2022 IIHF World Championship

Main article: 2022 Men's Ice Hockey World Championships

2022 IIHF World Championship

Tournament details
Host country	Finland
Venue(s)	2 (in 2 host cities)
Dates	13–29 May
Opened by	Sauli Niinistö
Teams	16
Final positions
Champions	Finland (4th title)
Runner-up	Canada
Third place	Czechia
Fourth place	United States
Tournament statistics
Games played	64
Goals scored	375 (5.86 per game)
Attendance	356,955 (5,577 per game)
Scoring leader(s)	Roman Červenka (17 points)
MVP	Juho Olkinuora
←  2021 2023  →

The 2022 IIHF World Championship was hosted by Finland from 13 to 29 May 2022, as the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) announced on 19 May 2017 in Cologne, Germany. ^[1] The host cities of the World Championships were Tampere and Helsinki, of which Tampere's brand-new Nokia Arena served as the main venue of the games. ^[2]

Since all lower divisions of the 2021 Men's Ice Hockey World Championships were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ^[3] all 16 teams from the previous year's top division were set to return this year. ^[4] However, in the midst of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russia and Belarus were suspended from competing in all IIHF tournaments for at least a year. ^[5] This marked the first time that Russia missed the top division of the World Championship since the dissolution of the Soviet Union. For this tournament, the suspended nations were replaced by Austria and France, the two highest-ranked teams in 2021 that had not already qualified. ^[6] Additionally, the venue in Helsinki was moved from Helsinki Halli, previously known as Hartwall Arena, to Helsinki Ice Hall due to the former being owned by Russian oligarchs. ^[7]

Finland defeated Canada 4–3 in overtime in the gold medal game for their fourth title and their first medal ever won on home ice. ^[8] This marked the first time since the introduction of the playoff round in 1992 that the same two teams met in the gold medal game three tournaments in a row. ^[9] Czechia won the bronze medal, their first medal since 2012, after an 8–4 win over the United States. ^[10]

The tournament saw multiple historic upsets: Austria's first victory against Czechia, and Denmark's first victory against Canada. ^{[11] [12]} In addition, it suffered from the lowest attendance in two decades, excluding the 2021 tournament played without audience; some attribute this to the absence of Russia. ^[13]

Venues

Tampere	Helsinki Tampere	Helsinki
Nokia Arena [2]		Helsinki Ice Hall [7]
Capacity: 13,455 [14]		Capacity: 8,200

Participants

Controversial flagpoles of the teams at the 2022 IIHF World Championship in Tampere, Nokia Arena.

Qualified as host

•   Finland

Automatic qualifiers after the cancellation of the 2021 IIHF lower division championships

•   Belarus (expelled)^{2 [5]}
•   Canada
•   Czechia
•   Denmark
•   Germany
•   Great Britain
•   Italy
•   Kazakhstan
•   Latvia
•   Norway
•   ROC ¹ (expelled)^{2 [5]}
•   Slovakia
•   Sweden
•    Switzerland
•   United States

Qualifiers after Russia and Belarus were expelled

•   Austria ³
•   France ³

¹ Pursuant to a December 2020 ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on doping sanctions, Russian athletes and teams were prohibited from competing under the Russian flag or using the Russian national anthem at any Olympic Games or world championships through 16 December 2022, and could only compete as "neutral athlete[s]." ^[15] For IIHF tournaments, the Russian team was to play under the name "ROC". ^[16] Instead of the Russian national anthem being played at the 2021 World Championship, Piano Concerto No.1 by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was to be played. ^[17]
2 However, on 28 February 2022, the IIHF decided to expel ROC and Belarus from the tournament due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. ^[5]
3 Austria and France replaced Russia and Belarus. ^[18]

Seeding

The seedings in the preliminary round are based on the 2021 IIHF World Ranking, as of the end of the 2021 IIHF World Championship, using the serpentine system while allowing the organizer, "to allocate a maximum of two teams to separate groups". ^{[19] [20]}

Group A (Helsinki)   Canada (1)   ROC (3)   Germany (5)    Switzerland (8)   Slovakia (9)   Denmark (12)   Kazakhstan (13)   Italy (17)   France (replaces ROC) (15)

Group B (Tampere)   Finland (2)   United States (4)   Czechia (6)   Sweden (7)   Latvia (10)   Norway (11)   Belarus (14)   Great Britain (16)   Austria (replaces Belarus) (18)

Rosters

Main article: 2022 IIHF World Championship rosters

Each team's roster consisted of at least 15 skaters (forwards, and defencemen) and 2 goaltenders, and at most 22 skaters and 3 goaltenders. All 16 participating nations, through the confirmation of their respective national associations, had to submit a "Long List" no later than two weeks before the tournament, and a final roster by the Passport Control meeting prior to the start of the tournament.

