Nikita Kucherov (left) and Artemy Panarin are bronze medalists at the 2017 World Hockey Championship. Photo: fhr.ru
Sweden is the world champion, Russia is again in third place
On the night from Sunday to Monday, the next World Hockey Championship ended. The Swedes defeated the Canadians in the final, Russia took the bronze medal. Let's summarize the results of the tournament.
All hope for the "Buffalo generation"
Traditionally, the World Cup is not ranked among the best hockey players in the world. Overseas clubs prefer to take care of the health of their personnel and do not send their main stars to national teams. Our team regularly becomes an exception to the rule: every year during the tournament, players of the caliber of Ovechkin, Malkin and Datsyuk joined the team.
This year, none of the three listed leaders were on the team. Malkin is still fighting for the Stanley Cup, Ovechkin was injured during the playoffs, and Datsyuk, due to his age, is no longer in the same condition. That is why the burden of responsibility at this tournament fell on new stars of Russian hockey, who became famous after the legendary 2011 World Cup finals in Buffalo. Kucherov, Panarin, Namestnikov and Vasilevsky were on the roster before the start of the tournament, Kuznetsov and Orlov joined during the championship.
Dmitry Orlov (left) and Evgeny Kuznetsov joined the Russian team Photo: fhr.ru
The team also included KHL stars: the St. Petersburg troika Dadonov-Shipachev-Gusev, the unyielding Moscow army players Telegin and Andronov, as well as the leader of Magnitogorsk Metallurg and captain of the national team Sergei Mozyakin. It was the latter’s injury before the start of the tournament that probably affected the team’s confidence in the decisive moments of the tournament. But more on that later.
Let's start for health
In the first match of the group stage, the team had to fight with the future champions - the Swedish national team. After a stubborn fight during the main time of the match in the shootout victory was won. This was followed by two defeats in games with Italy and Germany, 180 minutes without missing a goal and a defeat in a principled game with the US team in the final match of the group stage.
Russia – Denmark – 3:0. Russian goalkeeper Andrei Vasilevsky scored a goal Photo: fhr.ru
At the end of the group stage, the team made a mixed impression. On the one hand, the guys took on the outsiders very confidently, and the attack looked especially powerful: 35 goals in 7 games- an impressive figure. On the other hand, the defeat in the match with the Americans deprived the team of leadership in the group, so before the 1/4 finals the team had to move to Paris and the Czech national team as an opponent.
Adventures in Paris
The price for the defeat of the Americans was parting with the already familiar ice of German Cologne and the heat (in every sense) in Paris. There were some adventures: due to a 3-hour train delay and traditional Parisian traffic jams, the team got to training accompanied by police motorcycles and cars.
Unlike our guys, the opponents did not have to get used to the Parisian heat: the Czechs played all their group stage matches at the AccorHotels Arena. However, in the match itself, our team had the advantage. Despite fears of poor defensive performance after a poor performance against the USA, the team played to zero and confidently won with a score of 3:0. Another striking match was played by the star line Panarin-Kuznetsov-Kucherov, earning 5 scoring points between the three of them.
Russia – Czech Republic – 3:0. Evgeny Kuznetsov and Artemy Panarin Photo: Alexander Safonov, “Championship”
In a parallel game, Canada fought with the hosts of the tournament - the German national team. Despite the frivolous attitude towards the World Championship overseas, the resource of the “maple leaves” is so impressive that the Canadians came to the tournament not only as the reigning champions, but also as the main favorite of the tournament. Having passed the group stage without any problems, the young Canadian stars faced serious opposition in the quarter-finals. The Germans were close to a sensation, but in a bitter struggle they still lost to the “founders” of hockey with a score of 2:1. Thus, In the semi-finals, a hockey classic awaited us - Russia versus Canada.
Let's start with health. Version 2.0
In recent years, the Russian team has been experiencing serious problems in matches with the Canadians. A 3:7 defeat at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, 6:1 in Prague in the 2015 World Cup final, a fresh defeat in the World Cup semi-finals in Toronto. However, before the upcoming semi-final the opponents' chances were assessed as equal. Moreover, some Canadian stars had serious concerns about the result before the match. Matt Duchaine, for example, sensationally stated: “If we don’t make the transition from defense to attack, Russia will destroy us.” One way or another, a real battle awaited us.
