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When will the Ice Hockey World Championship take place? All venues for the Ice Hockey World Championships

The Ice Hockey World Championship 2018 will be held from 5 to 20 May 2018 in the Danish cities of Copenhagen and Herning, which will become a place of pilgrimage for stick and puck fans for two weeks. Russia, Canada, Sweden, Finland - the main ice teams of the planet will gather in one country! Sweden is the current world champion. Tre Krunur are eager to repeat last year's success. However, the rivals of the Scandinavians have completely different plans for the trophy…

Ice Hockey World Championship 2018 Schedule

Hockey "mundial" starts on May 4, 2018, and ends on the 20th of the same month. The tentative calendar of games looks like this:

4 – 15 May – group stage matches;
May 17 - quarter-finals;
May 19 - semi-finals;
May 20 - final game.

Fights will be hosted by the Danish cities of Copenhagen and Herning. The final match of the 82nd edition of the tournament will likely take place in Copenhagen.

Participants of the 2018 Ice Hockey World Cup

16 national teams will take part in the competition. The organizers have already divided them into two octets.

Group A:

Russia;
Sweden;
Czech;
Switzerland;
Belarus;
Slovakia;
France;
Austria.

Group B:

Canada;
Finland;
Germany;
Norway;
Latvia;
Denmark;
The Republic of Korea.

The teams of the Republic of Korea and Austria became the newcomers of the tournament. They received the right to compete in the competition following the results of the 2017 World Cup among the teams of the 1st division.

World Championship standings

According to the rules of the competition, 4 teams from each group go to the playoffs.

From Pot A, the Big Three will almost certainly qualify for the next round of the competition: Russia, the Czech Republic, and Sweden. But for the 4th ticket, a serious fight can flare up. The Swiss, Belarusians and Slovaks have every opportunity to get into the playoffs. But the hockey players of the Swiss team look more convincing in this dispute.

In octet B, everything is clear. Canada, Finland, USA and Germany go further. The rest of the teams almost certainly do not shine.

Teams that take 8th place will be relegated to the first division. Only Slovaks have a kind of immunity. For their country will be the host of the 2019 World Cup. If Slovakia finishes last in the pot, the 7th best team will be demoted instead.

Russian team at the 2018 Ice Hockey World Cup

Our guys got into group A. Domestic hockey players will play group round matches within the walls of the Copenhagen Royal Arena sports complex. If the Russians show due agility, they will be able to return to the ice of this SC. Important matches of the playoff round, including the final, will take place on its territory.

We do not know who will come to the World Cup in May 2018. Much will depend on the results of the Olympics. If the national team returns from Pyeongchang “on the shield”, then the Russian team will part with Oleg Znark, and a number of players from the previous base may fall under the “broom” of the new mentor. In general, we must be patient.

Who will win the championship

Denmark, host of the 2018 Ice Hockey World Cup, will be the venue for the clash of ambitions of several renowned ice hockey teams from Europe and North America. Let's take a look at the main contenders for the awards.

Canada

The Maple Leaves made it to the final last year. North American fans have already opened champagne, celebrating the triumph ahead of schedule. However, the Swedes stood in the way of the founders of hockey with an impregnable wall. The main and additional time ended with zeros on the scoreboard. In the end, everything was decided by the shootouts, where Tre Krunur turned out to be more successful.

Finland

This talented, skillful and replete squad of star players won the gold medals of the world championship only twice. At the same time, the Suomi team has played 8 times in the World Cup final over the past 25 years, receiving silver medals ... The Finns are passionately craving for triumph!

Russia

The Russian team is the main reason for domestic fans to watch the 2018 Ice Hockey World Cup. Our guys have not been left without tournament medals for several years in a row. But here's the problem - the last two draws, the Russians invariably remained with bronze. The last time our guys won gold was in 2014. It's time to take a swing at something bigger!

Sweden

"Three Krunur" is a hockey boa that can choke even such a super team as Canada. The Swedes in the dramatic final match of the 2017 World Cup won the championship gold. Will the Scandinavians be able to repeat last year's success?

