1961 Ice Hockey World Championships
The 1961 Ice Hockey World Championships was the 28th edition of the Ice Hockey World Championships. The tournament was held in Geneva and Lausanne, Switzerland from March 1 to March 12, 1961. The games were played outdoors on a frozen pool. A glare made it hard for players to see well, however photographers were able to get aerial pictures from the diving board. Canada, represented by the Trail Smoke Eaters,[1] won their nineteenth international title. It would be the last championship for Canada in thirty-three years.[2] By beating out the Soviets for the Silver, the Czechoslovaks won their tenth European title. The final day was marred by political controversy when Willi Daume, president of West Germany hockey, forbade his team to take the ice against East Germany to avoid the possibility of honouring the East German's new flag.[3]
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country |  |
| Dates | 1–12 March |
| Teams | 8 |
| Final positions | |
Champions  | .svg.png){kind=small} |
Runner-up  |  |
Third place  |  |
| Fourth place |  |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 28 |
| Goals scored | 236 (8.43 per match) |
| Attendance | 141,300 (5,046 per match) |
| Scoring leader(s) | |
1962 → | |
A record twenty nations participated in three groups, with South Africa appearing for the first time.[4] Teams were divided into the three tiers, roughly following the 1959 championships, and using qualification games, to establish an eight-team group A, a six-team group B, and a six-team group C. The South African team did not have the minimum number of players so forty-five-year-old federation president Tom Durling played despite not actually being a citizen of the country.[5] Promotion and relegation did not begin yet, but it was a big step towards formulating the process.
Qualification matches for Group A and B
The nations who finished 1st through 6th in 1959 played in Group A. The nation ranked 7th played the hosts, and 8th played 9th to qualify the final two entries.
| 1 March | Switzerland | 5-6 OT |  |
| 1 March | East Germany  | 6-1 |  |
World Championship Group A (Switzerland)
Final Round
| Place | Team | Matches | Won | Drawn | Lost | Difference | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 45 - 11 | 13 |
| 2 | | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 33 - 09 | 13 |
| 3 | | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 51 - 20 | 10 |
| 4 | | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 33 - 27 | 8 |
| 5 | | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 21 - 33 | 4 |
| 6 |  | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 24 - 43 | 3 |
| 7 |  | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 19 - 43 | 3 |
| 8 | | 7 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 10 - 50 | 2 |
| 2 March | Canada | 6-1 | |
| 2 March | Czechoslovakia | 6-0 | |
| 2 March | Soviet Union | 13-2 | |
| 4 March | Czechoslovakia | 4-1 | |
| 4 March | Finland | 6-4 | |
| 4 March | Canada | 9-1 | |
| 4 March | Soviet Union | 6-2 | |
| 5 March | Canada | 7-4 | |
| 5 March | Czechoslovakia | 6-0 | |
| 5 March | Sweden | 3-2 | |
| 5 March | Soviet Union | 7-3 | |
| 7 March | Sweden | 6-4 | |
| 7 March | Czechoslovakia | 6-4 | |
| 7 March | United States | 4-4 | |
| 7 March | Canada | 5-2 | |
| 8 March | Sweden | 12-1 | |
| 8 March | East Germany | 6-5 | |
| 9 March | Soviet Union | 9-1 | |
| 9 March | Finland | 3-3 | |
| 9 March | Canada | 1-1 | |
| 11 March | Czechoslovakia | 5-1 | |
| 11 March | Sweden | 7-3 | |
| 11 March | Soviet Union | 11-1 | |
| 11 March | Canada | 12-1 | |
| 12 March | Canada | 5-1 | |
| 12 March | Czechoslovakia | 5-2 | |
| 12 March | United States | 5-2 | |
| 12 March | East Germany | 5-0 | |
Qualification matches for Group B and C.