Toronto. World Cup 2016. Canada – Russia – 5:3 Photo: REUTERS/John E. Sokolowski
In the first period, the teams looked more closely at each other, but visually The Russians were more likely to have the advantage. The show began in the second third of the match. It must be said that during the first half of the game the Russians played very disciplined, never retired (unlike their opponents) and in the end achieved an advantage. In the middle of the second period, our strongest line Panarin-Kuznetsov-Kucherov played a brilliant combination in the best traditions of domestic hockey, Kuznetsov scored again against the Canadians – 0:1.
A few minutes later, the Canadians once again received an unnecessary removal and were immediately punished. Again a spectacular combination performed by our hockey players, and Nikita Gusev increases the lead – 0:2. It must be said that Russia played the second period almost perfectly; unfortunately, they failed to increase the score, although the opponent floated.
At the end of the period, our hockey players earned dubious deletion. Thus, the guys entered the third period in the minority. What happened next is history. And the story is sad. The Canadians realized the majority with lightning speed. 1:2. Then, during the final 5 minutes, they scored 3 more goals. 4:2, an incredible comeback by our eternal rivals. For the second year in a row, Russia is one step away from the finals.
Semi-final of the 2017 World Cup. Canada - Russia - 4:2 Photo: © Getty Images
And again bronze
After a disappointing defeat in the semi-finals, a barrage of criticism fell on the national team's hockey players. However, there was no time to relax, because already the next day they had to fight with the Finns in the fight for bronze.
Despite the abundance of injuries after a difficult battle with the Canadians and an unimportant psychological state, the team tuned up and started the game again. The Russians spent the first half of the meeting with a huge advantage – 4:0 on the scoreboard. However, 27 seconds before the end of the second period, the Finns pulled one goal back, after which the “validol” began again.
During the third period, the Finnish team scored two more goals, and our team became very afraid - another “comeback” would be very difficult to endure. That is why Kucherov's puck, which put an end to the confrontation, was abandoned just in time. 5:3, the Russian team won bronze at the World Hockey Championship for the second year in a row.
Nikita Kucherov scores the fifth goal against Finland Photo: REUTERS true_kpru
In the last, main match of the tournament The teams of Canada and Sweden fought for the world title. The entire match was extremely sticky, with a lot of fighting and a minimum of effective actions. Both goals were scored in the power play: first, at the end of the second period, Swedish defender Victor Hadman opened the scoring. Already in the third period, the Canadians realized the majority - Ryan O'Reilly scored.
After a hard fight in overtime the fate of the title was decided in a shootout. 3 saves from the legendary Henrik Lundqvist bring Tre Kunur victory in the final – The Swedish national team becomes the 2017 world hockey champion.
The Swedish national team is the 2017 World Hockey Champion Photo: Alexander Safonov, “Championship”
On Sunday, May 21, 2017, the World Hockey Championships ended in Germany and France. The teams of Sweden and Canada met in the final match for the world championship title.
The match turned out to be tense and low-scoring. The Swedes opened the scoring at the end of the second period. Tampa Bay defenseman Victor Hedman scored the accurate shot. The Canadians' response came quite quickly. At the very beginning of the third period, Ryan O'Reilly returned the score with a pass from Mitchell Marner. The rest of the period and the 20-minute overtime passed without any goals scored.
Everything was decided in the post-match shootout, where the Swedes were quicker. The winning shootout was scored by the Swedish forward of the Washington Capitals, Niklas Bäckström. Sweden wins gold medals at the World Hockey Championship for the tenth time in its history!
Final standings of the 2017 Ice Hockey World Cup teams
So, based on the results of the playoff matches of the World Hockey Championship, the teams were distributed in the final table of ranks as follows:
- Sweden
- Canada
- Russia
- Finland
- Switzerland
- Czech
- Germany
- France
- Latvia
- Norway
- Denmark
- Belarus
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Italy
The national teams of Slovenia and Italy were relegated from the elite division. Their place in the elite of world hockey for 2018 will be taken by the teams of South Korea and Austria.
Best players of the tournament
Top scorer - Artemy Panarin (Russia) 17 points.
Most Valuable Player (MVP) - William Nylander (Sweden)
Best Defender - Dennis Seidenberg (Germany)
Best goalkeeper - Andrey Vasilevsky (Russia)
The 81st Ice Hockey World Championship 2017 will take place in Germany and France. The tournament starts on May 5 and ends on the 21st with the final in Cologne. This tournament will be the third to be held simultaneously in two countries. The world championship games will take place in Paris and Cologne. We will tell you in more detail which arenas and where the 2017 World Hockey Championship will be held.
