The 2008 Men's Ice Hockey World Championships was the 72nd such event hosted by the International Ice Hockey Federation. Teams representing 48 countries participated in four levels of competition. The competition also served as qualification for division placements in the 2009 competition. Russia won the Top Division tournament and became the world champions. In the Division I Championship held in April, Austria and Hungary were promoted to the Championship division, while South Korea and Estonia were demoted to Division II. In the Division II competition, Romania and Australia were promoted, Ireland and New Zealand were relegated to Division III. Greece won the Division III qualification in February, and competed in the Division III competition from March to April. In that competition, North Korea and South Africa were promoted to Division II for 2009.
Championship (Top Division)
editSixteen teams comprise Top Division, with the bottom two teams relegating to Division I for the following year.[1]
- Final standings
Division I
editTwelve teams comprise Division I. They are broken into two groups, with the winner of each group gaining promotion to the World Championship pool for the following year.[2][3]
Group A
- Final standings
Austria — promoted to Championship pool for 2009
Kazakhstan
Poland
Great Britain
Netherlands
South Korea — relegated to Division II for 2009
Group B
- Final standings
Division II
editTwelve teams comprise Division II. They are also broken into two groups competing to advance into Division I.[4][5]
Group A
- Final standings
Romania — promoted to Division I for 2010
Belgium
Serbia
Israel
Bulgaria
Ireland — relegated to Division III for 2010
Group B
- Final standings
Division III
editThree teams comprised the Division III Qualification with the winning team advanced to the 2008 Division III main tournament. The main tournament of the Division III is made up of six teams. The top two teams are promoted to Division II for the following year.[6][7]
Qualification tournament
- Final standings
Greece — qualified for the main tournament
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Armenia
Main tournament
- Final standings
North Korea — promoted to Division II for 2009
South Africa — promoted to Division II for 2009
Luxembourg
Turkey- Greece
Mongolia
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ 2008 Top Division statistics, stats.iihf.com
- ^ 2008 Division I Group A statistics, stats.iihf.com
- ^ 2008 Division I Group B statistics, stats.iihf.com
- ^ 2008 Division II Group A statistics, stats.iihf.com
- ^ 2008 Division II Group B statistics, stats.iihf.com
- ^ 2008 Division III qualification tournament statistics, stats.iihf.com
- ^ 2008 Division III main tournament statistics, stats.iihf.com