The losers of the Group A qualifiers (Switzerland and Norway), were joined by the nations who finished 10th and 11th (Italy and Poland) in 1959. Remaining countries that wished to play at this level played qualification games.
| 2 March | Austria  | 6-5 | .svg.png){kind=small} |
| 2 March | Great Britain  | 18-1 | .svg.png){kind=small} |
World Championship Group B (Switzerland)
Final Round
| Place | Team | Matches | Won | Drawn | Lost | Difference | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 27 - 09 | 8 |
| 10 | | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 21 - 11 | 8 |
| 11 | | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 17 - 15 | 5 |
| 12 |  | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 19 - 20 | 5 |
| 13 |  | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 13 - 17 | 2 |
| 14 | | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 10 - 35 | 2 |
| 3 March | Switzerland | 0-6 | |
| 3 March | Great Britain | 10-2 | |
| 3 March | Italy | 5-3 | |
| 5 March | Italy | 7-2 | |
| 6 March | Norway | 5-3 | |
| 6 March | Italy | 3-3 | |
| 6 March | Switzerland | 9-1 | |
| 7 March | Switzerland | 1-3 | |
| 9 March | Great Britain | 3-2 | |
| 9 March | Norway | 7-2 | |
| 10 March | Austria | 3-2 | |
| 10 March | Norway | 7-1 | |
| 10 March | Switzerland | 2-2 | |
| 11 March | Switzerland | 5-3 | |
| 12 March | Great Britain | 3-2 | |
World Championship Group C (Switzerland)
Final Round
| Place | Team | Matches | Won | Drawn | Lost | Difference | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 69 - 05 | 10 |
| 16 |  | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 34 - 16 | 8 |
| 17 | .svg.png){kind=small} | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 34 - 22 | 6 |
| 18 |  | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 18 - 36 | 4 |
| 19 | .svg.png){kind=small} | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 18 - 47 | 2 |
| 20 | | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 09 - 56 | 0 |
| 3 March | France | 7-3 | |
| 3 March | Romania | 22-1 | |
| 3 March | Yugoslavia | 12-3 | |
| 4 March | Yugoslavia | 9-2 | |
| 5 March | Romania | 14-0 | |
| 6 March | Netherlands | 8-4 | |
| 6 March | France | 10-0 | |
| 6 March | Romania | 12-1 | |
| 7 March | France | 11-2 | |
| 8 March | Yugoslavia | 10-2 | |
| 8 March | Romania | 12-0 | |
| 9 March | France | 3-2 | |
| 10 March | Romania | 9-3 | |
| 10 March | Netherlands | 5-4 | |
| 11 March | South Africa | 9-2 | |
Ranking and statistics
Tournament Awards
|
Final standings
The final standings of the tournament according to IIHF:
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 | |
 | |
| 4 | |
| 5 | |
| 6 | |
| 7 | |
| 8 | |
European championships final standings
The final standings of the European championships according to IIHF:
| |
| |
| |
| 4 | |
| 5 | |
| 6 | |
Notes
- Story #66. Iihf.com (1961-03-12). Retrieved on 2018-02-27.
- Szemberg & Podnieks 2007, p. 199
- Merk, Martin (25 March 2011) When flags stopped games. iihf.com
- Duplacey p. 504
- Summary in French. Passionhockey.com (1961-03-04). Retrieved on 2018-02-27.
References
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to 1961 IIHF World Championship. |
- Championnat du monde 1961
- Duplacey, James (1998). Total Hockey: The official encyclopedia of the National Hockey League. Total Sports. pp. 498–528. ISBN 0-8362-7114-9.
- Podnieks, Andrew (2010). IIHF Media Guide & Record Book 2011. Moydart Press. pp. 136–7.
- Szemberg, Szymon; Podnieks, Andrew, eds. (2007), World of Hockey: Celebrating a Century of the IIHF, Bolton, Ontario: Fenn Publishing, ISBN 1-55168-307-5
- Ottawa Citizen - 3 Feb 1961
- The Montreal Gazette - 6 Feb 1961
- The Hartford Courant, Feb 6, 1961, page 15
- New York Times, February 12, 1961, Page S6
- The Montreal Gazette - 13 Feb 1961
- The Pittsburgh Press - 17 Feb 1961
- Ottawa Citizen - 1 Mar 1961
- Tri City Herald - 8 Mar 1961
- The Montreal Gazette - 9 Mar 1961
- The Montreal Gazette - 11 Mar 1961
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