Match officials

Tampere light rail advertising the 2022 World Championships

Miracleo, the official mascot

16 referees and linesmen were announced on 12 May 2022. ^[21]

Referees	Linesmen
Jeff Ingram Fraser Lawrence Robin Šír Mads Frandsen Lassi Heikkinen Kristian Vikman Pierre Dehaen Marian Rohatsch Andris Ansons Roy Stian Hansen Peter Stano Mikael Nord Linus Öhlund Miroslav Stolc Sean MacFarlane Jake Rekucki	Elias Seewald Maxime Chaput Nathan van Oosten Josef Špůr Andreas Krøyer Tommi Niittylä Hannu Sormunen Nicolas Constantineau Jonas Merten Daniel Beresford Dāvis Zunde Šimon Synek Emil Yletyinen David Obwegeser Nick Briganti Jake Davis

Preliminary round

The groups were announced on 7 June 2021, ^[22] with the schedule being revealed on 18 August 2021. ^[23]

Group A

Main article: 2022 IIHF World Championship Group A

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	OTW	OTL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Switzerland	7	6	1	0	0	34	15	+19	20	Quarterfinals
2	Germany	7	5	0	1	1	26	20	+6	16
3	Canada	7	5	0	0	2	34	18	+16	15
4	Slovakia	7	4	0	0	3	23	19	+4	12 [lower-alpha 1]
5	Denmark	7	4	0	0	3	18	18	0	12 [lower-alpha 1]
6	France	7	1	1	0	5	11	24	−13	5
7	Kazakhstan	7	1	0	0	6	19	31	−12	3
8	Italy (R)	7	0	0	1	6	12	32	−20	1	Relegation to 2023 Division I A

Source: IIHF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) result against closest best-ranked team outside tied teams; 6) result against second-best ranked team outside tied teams; 7) seeding before tournament.
(R) Relegated
Notes:

1. Slovakia 7–1 Denmark

13 May 2022
France		2–4		Slovakia
Germany		3–5		Canada
14 May 2022
Denmark		9–1		Kazakhstan
Switzerland		5–2		Italy
Slovakia		1–2		Germany
15 May 2022
Italy		1–6		Canada
France		2–1		Kazakhstan
Denmark		0–6		Switzerland
16 May 2022
Slovakia		1–5		Canada
France		2–3		Germany
17 May 2022
Italy		1–2		Denmark
Switzerland		3–2		Kazakhstan
18 May 2022
France		2–1 (OT)		Italy
Switzerland		5–3		Slovakia
19 May 2022
Germany		1–0		Denmark
Canada		6–3		Kazakhstan
20 May 2022
Germany		9–4		Italy
Kazakhstan		3–4		Slovakia
21 May 2022
Denmark		3–0		France
Canada		3–6		Switzerland
Italy		1–3		Slovakia
22 May 2022
Kazakhstan		4–5		Germany
Switzerland		5–2		France
23 May 2022
Kazakhstan		5–2		Italy
Canada		2–3		Denmark
24 May 2022
Germany		3–4 (GWS)		Switzerland
Slovakia		7–1		Denmark
Canada		7–1		France

Group B

Austria against Norway

Main article: 2022 IIHF World Championship Group B

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	OTW	OTL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Finland (H)	7	6	0	1	0	25	5	+20	19	Quarterfinals
2	Sweden	7	5	1	1	0	27	10	+17	18
3	Czechia	7	4	0	1	2	19	13	+6	13 [lower-alpha 1]
4	United States	7	3	2	0	2	18	12	+6	13 [lower-alpha 1]
5	Latvia	7	2	1	0	4	14	20	−6	8
6	Austria	7	1	1	2	3	16	22	−6	7
7	Norway	7	1	1	0	5	15	29	−14	5
8	Great Britain (R)	7	0	0	1	6	10	33	−23	1	Relegation to 2023 Division I A