What will be the Ice Hockey World Championship 2019 and whether it is worth expecting surprises and high-profile sensations from it, we will try to find out in the review prepared by our sports experts.

When and where will the tournament take place?

The matches of the 83rd Ice Hockey World Cup will be held from May 10 to May 26, 2019 in two cities of Slovakia - Bratislava and Kosice.

The main rival of the Slovaks in the competition for the right to host the championship was Switzerland, however, at the last moment, the sports officials of this country withdrew their application, deciding to postpone it to 2020.

As for the venue for the games of the Ice Hockey World Championship, two ice rinks were chosen as them: the capital's Slovnaft Arena and the Steel Arena in Kosice. Both sports complexes are quite spacious. The first is able to accommodate more than 10,000 spectators, the second is designed for 8,500 fans.

The fights for bronze medals, as well as the final meeting of the two strongest teams of the tournament, will take place at the Slovnaft Arena, which has repeatedly become the central venue for world-class competitions. It hosted the 2011 Ice Hockey World Championship and the 2014 KHL All-Star Game.

Participants of the upcoming championship

Currently, participation in the 2019 World Cup is guaranteed to 16 teams. First of all, it is the national team of Slovakia. This privilege went to her by right of the host. The list of other teams that will perform at the upcoming tournament was determined based on the results of the 2018 championship. Thus, at the tournament in Slovakia, fans will see: Sweden, Switzerland, USA, Russia, Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, Latvia, Italy, France, Norway, Austria, Denmark, Germany and Great Britain.

Ice Hockey World Cup Regulations

According to IIHF officials, the usual format of the Ice Hockey World Championship will remain the same. Teams from the first division of the World Hockey Federation will take part in the tournament. All 16 national teams that will take part in the championship will be divided into two groups, within which they will play one match with each of their rivals. The teams that take the first four lines in the standings will receive the right to participate in the playoff games (1/4 finals).

It is worth paying attention to the fact that in the knockout matches there is a 10-minute overtime, which will determine the winner in the event of a draw in the regular time of the match. To determine the strongest in the final confrontation, the teams are given a 20-minute overtime. If a draw was also recorded in extra time, the winner of the tournament is determined by a series of shootouts.

Championship calendar

Group round games of the 2019 Ice Hockey World Championship will be held daily from May 10 to May 21. The future schedule of matches will look like this:

1/4 finals fights: May 23rd;
1/2 finals: May 25th;
3rd place match and final: May 26th.

In total, 64 matches will be played within the framework of the championship, the live broadcast of which can be watched on the air of Russian sports channels or on their official websites on the Internet.

Group stage games

According to the results of the IIHF draw, the participants of both baskets of the upcoming championship became known. Group "A" will play: Canada, Finland, USA, Slovakia, Germany, Denmark, France and Great Britain. In group "B" the ticket to the playoffs will be challenged by: Russia, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Norway, Austria, Italy, Latvia and the reigning hockey world champion - the national team of Sweden.

Bookmaker Predictions

According to sports analysts, the traditional favorites of the hockey championships have the highest chances of winning the 2019 world title. This list includes teams from Russia, Canada, the Czech Republic, the USA and Sweden. Pretty good chances of reaching the 1/4 finals of the World Cup have the national teams of Germany and Switzerland, which have demonstrated simply brilliant results in the previous three tournaments.

Separately, it is worth mentioning the team from Sweden, which are the current owners of the trophy. At the 2018 championship, which took place in Denmark, the wards of Rikard Grenborg proved to be a strong and formidable opponent. At the stage of group games, the Scandinavians did not suffer a single defeat from competitors. In the 1/4 finals, Latvia was defeated, and in the semifinal match, the “yellow-blues” won a confident victory over the Americans, defeating them with a score of 6:0. The final match turned out to be the most difficult test for the Swedes in the tournament, however, here they did not disappoint their fans, beating the Swiss in a series of post-match shootouts (3:2).