Why in two countries
Initially, France and Germany submitted a separate bid to host the 2017 Hockey World Championship. However, in 2012 it was decided to join forces and hold a common tournament. This joint application from France and Germany was able to outstrip the double application from Latvia and Denmark with a clear advantage. The advantage of Germany and France was the existing infrastructure, while in Latvia and Denmark it was necessary to urgently reconstruct the ice arenas.
Germany has already hosted the world hockey championships seven times. The last time Germany became the host of the championship was in 2010. France has hosted major tournaments four times, but the last time the championship was held was in 1968. All games are scheduled to be held in Cologne at the Lanxess Arena and in Paris at the AccorHotels Arena. The capacity of these modern hockey stadiums is 18.5 and 17 thousand respectively. Initially, it was planned to hold the games in the Parisian Bercy Arena, which has a capacity of 15 thousand spectators. However, it was subsequently decided to move the games to the AccorHotels Arena.
The organizers note that more than half of the tickets have already been sold, so there are guaranteed to be no problems with filling the stands. Taking into account the capacity of the ice arenas, it can be argued that the 2017 championship will be a record for the number of fans attending the championship games. According to the organizers of the tournament, holding it in France will significantly increase interest in hockey in this country.
Championship regulations
In accordance with the tournament regulations, 16 teams will take part in it, which will be divided into 2 groups. Games will be played in a round-robin manner, after which the first four teams will advance to the playoffs. The distribution of teams in the playoffs is standard - the winner of group A plays with the fourth team of group B. The teams that take the last eighth place in their groups are directly relegated to the first division. Let us only note that the championship is scheduled to be held in Denmark in 2018, so if the national team of this country takes last place in the group, then the team from 7th place in this group will be relegated to the lower division.
In Cologne, in accordance with the approved schedule of the 2017 Ice Hockey World Championship, 34 games will take place. The city will host Group A matches, two quarter-finals and semi-finals, as well as the final and third place game. Paris will host 30 games, including two quarter-finals. The organizers promise to stagger the start of the games in two cities, which will significantly increase the television audience of the championship. Distribution into groups is carried out taking into account the current IIHF ranking.
In 2016, the championship was held in Russia in St. Petersburg and Moscow. Canada confidently won the world championship, beating Finland in the final match. Third place went to the Russian team, which beat the USA in the consolation final. At the 2017 championship, the main contenders for the title will also be Canadians and the Finnish team. The strongest teams can be fielded by the Czechs, Slovaks, Russians and Americans.
Games calendar
Playoffs
| 1/4 finals | 18.05.2017, 17:15 | USA – Finland | 0:2 |
| 1/4 finals | 18.05.2017, 17:15 | Russia – Czech Republic | 3:0 |
| 1/4 finals | 18.05.2017, 21:15 | Canada – Germany | 2:1 |
| 1/4 finals | 18.05.2017, 21:15 | Switzerland – Sweden | 1:3 |
| 1/2 finals | 20.05.2017, 16:15 | Canada – Russia | 4:2 |
| 1/2 finals | 20.05.2017, 20:15 | Sweden – Finland | 4:1 |
| For 3rd place | 21.05.2017, 17:15 | Russia – Finland | 5:3 |
| The final | 21.05.2017, 21:45 | Canada – Sweden | 1:2 |
Who is entrusted to host the 2017 world hockey championship? By decision of the International Hockey Federation, the 81st championship was held in two countries. The right to host the World Hockey Championship went to Germany and France. The cities in which the championship will be held are the “metropolis on the Rhine” Cologne and the heart of France – Paris. The championship will start on May 5. The final match will be played on May 21.
Arenas
Hockey matches in Cologne will be hosted by the largest indoor hockey court in Europe, the Lankess Arena. 18 and a half thousand fans can watch the games within the walls of the arena.
Lanxess Arena Paris sports officials prepared their famous arena for the World Cup - the Bercy Sports Palace (current name Accor Hotels Arena), which can accommodate 14 and a half thousand spectators. Various world-scale sporting competitions have been held within its walls more than once, but it will host the world hockey forum for the first time. By the way, France held the last hockey world championship back in 1968.
Tournament table, schedule
According to the plans of the tournament organizers, hockey players will play 34 matches in Cologne. It is planned to host matches of the preliminary stage of Group A teams, two quarter-final and two semi-final matches, a bronze medal match and the culmination of the championship – the gold medal match.
At the Paris Bercy Ice Arena, spectators will see 30 matches. Group stage matches in Group B will be held there, as well as 2 quarter-final matches.
At the moment, the schedule of matches for the 2017 World Hockey Championship has not yet been approved. But as the International Hockey Federation assures, the schedule of games will be announced at the end of summer 2016 and published on the official website of the world hockey championship: www.iihfworlds2017.com.
Group composition
The Russian team had the chance to play in Group A, where it will have to measure its strength with rivals from the USA, Sweden, Germany, Slovakia, Latvia, Denmark and Italy.
In Group B, together with the 2016 world champions, the Canadians, the ice squads of the Czech Republic, Finland, Belarus, Switzerland, Norway and France will play.
The teams of Germany and France have reserved their places in the tournament bracket of the 2017 World Hockey Championship as host countries of the tournament. Hockey players from the national teams of Italy and Slovenia earned the right to participate in the championship based on the results of meetings in the first division of the 2016 World Cup, where they took the first two places. 
Official symbols
Asterix and Obelix were chosen as the official mascots of the 2017 Ice Hockey World Cup. These two heroes of the famous French comic book are very popular not only in France, where the 2017 World Hockey Championship will be held, but also in the world, so their choice as official mascots was not in doubt among representatives of the other organizing country, Germany. For both fans and participating teams, Obelix and Asterix will be role models with their motto “Nothing is impossible.”
Order of conduct. Regulations
The regulations for holding meetings have not changed compared to the previous championship. As before, after the preliminary stage games, the 4 best teams from each group advance to the playoffs. Teams that finish last in their groups lose their rankings and are relegated to the first division the following year.
Teams that win the quarterfinal matches advance to the semifinals. Meetings in the ½ finals are held between the teams that won the ¼ final games, where the group winners played, and the teams that won the ¼ final games, where the teams that won second place in the group played.
The losing teams in the semi-finals compete for bronze medals. The winners advance to the finals, where the champion is determined.
Favorites
- Team Canada. Ask anyone who is the best hockey player, and the answer you'll most often hear is Canada. This is natural. The founders of hockey always show spectacular, fast, technical play. The Canadian team at any World Cup always has a lot of high-quality players. Even with his names, he evokes awe and respect from his opponent. But lately there have been teams at the World Championships that are able to play with the Canadians on equal terms, and sometimes even give them a fight.
- Team Sweden. Thanks to its discipline and strict adherence to the tactics proposed by the coach, the Tre Krunur team often achieves success at world tournaments. Excellent physical preparation and the ability to hold the defense, coupled with a sharp game on counterattacks - these are the components of the Swedish victories.
- Team Finland. The impulsive play of the “hot Finnish guys” can melt the ice in any arena. The class of players on the Finnish national team is in no way inferior to the Canadians. Their game is replete with spectacular power moves, plays at high speeds, and the skill of their scorers often upsets the best goalkeepers in the world.
- Russian team. Despite all the criticism that fell on the national team players after the relatively “unsuccessful” home World Cup, fans believe in the revival of the great “Red Machine”. Yes, this car sometimes slows down and skids, but still the team’s performance can become the best. It consists of many experienced craftsmen and talented young people. More teamwork and victories will come!
Fans are waiting
Do you miss hot ice battles? Big hockey is just around the corner! Follow the schedule of matches, wait for broadcasts from Germany and France, where the 2017 World Hockey Championship will be held, support your favorite team, fill your life with bright emotions!
From May 5 to May 21, 2017 the 81stice hockey world championship
. the site will present the most complete information about the tournament: news, analytics, forecasts, calendars and tables, online broadcasts.For the third time, the World Hockey Championship will be hosted by two countries at once. This time it is France (Paris) and Germany (Cologne), and they won this right from another European duo - Latvia (Riga) and Denmark (Copenhagen).
In total, Germany hosted the world hockey championships 7 times, France - only four, and the capital - Paris - actually watched the strongest teams live for the last time 65 years ago.
Emblem 2017 World Hockey Championship presented in the form of a silhouette of a hockey player. But this is not an abstract player, but the former German national team goalkeeper Robert Müller, who died of cancer at the age of 28.
As before, the tournament will be held according to the scheme where 16 participants are divided into two groups of 8 teams. Each team plays each other, and the first 4 teams advance to the playoffs.
The Russian team is in Group A and will play in Cologne. Among the main competitors in the first stage are the USA, Slovakia and Sweden.
In the previous World Hockey Championship, which took place in Moscow and St. Petersburg, the Russian team took third place, losing to Finland in the semifinals. Gold went to Canada, which defeated the Finns in the main match 2:0.
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