Source: IIHF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) result against closest best-ranked team outside tied teams; 6) result against second-best ranked team outside tied teams; 7) seeding before tournament.
(H) Host; (R) Relegated
Notes:

1. United States 0–1 Czechia

13 May 2022
United States		4–1		Latvia
Finland		5–0		Norway
14 May 2022
Sweden		3–1		Austria
Czechia		5–1		Great Britain
Latvia		1–2		Finland
15 May 2022
Norway		4–3 (GWS)		Great Britain
Austria		2–3 (OT)		United States
Czechia		3–5		Sweden
16 May 2022
Latvia		3–2		Norway
Finland		4–1		United States
17 May 2022
Czechia		1–2 (GWS)		Austria
Sweden		6–0		Great Britain
18 May 2022
Norway		5–3		Austria
Finland		2–3 (GWS)		Sweden
19 May 2022
Great Britain		0–3		United States
Czechia		5–1		Latvia
20 May 2022
Great Britain		0–6		Finland
Latvia		4–3 (GWS)		Austria
21 May 2022
United States		3–2 (OT)		Sweden
Austria		0–3		Finland
Norway		1–4		Czechia
22 May 2022
Great Britain		3–4		Latvia
Sweden		7–1		Norway
23 May 2022
United States		0–1		Czechia
Austria		5–3		Great Britain
24 May 2022
Sweden		1–0		Latvia
United States		4–2		Norway
Finland		3–0		Czechia

Playoff round

Main article: 2022 IIHF World Championship playoff round

	Quarter-finals				Semi-finals				Final
	26 May
	1A    Switzerland	0
					28 May
	4B   United States	3
					2   Finland	4
	26 May
					7   United States	3
	1B   Finland	4
									29 May
	4A   Slovakia	2
									2   Finland (OT)	4
	26 May
									5   Canada	3
	2A   Germany	1
					28 May
	3B   Czechia	4
					5   Canada	6
	26 May
					6   Czechia	1			Third place
	2B   Sweden	3
									29 May
	3A   Canada (OT)	4
									6   Czechia	8
									7   United States	4

Final standings

Gold celebrations in Kaartinkaupunki, Helsinki

Pohjoisesplanadi street during the gold celebrations

Official Fan Zone in Tampere

Pos	Grp	Team	Pld	W	OTW	OTL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Final result
1	B	Finland (H)	10	8	1	1	0	37	13	+24	27	Champions
2	A	Canada	10	6	1	1	2	47	26	+21	21	Runners-up
3	B	Czechia	10	6	0	1	3	32	24	+8	19	Third place
4	B	United States	10	4	2	0	4	28	24	+4	16	Fourth place
5	A	Switzerland	8	6	1	0	1	34	18	+16	20	Eliminated in Quarter-finals
6	B	Sweden	8	5	1	2	0	30	14	+16	19
7	A	Germany	8	5	0	1	2	27	24	+3	16
8	A	Slovakia	8	4	0	0	4	25	23	+2	12
9	A	Denmark	7	4	0	0	3	18	18	0	12	Eliminated in Group stage
10	B	Latvia	7	2	1	0	4	14	20	−6	8
11	B	Austria	7	1	1	2	3	16	22	−6	7
12	A	France	7	1	1	0	5	11	24	−13	5
13	B	Norway	7	1	1	0	5	15	29	−14	5
14	A	Kazakhstan	7	1	0	0	6	19	31	−12	3
15	A	Italy	7	0	0	1	6	12	32	−20	1	2023 IIHF World Championship Division I
16	B	Great Britain	7	0	0	1	6	10	33	−23	1

Source: IIHF
Rules for classification: 1) position in the group; 2) number of points; 3) goal difference; 4) goals scored; 5) seeding before tournament. ^[24]
(H) Host

Statistics

Nokia Arena's commentator seats

Scoring leaders

List shows the top skaters sorted by points, then goals.

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	+/−	PIM	POS
Roman Červenka	10	5	12	17	+4	10	F
Drake Batherson	10	3	11	14	+8	6	F
Dylan Cozens	10	7	6	13	+12	2	F
Pierre-Luc Dubois	10	7	6	13	+11	12	F
Denis Malgin	8	5	7	12	+5	4	F
David Krejčí	10	3	9	12	+6	4	F
Mikko Lehtonen	10	2	10	12	+7	2	D
Mikael Granlund	9	5	6	11	+2	2	F
David Pastrňák	7	7	3	10	+3	2	F
Sakari Manninen	10	6	4	10	+2	2	F

GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/− = Plus/Minus; PIM = Penalties in Minutes; POS = Position
Source: IIHF.com

Goaltending leaders

Only the top five goaltenders, based on save percentage, who have played at least 40% of their team's minutes, are included in this list.

