The World Hockey Championship, held in Zurich and Basel, Switzerland May 1-17, 1998. Top two teams (*) in each pool after preliminary round-robin advance to the qualifying round. Third place teams play in a consolation round. Top two teams from each pool of the qualifying round advance to the semifinals. The semifinals are a best-of-two series with a 10-minute mini-game if necessary. If teams are still tied, a shootout will decide the advancers. Winners meet in the best-of-two final series.
Final Round Robin Standings
| POOL A |
W-L-T |
Pts |
GF |
GA |
|---|
| *Czech Republic |
3-0-0 |
6 |
20 |
5 |
| *Belarus |
2-1-0 |
4 |
12 |
10 |
| Germany |
1-2-0 |
2 |
8 |
13 |
| Japan |
0-3-0 |
0 |
7 |
19 |
| POOL B |
W-L-T |
Pts |
GF |
GA |
|---|
| *Canada |
2-0-1 |
5 |
12 |
5 |
| *Slovakia |
2-0-1 |
5 |
9 |
4 |
| Italy |
1-2-0 |
2 |
8 |
8 |
| Austria |
0-3-0 |
0 |
3 |
15 |
| POOL C |
W-L-T |
Pts |
GF |
GA |
|---|
| *Sweden |
3-0-0 |
6 |
16 |
4 |
| *Switzerland |
1-2-0 |
2 |
9 |
10 |
| United States |
1-2-0 |
2 |
7 |
11 |
| France |
1-2-0 |
2 |
5 |
12 |
Note: Switzerland advances to the qualifying round due to a better goal differential then the United States and France.
| POOL D |
W-L-T |
Pts |
GF |
GA |
|---|
| *Russia |
3-0-0 |
6 |
19 |
11 |
| *Finland |
2-1-0 |
4 |
12 |
4 |
| Latvia |
1-2-0 |
2 |
12 |
15 |
| Kazakhstan |
0-3-0 |
0 |
6 |
19 |
Qualifying Round
| POOL E |
W-L-T |
Pts |
GF |
GA |
|---|
| *Sweden |
3-0-0 |
6 |
10 |
2 |
| *Finland |
1-1-1 |
3 |
8 |
6 |
| Canada |
1-1-1 |
3 |
10 |
12 |
| Belarus |
0-3-0 |
0 |
5 |
13 |
| POOL F |
W-L-T |
Pts |
GF |
GA |
|---|
| *Czech Republic |
2-0-1 |
5 |
6 |
3 |
| *Switzerland |
1-1-1 |
3 |
6 |
6 |
| Russia |
1-1-1 |
3 |
10 |
7 |
| Slovakia |
0-2-1 |
1 |
2 |
8 |
Consolation Round
| |
W-L-T |
Pts |
GF |
GA |
|---|
| Italy |
1-0-1 |
3 |
5 |
1 |
| Latvia |
1-0-1 |
3 |
6 |
1 |
| Germany |
0-1-1 |
1 |
1 |
6 |
| United States |
0-1-1 |
1 |
1 |
5 |
Note: Only the top two finishers in the consolation round retain their spots in the 1999 World Championship. The United States must now play through a qualifying tournament in November of 1998 in order to be given entry into the 1999 elite group.
Semifinals (best of two)
| Sweden 7 |
Switzerland 2 |
| Sweden 4 |
Switzerland 1 |
| Czech Republic 2 |
Finland 2 |
| Finland 4 |
Czech Republic 1 |
Bronze Medal Game
| Czech Republic 4 |
Switzerland 0 |
Championship (best of two)
| Sweden 1 |
Finland 0 |
| Sweden 0 |
Finland 0 |
Scoring Leaders
| |
Gm |
G |
A |
Pts |
PM |
|---|
| Peter Forsberg, Sweden |
7 |
6 |
5 |
11 |
0 |
| Raimo Helminen, Finland |
10 |
2 |
9 |
11 |
0 |
| Mats Sundin, Sweden |
10 |
5 |
6 |
11 |
6 |
| Ville Peltonen, Finland |
10 |
4 |
6 |
10 |
8 |
| Victor Kozlov, Russia |
6 |
4 |
5 |
9 |
0 |
| Radek Belohlav, Czech Rep. |
9 |
6 |
3 |
9 |
2 |
| Pavel Patera, Czech Rep. |
9 |
6 |
3 |
9 |
12 |
| Sergei Berezin, Russia |
6 |
6 |
2 |
8 |
2 |
| Olegs Znaroks, Latvia |
6 |
5 |
3 |
8 |
2 |
| Alexei Kovalev, Russia |
6 |
5 |
3 |
8 |
14 |
| Martin Prochazka, Czech Rep. |
8 |
3 |
5 |
8 |
14 |
| Marcel Jenni, Switzerland |
9 |
3 |
5 |
8 |
14 |
| Gian-Marco Crameri, Switzerland |
9 |
2 |
6 |
8 |
8 |
| Mikael Renberg, Sweden |
10 |
5 |
3 |
8 |
6 |
| Kimmo Timonen, Finland |
10 |
2 |
6 |
8 |
4 |
Goaltending Leaders
| (At least 180 minutes) |
Gm |
Min |
W-L-T |
GAA |
Sv% |
|---|
| Tommy Salo, Sweden |
9 |
540 |
8-0-0 |
0.78 |
.954 |
| Ari Sulander, Finland |
8 |
477 |
3-2-2 |
1.26 |
.953 |
| Milan Hnilicka, Czech Rep. |
8 |
430 |
4-1-2 |
1.39 |
.935 |
| Michael Rosati, Italy |
5 |
298 |
2-1-2 |
1.61 |
.945 |
| Miroslav Simonovic, Slovakia |
6 |
359 |
2-2-2 |
2.00 |
.923 |
| Felix Potvin, Canada |
4 |
240 |
3-0-1 |
2.00 |
.925 |
| Oleg Chevtsov, Russia |
4 |
240 |
2-1-1 |
2.25 |
.910 |
| Garth Snow, United States |
5 |
259 |
1-2-1 |
2.77 |
.864 |
| Arturs Irbe, Latvia |
6 |
359 |
3-2-1 |
2.84 |
.875 |
| David Aebischer, Switzerland |
7 |
375 |
2-4-1 |
2.87 |
.895 |
World All-Star Teams
(Selected by media)
First Team: G— Tommy Salo, Sweden; D— Frantisek Kucera, Czech Republic and Jere Karalahti, Finland; F— Peter Forsberg, Sweden; Mats Sundin, Sweden; Ville Peltonen, Finland.
Second Team: G— Ari Sulander, Finland; D— Marko Kiprusoff, Finland and Mattias Ohlund, Sweden; F— Marcel Jenni, Switzerland; Sergei Berezin, Russia; Pavel Patera, Czech Republic.
Introduction to Minor League Hockey's 1997-98 Season
NHL 1997-98 Season