As for the Russian national team, the 82nd season of the World Cup for our hockey players was not very successful. Despite the fact that the "red car" held group fights at the highest level it was used to, in the quarterfinals the domestic team failed to overcome the resistance of the Canadians. As a result, the first match of the playoff stage was lost with a score of 4:5.

For millions of Russian fans, the departure of the national team at an early stage of the championship was a real tragedy, however, they do not stop believing in the success of their heroes at the tournament in Slovakia.

Summarizing

Taking into account the mood and readiness of the Russian team to fight for the 2019 world champion title, we can say with confidence that our hockey players will demonstrate their best game at the future championship and will do everything possible to please their fans with beautiful victories.

For those fans who still do not know in which country, when and in which cities the 83rd Ice Hockey World Cup will take place, we remind you that the championship matches will be held in Kosice and Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, from May 10 to May 26, 2019- year.

The 2019 Ice Hockey World Championship will be the 83rd tournament that will bring together the world's leading teams in the fight for the prestigious trophy. Recently, the presented competition has become extremely unpredictable, since the level of play of many squads is approximately the same. This means that the outcome of the confrontation is impossible to predict, and exciting ice battles await the fans.

Where will it take place?

The 2019 Ice Hockey World Cup will be held in Slovakia (the cities of Bratislava and Kosice). Date of the tournament - from 3 to 19 May. Initially, Switzerland also claimed to host the championship, but the sports officials of this country withdrew the application and decided to claim to host the 2020 World Cup. As a result, Slovakia was chosen as the host of the competition on a non-alternative basis.

All matches of the men's Ice Hockey World Championship will be held at the following arenas:

Slovnaft Arena (capacity 10,055);
"Steel Arena" (8 045).

Matches for bronze medals, as well as the final game, will be held at the Slovnaft Arena in Bratislava. Now the local Slovan, playing in the KHL, plays here in home matches. The stadium has all the necessary infrastructure for holding large-scale hockey events, so the spectators who came to the 2019 World Championship to cheer on their favorites will surely be satisfied.

Tournament participants

At the moment, only the Slovakian team has guaranteed itself the right to take part in the competition. The final list of the lucky ones who will fight for the trophy in Kosice and Bratislava will be determined at the 2018 championship. Given the high level of certain teams, suppose that the tournament will feature:

Canada;
Russia;
Czech;
Sweden;
Finland;
Switzerland.

The rest of the hockey teams, which are now part of the world elite, are unlikely to seriously claim victory in the competition. The main task for them will not be relegated to the lower division, and for this it is necessary not to fall to the last line in the standings.

World Cup regulations

The format of the Ice Hockey World Championship 2019, which will be held in Slovakia, will not change. All 16 teams will be divided into two subgroups, after which each team will play one game with the opponent. The first four squads advance to the playoff stage (1/4 finals). The distribution of teams takes place crosswise, that is, the first team of subgroup "A" will meet with the fourth team of subgroup "B", the second - with the third, etc.

It is noteworthy that in the knockout matches there is a 10-minute overtime (instead of 5 minutes as in the group stage). In the final match, in case of a draw, a 20-minute overtime is played. A shootout series to determine the winner is assigned only in case of a tie after the end of extra time.

An interesting fact: the Swiss national team will not fly out of the elite, even if it ends up in 8th place in its subgroup. It is this country that will host the 2020 World Cup, so it automatically remains in the main division for another year. In case of an unsuccessful performance by the Swiss, the seventh team of the subgroup will drop to the lower division.

For many fans, the question of where the 2019 Ice Hockey World Championship will be held is no longer relevant. The only thing that occupies fans of the game on ice is the definition of the participants in the championship. There is not much time left before the appearance of the tournament schedule and the final list of subgroups.

See the best goals of the Russian team in the following video:

MOSCOW, May 6 - R-Sport. The Ice Hockey World Championship will be held in Moscow and St. Petersburg from 6 to 22 May 2016. The Russian national team at the group stage of the tournament will meet with the national teams of Sweden, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Latvia, Norway, Denmark and Kazakhstan.

