1961 Ice Hockey World Championships| Tournament details |
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| Host country |
 Switzerland |
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| Dates |
1–12 March |
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| Teams |
8 |
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| Final positions |
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Champions  |
.svg.png) Canada (19th title) |
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Runner-up  |
 Czechoslovakia |
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Third place  |
.svg.png) Soviet Union |
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| Fourth place |
 Sweden |
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| Tournament statistics |
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| Matches played |
28 |
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| Goals scored |
236 (8.43 per match) |
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| Attendance |
141,300 (5,046 per match) |
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| Scoring leader(s) |
Boris Mayorov (17 points) |
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The 1961 World Ice Hockey 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 Czechs won their tenth European title. The final day was marred by controversy of a political nature, when Willi Daume, (president of West Germany hockey), forbade his team to take the ice against East Germany. The reason was to avoid the possibility of honouring the East German's new flag.[3]
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.
World Championship Group A (Switzerland)
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.
World Championship Group B (Switzerland)
World Championship Group C (Switzerland)
Nederlands vs Yugoslavia match. Yugoslavia won 9–2.
Ranking and statistics
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| 1961 IIHF World Championship Winners |
Canada |
Tournament Awards
- Best players selected by the directorate:
- Media All-Star Team:
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Final standings
The final standings of the tournament according to IIHF:
References
- 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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- Medals were awarded to the best European participants of the World Championships or Olympic Games (marked in italics).
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