Player	TOI	GA	GAA	SA	Sv%	SO
Artūrs Šilovs	196:21	4	1.22	84	95.24	0
Juho Olkinuora	486:42	9	1.11	174	94.83	4
Magnus Hellberg	245:00	6	1.47	88	93.18	1
Henri-Corentin Buysse	237:58	7	1.76	102	93.14	0
Chris Driedger	341:48	10	1.76	117	91.45	0

TOI = time on ice (minutes:seconds); SA = shots against; GA = goals against; GAA = goals against average; Sv% = save percentage; SO = shutouts
Source: IIHF.com

Awards

The awards were announced on 29 May 2022. ^[25]

Individual awards

Position	Player
Goaltender	Juho Olkinuora
Defenceman	Mikko Lehtonen
Forward	Roman Červenka

Media All Stars

Position	Player
Goaltender	Juho Olkinuora
Defenceman	Mikko Lehtonen
Defenceman	Seth Jones
Forward	Roman Červenka
Forward	Pierre-Luc Dubois
Forward	Sakari Manninen
MVP	Juho Olkinuora

References

1. "To Minsk & Riga in 2021!". iihfworlds2017.com. 15 May 2015. Archived from the original on 19 May 2017. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
2. "Finnish Tampere Deck Arena is now Nokia Arena". Nokia Oyj (Press release). GlobeNewswire. 19 November 2021. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
3. "IIHF – IIHF Council announces more cancellations". International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
4. "Groups for 2022". IIHF.com. 6 June 2021. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
5. "IIHF Council takes definitive action over Russia, Belarus". IIHF. 1 March 2022. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
6. "Tournament updates". 18 March 2022. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
7. "IS:n tiedot: Jääkiekon MM-kotikisojen areena vaihtui sodan takia – tässä on uusi pelipaikka" [IS reports: Ice hockey WC games arena changed due to the war – this is the new venue] (in Finnish). 15 March 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
8. Podnieks, Andrew (29 May 2022). "Finland does it!". IIHF.com. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
9. Aykroyd, Lucas (28 May 2022). "7 truths about Finland vs. Canada". IIHF.com. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
10. "Czechs rally to thump U.S. for bronze". iihf.com. 29 May 2022. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
11. "Men's World Championship Roundup: Austria's Upset Highlights Tuesday's Slate". thehockeynews.com. 17 May 2022. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
12. "Denmark claim first-ever victory over Canada at IIHF World Championship". insidethegames.biz. 23 May 2022. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
13. "Ice Hockey World Cup 2022 suffers from low attendance". eprimefeed.com. 9 June 2022. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
14. "Tampereen uudella Uros-areenalla pelattavien jääkiekon MM-otteluiden lipunosto-oikeudet arvotaan – "Ei mene nopeuskilpailuksi tai jonottamiseksi"". Aamulehti (in Finnish). 19 May 2021. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
15. Wamsley, Laurel; Kennedy, Merrit (17 December 2020). "Russia Gets Its Doping Ban Reduced But Will Miss Next 2 Olympics". NPR . Archived from the original on 17 December 2020. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
16. "New jersey for Russians". iihf.com. 2 May 2021. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
17. "IIHF chief Fasel confirms Tchaikovsky music as Russia's anthem at 2021 World Championship". TASS . 29 April 2021. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
18. "Tournament updates". 18 March 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
19. "Groups for 2022". IIHF.com. 6 June 2021. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
20. "2020/21 – 2021/22 Season IIHF SPORT REGULATIONS pgs 4–5" (PDF). IIHF.com. 18 March 2022. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
21. "Competition officials" (PDF). iihf.com. 12 May 2022.
22. "Groups for 2022". iihf.com. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
23. "Finland opens Worlds vs. Norway". iihf.com. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
24. "Tournament Format". IIHF. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
25. "Olkinuora MVP, All-Stars named". IIHF . Retrieved 29 May 2022.

External links

• Official website