Below is background information on the history of the performance of the USSR and Russia national teams at the Ice Hockey World Championships.

World Championship 2007 (April 27 - May 13, Russia). For the first time since 1986, the Ice Hockey World Championship was hosted by Moscow (part of the matches were held in Mytishchi near Moscow). At the preliminary stage, the Russian team under the leadership of the new coach Vyacheslav Bykov took 1st place in their qualifying group and advanced to the second group stage, where they also did not experience the bitterness of defeat, beating the teams of Italy (3:0), Switzerland (6:3) and Sweden (4:2). In the quarterfinals, the Russians defeated the Czech Republic (4:0), and in the semifinals in overtime, they unexpectedly lost to the Finnish team (1:2). In the match for 3rd place, the Russian team defeated the Swedish team (3:1) and won the bronze medals of the championship. Russian hockey player Andrey Markov was recognized as the best defender, and his teammate Alexei Morozov - the best forward of the World Championship.

World Championship 2008 (May 2-18, Canada). For the first time since 1962, the World Championship was held in North America and was timed to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the founding of the International Ice Hockey Federation. At the preliminary stage, the Russian team under the leadership of Vyacheslav Bykov took 1st place in their qualifying group and advanced to the second group stage, where they scored three victories in a row - over the national teams of Belarus (4:3) in the shootout and Sweden (3:2) , as well as over the Swiss team (5:3) in regular time. In the quarterfinals, Russian hockey players defeated the Swiss team (6:0), in the semifinals they dealt with the Finnish team (4:0), and in the final, losing 2:4 after two periods, they managed to snatch victory from the Canadian team in overtime (5:4) , having won gold medals and repeating the success of the Russian team 15 years ago. Russian hockey player Yevgeny Nabokov is recognized as the best goalkeeper of the world championship.

World Championship 2009 (April 24 - May 10, Switzerland). At the preliminary stage, the Russian team, led by Vyacheslav Bykov, took 1st place in their qualifying group and advanced to the second group stage, where they also scored three victories in a row - over Sweden (6:5 in overtime), USA (4:1) and Latvia (6:1). In the quarterfinals, Russian hockey players defeated the Belarusian national team (4:3) in a bitter struggle, beat the US team (3:2) in the no less tense quarterfinals, and in the final, like a year earlier, they defeated the Canadian team (2:1), winning gold medals in the championship. Russian hockey player Ilya Kovalchuk was named the best forward and the most valuable player of the world championship.

World Championship 2010 (May 7-23, Germany). At the preliminary stage, the Russian team led by Vyacheslav Bykov took 1st place in their qualifying group and advanced to the second group stage, where they again did not lose a single point, beating the teams of Germany (3:2), Denmark (6:1) and Finland (5:0). In the quarterfinals, the Russians beat the Canadian team (5:2). In the semi-finals, in a bitter struggle, the Russian team defeated the sensation of the tournament - the German team (2: 1), and in a no less intense final lost to the Czech team (1: 2), having won the silver medals of the championship. Russian hockey player Pavel Datsyuk was recognized as the best forward of the tournament.

World Championship 2011 (April 29 - May 15, Slovakia). At the preliminary stage, the Russian team, led by Vyacheslav Bykov, took second place and advanced to the second group stage, where they beat the Danish team (4:3) and were defeated by the teams of Finland (2:3 in the shootout) and the Czech Republic (2:3) . The Russians finished the group stage with 7 points and took fourth place in Group E. In the quarterfinals, the Russians won a difficult victory over the Canadian team (2:1), followed by a dry defeat against Finland in the semifinals (0:3). In the duel for the third place, the Czech team beat the Russian team (7:4), which for the first time in the last five years remained below the winners.

