the medals and greatly magnified the drama on the final day, as the Soviets won the gold by a one-goal margin (+8 to +7), rather than a seven-goal margin (+41 to +34) under the previous system.

Heading into the last day, the Swedes were two points ahead of the Soviets, having defeated them 2-1; Sweden was +8 on the first tiebreaker while the Soviets were +6. The first game of the day was East Germany vs U.S.A., seemingly a game of small significance—but an American win would propel them into fifth place, displacing Finland, and would give Sweden +19 on the first tiebreaker (due to Sweden's 17-2 win over the Americans) while the Soviets would have +10. An American shot hit the East German crossbar with three seconds left in the game, and it ended 3-3. The four-way tie for fifth place was resolved according to goal difference among all teams in the group. Sweden's edge on the first tiebreaker remained +8 to +6.

Next up was Sweden vs. Czechoslovakia. The Swedes needed a single point to clinch the gold, but Czechoslovakia won 3-2 to clinch the bronze. The last game of the tournament between the Soviet Union and Canada would then decide gold and silver, with the loser of the game placing fourth. Sweden's tiebreaker edge over the Soviets was now +7 to +6. The Soviets needed to win by more than one goal to take the gold. A one-goal margin would clinch the gold for Sweden, winners of the head-to-head game. Canada needed a win to take the silver. In the end, everything went the Soviets' way on the final day, as they prevailed 4-2 on Sweden's home ice.[2]

A record twenty-one nations participated, at three levels, with most nations returning to the group where they played in 1961. This meant that the unfortunate Norwegians, despite defeating and placing higher than West Germany in 1962, returned to the 'B' pool. Even in the neutral site of Sweden, there was still a political incident. Unlike in 1961, the two German nations ended up playing their game against each other, with the West winning. Following the game when the winners flag was raised, the East Germans refused to acknowledge it, and were suspended for three months following their final game.[3]

The North American entries were historically poor. The Trail Smoke Eaters, representing Canada, finished out of the medals for the first time. It would be the last time that an Allan Cup champion would be selected to represent Canada. The Americans lost to everyone except the two German teams, finishing last.

World Championship Group A (Sweden)

edit

Final Round

edit
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1   Soviet Union 7 6 0 1 50 9 +41 12
2   Sweden 7 6 0 1 44 10 +34 12
3   Czechoslovakia 7 5 1 1 41 16 +25 11
4   Canada 7 4 1 2 46 23 +23 9
5   Finland 7 1 1 5 20 35 −15 3
6   East Germany 7 1 1 5 16 43 −27 3
7   West Germany 7 1 1 5 18 56 −38 3
8   United States 7 1 1 5 21 64 −43 3
Source: [citation needed]
7 MarchCzechoslovakia  10–1  West Germany
7 MarchFinland  1–6  Soviet Union
7 MarchSweden  5–1  East Germany
8 MarchWest Germany  0–6  Canada
8 MarchFinland  11–3  United States
8 MarchSweden  2–1  Soviet Union
9 MarchCanada  11–5  East Germany
9 MarchCzechoslovakia  10–1  United States
10 MarchWest Germany  3–15  Soviet Union
10 MarchCzechoslovakia  8–3  East Germany
10 MarchSweden  4–0  Finland
11 MarchFinland  4–4  West Germany
11 MarchCanada  10–4  United States
12 MarchSoviet Union  12–0  East Germany
12 MarchCanada  4–4  Czechoslovakia
12 MarchSweden  17–2  United States
13 MarchEast Germany  1–0  Finland
13 MarchSweden  10–2  West Germany
14 MarchWest Germany  4–8  United States
14 MarchCzechoslovakia  1–3  Soviet Union
14 MarchFinland  2–12  Canada
15 MarchSoviet Union  9–0  United States
15 MarchCzechoslovakia  5–2  Finland
15 MarchSweden  4–1  Canada
16 MarchWest Germany  4–3  East Germany
17 MarchUnited States  3–3  East Germany
17 MarchSweden  2–3  Czechoslovakia
17 MarchSoviet Union  4–2  Canada

World Championship Group B (Sweden)

edit

Final Round

edit
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
9   Norway 6 5 0 1 35 15 +20 10
10    Switzerland 6 4 1 1 28 10 +18 9
11   Romania 6 4 1 1 29 17 +12 9
12   Poland 6 4 0 2 52 13 +39 8
13   Yugoslavia 6 2 0 4 23 49 −26 4
14   France 6 1 0 5 14 38 −24 2
15   Great Britain 6 0 0 6 8 47 −39 0
Source: [citation needed]
7 MarchSwitzerland  8–0  Great Britain
7 MarchRomania  4–3  Poland
8 MarchNorway  8–2  France
8 MarchSwitzerland  8–1  Yugoslavia
8 MarchRomania  8–1  Great Britain
9 MarchPoland  6–2  Norway
9 MarchYugoslavia  7–3  France
10 MarchSwitzerland  4–4  Romania
10 MarchPoland  10–0  Great Britain
11 MarchSwitzerland  5–0  France
11 MarchRomania  7–4  Yugoslavia
11 MarchNorway  9–2  Great Britain
12 MarchPoland  10–1  France
12 MarchNorway  7–3  Yugoslavia
13 MarchSwitzerland  2–1  Poland
14 MarchRomania  5–0  France
14 MarchYugoslavia  4–2  Great Britain
14 MarchNorway  4–1   Switzerland
16 MarchPoland  22–4  Yugoslavia
16 MarchFrance  8–3  Great Britain
16 MarchNorway  5–1  Romania

World Championship Group C (Sweden)

edit

Final Round

edit
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
16   Austria 5 5 0 0 62 7 +55 10
17   Hungary 5 4 0 1 57 12 +45 8
18   Denmark 5 3 0 2 22 31 −9 6
19   Bulgaria 5 1 1 3 19 22 −3 3
20   Netherlands 5 1 1 3 21 34 −13 3
21   Belgium 5 0 0 5 8 83 −75 0
Source: [citation needed]
7 MarchHungary  25–1  Belgium
7 MarchAustria  13–2  Denmark
8 MarchBulgaria  3–3  Netherlands
9 MarchAustria  3–1  Hungary
10 MarchBulgaria  7–3  Belgium
10 MarchDenmark  4–1  Netherlands
11 MarchAustria  13–2  Netherlands
12 MarchHungary  10–3  Denmark
12 MarchAustria  30–0  Belgium
13 MarchDenmark  5–4  Bulgaria
13 MarchNetherlands  13–1  Belgium
14 MarchAustria  3–2  Bulgaria
15 MarchHungary  13–2  Netherlands
15 MarchDenmark  8–3  Belgium
16 MarchHungary  8–3  Bulgaria

Ranking and statistics

edit


 1963 IIHF World Championship winners 
 
Soviet Union

Tournament awards

edit

Final standings

edit

The final standings of the tournament according to IIHF:

    Soviet Union
    Sweden
    Czechoslovakia
4   Canada
5   Finland
6   East Germany
7   West Germany
8   United States

European championships final standings

edit

The final standings of the European championships according to IIHF:

    Soviet Union
    Sweden
    Czechoslovakia
4   West Germany
5   East Germany
6   Finland

Citations

edit

References

edit
  • Championnat du monde 1963
  • 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. 138–9.
  • Szemberg, Szymon; Podnieks, Andrew, eds. (2007), World of Hockey: Celebrating a Century of the IIHF, Bolton, Ontario: Fenn Publishing, ISBN 978-1-55168-307-2