1993 Men's Ice Hockey World Championships


The 1993 Men's Ice Hockey World Championships was the 57th such event sanctioned by the International Ice Hockey Federation. Teams representing 32 countries participated in several levels of competition, with an additional six national teams failing to advance from mid-season preliminary qualifying tournaments. The competition also served as qualifications for group placements in the 1994 competition.
The top Championship Group A tournament took place in Germany from 18 April to 2 May 1993, with games played in Munich and Dortmund. 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. Russia beat the reigning world champions Sweden to win the World Championships for the first time since entering competition after the dissolution of the Soviet Union at the end of 1991. The bronze medal was won by the Czech Republic, defeating Canada in their first major tournament as an independent country after their split with Slovakia at the beginning of the calendar year.
While Latvia had last competed in 1939, this year marked the World Championship debut of three national teams. Kazakhstan, Slovenia, and Ukraine, played for the first time, in Group C. Belarus, Croatia, Estonia, and Lithuania all did not make it out of the autumn qualifiers and had to wait at least another year. Also waiting until the following year was Slovakia, who made their World Championship debut in Group C1 in 1994.
Eleven of the twelve openings for the Lillehammer Olympics were established in Group A. Switzerland, by being relegated, was excluded, and the final nation had to qualify in a tournament the next fall. The top two teams from Group B, the Group C champion, the top Asian nation, and Slovakia all were given the opportunity to fill the final vacancy.

World Championship Group A (Germany)

First Round

Group 1

Group 2

Playoff round

Quarterfinals

Consolation Round 9–12 Place

Semifinals

Consolation Round 11–12 Place

Switzerland was relegated to the Group B.

Third Place match

Final

World Championship Group B (Netherlands)

Played in Eindhoven 25 March to 4 April. The British team, just promoted from Group C, won all their games. Their first game was won by either keen strategy, or controversy, depending on how you view it. With the score against tournament favorite Poland tied three all, the British coach, Alex Dampier, asked the referee to measure the opposing goalie's stick. It was found to be illegal, and Great Britain scored the winning goal on the ensuing powerplay.
TeamGamesWonDrawnLostPoints differencePoints
13770050–1314
14760171–1212
15750247–2010
16740338–248
17730434–316
18720520–444
19710612–792
2070079–580

Great Britain was promoted to the Group A while Bulgaria was relegated to the Group C.

World Championship Group C (Slovenia)

Qualifying Round

All qualifiers were played from 6 to 8 November 1992.

Group 1 (Latvia)

Played in Riga. The winner would play in Group C, the other two nations had to play each other the following year for inclusion into Group C2.
TeamGamesWonDrawnLostPoints differencePoints
1220019–54
221019–72
320023–190

Latvia qualified for the Group C.

Group 2 (Belarus)

Played in Minsk. The top two teams moved on to Group C in the spring, last place was included in Group C1 in 1994. Azerbaijan had the option of playing in this group, but did not.
TeamGamesWonDrawnLostPoints differencePoints
121018–62
221016–72
321014–52

Ukraine and Kazakhstan both qualified for Group C.

Group 3 (Croatia/Slovenia)

Played as a home and home series in Zagreb and Ljubljana. The winner would go on to Group C, the loser would have to try to qualify next year for Group C2. Originally Luxembourg was to play in this group but declined.
TeamGamesWonDrawnLostPoints differencePoints
1220022–34
220023–220

Slovenia qualified for the Group C.

Group 4 (Turkey)

Played in Ankara. Originally South Africa was to be in this group as well, but they went directly to the Group C instead.
TeamGamesWonDrawnLostPoints differencePoints
1220022–64
2210112–102
320026–240

Israel qualified for Group C.

First Round

Played from 12–18 March. The first and second place from each group of six advanced to the semifinals, and then finals, with the winner gaining promotion to the Group B. The three other semi-finalists, together with the two third place teams, would remain to form Group C1 in 1994. The remaining six nations would comprise Group C2, effectively being relegated. At the time of this tournament, the expected format for 1994 was different. South Korea beat Spain seven to three to win what was expected to be a battle to remain in the Group C. Instead, Group C was divided into two parts putting them both in the bottom tier.

Group 1

Played in Bled.
TeamGamesWonDrawnLostPoints differencePoints
15410102–109
2541094–89
3530230–266
4520319–744
5510416–602
650058–910

Belgium, South Korea, and Israel were relegated to the Group C2.

Group 2

Played in Ljubljana.
TeamGamesWonDrawnLostPoints differencePoints
1550074–410
2540176–68
3530236–316
4520319–514
5510418–392
650058–1000

Australia, Spain, and South Africa were relegated to the Group C2.

Semifinals

Relegation match

Third Place match

Final

Latvia was promoted to the Group B.

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
Eric Lindros811617+1610F
Andrei Khomutov85712+810F
Shayne Corson83710+146F
Dave Manson83710+1322D
Valeri Karpov8459+60F
Petr Rosol8459+1010F
Paul Kariya8279+100F
Dieter Hegen6628+510F
Mikael Renberg8538+56F
Martin Hosták8448+50F
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
Petr Bříza488101.23.9492
Brian Stankiewicz23982.01.9460
Bill Ranford355111.86.9332
Reto Pavoni298122.42.9210
Markus Ketterer296102.03.9191
Source:

Citations