World Championship 2012 (May 4-20, Sweden, Finland). For the first time the championship was held in two countries, Finland and Sweden. The Russian national team, under the leadership of the new coach Zinetula Bilyaletdinov, won all 10 matches, and never even needed to play overtime. All meetings of the group round ended with a margin of Russians at least two goals. In the quarterfinals, the future world champions won a landslide victory over the Norwegians (5:2), in the semifinals they defeated the Finns (6:2). In the final of the world championship, the Russian team defeated the team of Slovakia with a score of 6:2. Center forward of the Russian national hockey team Evgeni Malkin became the top scorer of the world championship and was recognized as the most valuable hockey player.

World Championship 2013 (May 3-19, Finland, Sweden). The Russian team led by Zinetula Bilyaletdinov began defending the world title with three victories: over Latvia (6:0), Germany (4:1) and the USA (5:3). In the fourth match of the group stage against the French team, the Russians lost with a score of 1:2. Many experts were quick to attribute the defeat in the match with the French to goalkeeper Vasily Koshechkin, who appeared on the ice for the first and last time during the tournament. In the next match of the group stage, the Russian team had the opportunity to rehabilitate itself in the match against the hosts of the tournament, the Finnish national team. But the Finns won with a score of 3:2. The Russian national team interrupted the losing streak by beating the Slovakian team in the sixth match of the group stage (3:1). This victory guaranteed the Russian team a place in the quarterfinals. The last match in the group stage was held by the Russian team against Austria. The Russian team won 8:4. In the quarterfinals, the Russian team lost to the US team with a score of 3:8 and ended their performance in Helsinki. This defeat was the largest in the world championships in the history of the team. For the first time since 2006, Russia failed to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup.

World Championship 2014 (May 9-25, 2014, Belarus). A year after the failure at the World Championships and only three months after an even worse defeat at the home Olympics in Sochi, the Russian team, under the leadership of new coach Oleg Znarka, regained the title of the strongest in the world. The Russian national team repeated the path of the team of Zinetula Bilyaletdinov in 2012 and won all ten matches of the championship. In the playoffs, the Russian team beat the teams of France (3:0) and Sweden (3:1). In the final, she defeated the Finnish team with a score of 5: 2 and won the world championship. The Russian national team played the final match without Znark, who received a one-game disqualification from the International Federation for an incorrect gesture towards the Swedes in the semi-finals. Russian striker Viktor Tikhonov became the top scorer and sniper of the World Cup. Sergei Bobrovsky was recognized as the best goalkeeper.

At the 2015 World Championships (May 1-17, Czech Republic), the Russian team again reached the final. At the group stage, the Russians scored five victories in seven matches, beating the teams of Norway (6:2), Slovenia (5:3), Denmark (5:2), Belarus (7:0), Slovakia (3:2, in overtime) , and lost to the US teams (2:4) and Finland (2:3 in shootouts). The Russian team entered the playoffs of the World Championship in the Czech Republic from third place in group B. In the quarterfinals, Russian hockey players defeated the Swedish team with a score of 5:3, in the semifinal match they defeated the US team (4:0). In the final of the championship, the Russians lost to the Canadians with a score of 1:6 and won silver medals.

The 2018 Ice Hockey World Championship will be the 82nd tournament held under the auspices of the IHF. The upcoming competition will bring together the best national teams of the planet, in whose ranks outstanding puck masters play. An uncompromising struggle awaits on every centimeter of ice, spectacular goals and an exciting confrontation between world hockey stars.

The 2018 Ice Hockey World Championship will be held in Denmark for the first time in its history. Initially, Latvia also claimed the right to host the prestigious competition, but the IHF leadership took into account that the Baltic republic hosted this championship in 2005. According to the voting results, the vast majority of sports officials (95 against 12) spoke in favor of Denmark.

All matches of the tournament will take place in two Danish cities:

Copenhagen;
Herning.

In the capital Copenhagen, all matches, including the final, will be held at the Royal Arena. In Herning, matches can be watched from the stands of the Boxen Arena. The maximum capacity of both stadiums is 12,000 spectators. May 4 was chosen as the start date for the 2018 Ice Hockey World Championship. The match for 3rd place and the final will take place on May 20.

