The 1977

Ice Hockey World Championships The Ice Hockey World Championships are an annual international men's ice hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). First officially held at the 1920 Summer Olympics, it is the sport's highest profile annual ...

took place in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

from 21 April to 8 May. Eight teams took part, first playing each other once, then the four best teams advancing to a new round. The tournament was also the 55th

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

European Championship.

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

won for the fifth time, and second in a row, claiming their 14th and final European title as well.

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

returned after an eight-year absence with a team comprised completely of NHL players from teams that had missed the Stanley Cup playoffs. While being competitive in most games, many people were reportedly upset by the Canadians' conduct on the ice and after the games. The team refused to listen to the opposing teams' national anthems when they lost, and the coach, Johnny Wilson, explained their multiple misconduct penalties by saying, "We just couldn't compete with the Soviets, and ... it is natural to try to get revenge.". The tournament itself was very close for the medals, with a spectacular last day. Canada, with a chance still to get a bronze, set a record by defeating the eventual champions eight to two. Never before had a first place team lost a game that badly.Duplacey page 506 But the Swedes, by beating the Soviets for a second time, saved the Czechoslovaks, and at the same time pushed themselves into second and Canada into fourth.

World Championship Group A (Austria)

First round

Final Round 1–4 place

Consolation Round 5–8 place

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

was relegated to Group B.''

World Championship Group B (Japan)

Played in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

10–21 March. Played with nine countries because Group A had relegated two nations the previous year to make room for Canada. ''

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

was promoted to Group A, both the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and

were relegated to Group C.''

World Championship Group C (Denmark)

Played in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

and

Hørsholm Hørsholm () is an urban area on the Øresund coast approximately north of Copenhagen, Denmark. It covers most of Hørsholm Municipality and straddles the borders neighbouring Fredensborg Municipality and Rudersdal Municipality. Hørsholm prop ...

, 12–20 March. The hosts did not lose a game, outscored their opponents by forty-six, but it was not enough to win. Only one team was promoted this year so that Group B could return to having eight clubs, and their tie on the last day against

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

left them in second place.

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

made its debut in the World Championships, not having competed since the European Championships of

1926 Events January * January 3 – Theodoros Pangalos declares himself dictator in Greece. * January 8 **Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud is crowned King of Hejaz. ** Crown Prince Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thuy ascends the throne, the last monarch of Viet ...

. ''

was promoted to Group B.''

Ranking and statistics

Tournament Awards

*Best players selected by the directorate: **Best

Goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as the goalie) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays in or near t ...

Göran Högosta Alf Göran Högosta (born April 15, 1954 in Äppelbo, Sweden) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey goaltender. Högosta played one game for the New York Islanders in 1977-78 and in 21 games with the Quebec Nordiques in 1979-80. In Swed ...

**Best

Defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the latter a reference to ...

Valeri Vasiliev Valeri Ivanovich Vasiliev (russian: Валерий Иванович Васильев; August 3, 1949 – April 19, 2012) was a Soviet and Russian ice hockey defenceman, who competed for the USSR. An eight-time Soviet all-star, Vasiliev was capt ...

**Best Forward:

Helmut Balderis Helmuts Balderis-Sildedzis (born 31 July 1952) is a Soviet former ice hockey player. He played right wing, participated in the Soviet team's losing effort in the Miracle on Ice, and played part of a single season in the NHL after being drafted ...

*Media All-Star Team: **Goaltender: Göran Högosta **Defence: František Pospíšil, Valeri Vasiliev **Forwards: Helmut Balderis, Vladimír Martinec, Vladimir Petrov (ice hockey), Vladimir Petrov

Final standings

The final standings of the tournament according to IIHF:

European championships final standings

The final standings of the Ice Hockey European Championships, European championships according to IIHF:

Citations

References

Complete results
* * {{IIHF Ice Hockey European Championships IIHF Men's World Ice Hockey Championships 1977 in ice hockey, World Championships 1976–77 in Austrian ice hockey, World Championships International ice hockey competitions hosted by Austria, 1977 April 1977 sports events in Europe, Ice Hockey World Championships Sports competitions in Vienna 1970s in Vienna March 1977 sports events in Europe, Ice Hockey World Championships March 1977 sports events in Asia, Ice Hockey World Championships International ice hockey competitions hosted by Japan Sports competitions in Tokyo 1977 in Tokyo, Ice Hockey World Championships International ice hockey competitions hosted by Denmark Hørsholm Municipality International sports competitions in Copenhagen 1970s in Copenhagen 1976–77 in Japanese ice hockey, World Championships 1976–77 in Danish ice hockey, World Championships