Tournament Regulations

The rules of the Ice Hockey World Championship 2018 have not changed. As before, 16 best teams will take part in the main hockey event of the planet, which will be divided into two subgroups. The following teams will compete in subgroup "A":

Switzerland;
Belarus;
Slovakia;
France;
Austria;
Sweden;
Russia;
Czech Republic.

Group B includes the following teams:

Denmark;
Canada;
Latvia;
Germany;
Norway;
Finland;
South Korea.

As part of the subgroup, the teams will play one match with each other. For the victory in regular time, that is, for the first 60 minutes of the game, the team receives three points, the losing squad does not get points. In case of a draw after three periods, overtime is assigned for 5 minutes (4x4 format), and if it does not help determine the winner, then the teams will play a shootout. The team that defeated the opponent in overtime or on the basis of shootouts puts 2 points in their piggy bank, the losing side gets 1 point.

Based on the results of the past matches, the four best teams advance to the playoff stage, where they will play crosswise. In other words, the first team from sub-group "A" will fight with the team that ended up in fourth place in sub-group "B", etc. The last team from each sub-group leaves the elite of world hockey and goes to the first division. In the elimination stage with a draw, teams play in a 4x4 format an additional overtime of 10 minutes (for ¼ and ½ finals), and in the final duel, overtime is increased to 20 minutes. When during this time it was not possible to identify the winner, a series of shootouts is held.

title contenders

The Ice Hockey World Championship, like any other competition, has its favorites and outsiders. Since the collapse of the USSR and the acquisition of sovereignty by the Russian Federation, only four teams have taken the world trophy, not counting 2002, when Slovakia broke the hegemony of the favorites. To date, the Slovaks lack stars from the sky and are considered the middle peasants of the championship, and in 2018 such teams will claim the title:

Russia;
Canada;
Sweden;
Finland.

For the Russians, who won the trophy back in 2014, winning the championship in Denmark will be a matter of honor. At the competition held in 2017, the path to the title was blocked by eternal rivals - the Canadians, and in the semifinal duel after two periods, Oleg Znarka's wards were leading with a score of 2:0, but in the end lost 2:4. Of course, the most ardent fans regarded the third place obtained in the fight against the Finns as a failure, but experts noticed a number of positive changes. So, for example, the rejuvenation of the composition is carried out almost painlessly, and the players from the team perfectly interact with the stars of the National Hockey League. As a result, in 2018 the Russians will become one of the main contenders for the trophy.

The obvious contender for gold is the Canadian team. Over the past three years, the Maple Leaves have won the trophy twice, and at the last they were content with silver, losing in the main match of the championship of Sweden in a shootout. You can talk endlessly about the skill of Canadian stars, but it's better to see the game once and enjoy this amazing spectacle. When hockey players from Canada are on a roll, they cannot be stopped, so they are on the list of possible winners at the upcoming championship.

The Swedish national team - the winner of the last Ice Hockey World Cup - is capable of defeating any opponent, which can be confirmed by the Canadians. Tre-Krunur have a pool of experienced players who know when to improve. The ability to vary the pace, play well in defense and instantly release the counterattacking spring - this is not a complete list of the advantages of the Swedish team.

Finland at the last World Cup looked rather faded, but even with such a game, the "lions" reached the semi-finals. If the Finns manage to establish interaction and strengthen the goalkeeper position, then they will have every chance of success, especially since the fans have already managed to forget about the last triumph (Finland became champions in 2011).

The list of contenders for victory in the tournament would be incomplete without the United States. The American team is considered a mood team that plays attacking hockey, completely forgetting about defense. It is the defensive component that is the main reason for losing in decisive matches. In its history, the United States became the champion only once in the distant 1960, so it is hardly worth expecting a repetition of this success, but the Americans may well compete for third place.

The Ice Hockey World Championship 2018 is a remarkable sporting event that attracts millions of fans every year. The Russians will again be able to cheer for their favorite, ready to fight the most formidable opponents and defend the honor of the Motherland. Don't miss the start of the tournament on May 4th.

Top 15 best goals at the hockey world championships, see the following video: