Slovakia has been the only team with a perfect record after half of the preliminary round played.
photo: Chris Tanouye / HHOF-IIHF Images
If the playoff round of the World Championship were to start today, Canada, Czech Republic, Sweden, and United States would not qualify! It has been a weird and wacky first half of the preliminary round, and there have been so many records, firsts, and notable results it’s hard to keep track.
So, in case you missed it, here’s what’s been going on so far at the 84th World Championship.
Belarus: When Belarus beat Sweden 1-0 last Sunday, it marked the first win at the World Championship in the head-to-head after eight losses. It is not the only time Belarus has defeated Tre Kronor, however. The other time—more famously—came in the quarter-finals of the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake.
Canada: The biggest surprise in Riga, and for all the wrong reasons. Canada started with a 2-0 loss to Latvia and followed with another loss, this time to the U.S., 5-1. It may not sound like much, but this marked the first time in World Championship and Olympics history that the Canadians started 0-2. To make matters worse, the loss to the rivals Americans was the most lop-sided ever, and Canada went out a day later and extended their losing streak to three after a 3-1 loss to Germany but bounced back with a much-needed win against Norway.
Czech Republic: Lost in the troubles of Canada and Sweden was the Czech Republic’s equally surprising 0-2 start. The last time that happened was back in 1991, when they were Czechoslovakia. Like Sweden, though, they righted the ship in their third game with a 3-2 overtime win against Belarus.
Denmark: The highest mountain and the lowest canyon is how to describe Denmark so far. They started with a monumental 4-3 win over Sweden, their first ever at the World Championship, but in a 1-0 loss to Switzerland 24 hours later managed only four shots the entire game, the lowest total ever tallied in World Championship history.
Finland: The Finns lost for the first time to Kazakhstan just a few days ago, but in their game against Norway they played penalty-free hockey, the first team so far this year to go 60 minutes of a game without so much as a minor penalty. In fact, they have a grand total of four minor penalties in three games.
Germany: After starting with three straight wins (over Canada, Norway, Italy), the Germans lost to what historically might be considered their easiest opponent of the lot, Kazakhstan. So they couldn’t equal their best starts ever, which is four wins in a row, something they accomplished three times—1935, 1959, and 2019.
Great Britain: When Ben O’Connor scored to give the Brits a 1-0 lead over Denmark last Tuesday, it marked the first time GBR held a lead in a top-level World Championship game since 9 March 1962, when Billy Brennan scored at 7:58 of the third period to give his team a 5-4 lead over Finland. Great Britain went on to win that game, 7-5. Not to be outdone, the Brits then defeated Belarus in their next game.
Italy: An “elevator team” that is too good for Division I but not quite up to snuff a lot of the time in the top division, Italy moves up and down between the two regularly. They seemd to have reached the nadir in 2019 when they were shut out in their first five games and scored only once in their sixth, but four goals in the last game kept them up for 2020/21. The last time they scored more than 11 goals in an entire tournament was 1998, but this year they have five goals in their first five games, which is as many as they had all of 2019 in seven games.
Kazakhstan: Since joining the World Championship as an independent nation in 1993, the Kazakhs have played only eight times in the top level. During that time, they have played in 48 games, winning a grand total of four. Here in Riga, they have won three of their first four games, two in a penalty-shot shootout, their longest winning streak ever, and a third in regulation. Their stated goal is to make the playoffs, and they are well on their way to a spot in the final eight.
Latvia: When Latvia beat Canada, 2-0, on the opening day, it was a monumental win on several fronts. It was the first win by the Latvians in any IIHF event after going 0-2 at the Olympics, 0-1-11 at the Worlds, 0-2 at the World Juniors, and 0-5 at the U18. To make the win sweeter, it was also, of course, the first shutout by Latvia against any Canadian team.
Norway: Off to a 1-3 start, Norway is trying to make the playoffs for the first time since 2012. This is their 15th straight year in the top division, and their best finish was a 6th in 2011. Overall, their bext placing was a 4th in 1951, thanks to wins over the United States (3-0) and Great Britain (4-3).
ROC: Nikita Nesterov averages more ice time per game than any other player so far. He is on for 22:51 a game. The 28-year-old played on the team’s Olympic gold medal team in 2018 and has also won medals at the U18 (bronze 2011), World Juniors (silver 2012, bronze 2013) and World Championship (bronze 2019).
Slovakia: The Slovaks have started this year with a nice 3-0 record, something they have done only twice before—in 2003 and 2015. In 2015, their streak ended at three, but in 2003 they won seven in a row and wound up with a bronze medal.
Sweden: The Swedes started the 2021 Worlds with consecutive losses to Denmark and Belarus, marking the first time since 1961 that they started a WM 0-2. They ended that mini-losing streak with a dominating 7-0 win over Switzerland in their third game.
Switzerland: Pride and humble pie are often best friends. Consider Switzerland’s record-setting 1-0 win over Denmark in which they permitted only four shots. Feeling good, they played Sweden next, only to lose 7-0, their worst loss to Tre Kronor since a 12-1 pasting in 1987.
United States: When Jake Oettinger came in early against Canada after an injury to Cal Petersen, he played the rest of the game and was credited with the win. This makes him one of a kind in IIHF history. He is the only goalie to record at least one win in the U18, World Juniors, and World Championships who has a perfect record. He was 4-0 at the 2016 U18, 2-0 at the 2018 World Juniors, and now 1-0 at the World Championship.
Team Chara: The 17th team in this story consists of the giants of the game. There are TEN players who are at least 6’6”/1.97m tall in the tournament, which must be some sort of record! Here are the Mountain Men of Riga:
Stepan Falkovski (BLR)/6’9”-2.05m
Marko Anttila (FIN) & Viktor Svedberg (KAZ)/6’8”-2.03m
Mathias Bau (DEN) & Tage Thompson (USA)/6’7”-2.00m
Oliver Lauridesen (DEN), Joshua Tetlow (GBR), Kristian Ostby (NOR), Brian Boyle (USA)/6’6”-1.97m
So, in case you missed it, here’s what’s been going on so far at the 84th World Championship.
Belarus: When Belarus beat Sweden 1-0 last Sunday, it marked the first win at the World Championship in the head-to-head after eight losses. It is not the only time Belarus has defeated Tre Kronor, however. The other time—more famously—came in the quarter-finals of the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake.
Canada: The biggest surprise in Riga, and for all the wrong reasons. Canada started with a 2-0 loss to Latvia and followed with another loss, this time to the U.S., 5-1. It may not sound like much, but this marked the first time in World Championship and Olympics history that the Canadians started 0-2. To make matters worse, the loss to the rivals Americans was the most lop-sided ever, and Canada went out a day later and extended their losing streak to three after a 3-1 loss to Germany but bounced back with a much-needed win against Norway.
Czech Republic: Lost in the troubles of Canada and Sweden was the Czech Republic’s equally surprising 0-2 start. The last time that happened was back in 1991, when they were Czechoslovakia. Like Sweden, though, they righted the ship in their third game with a 3-2 overtime win against Belarus.
Denmark: The highest mountain and the lowest canyon is how to describe Denmark so far. They started with a monumental 4-3 win over Sweden, their first ever at the World Championship, but in a 1-0 loss to Switzerland 24 hours later managed only four shots the entire game, the lowest total ever tallied in World Championship history.
Finland: The Finns lost for the first time to Kazakhstan just a few days ago, but in their game against Norway they played penalty-free hockey, the first team so far this year to go 60 minutes of a game without so much as a minor penalty. In fact, they have a grand total of four minor penalties in three games.
Germany: After starting with three straight wins (over Canada, Norway, Italy), the Germans lost to what historically might be considered their easiest opponent of the lot, Kazakhstan. So they couldn’t equal their best starts ever, which is four wins in a row, something they accomplished three times—1935, 1959, and 2019.
Great Britain: When Ben O’Connor scored to give the Brits a 1-0 lead over Denmark last Tuesday, it marked the first time GBR held a lead in a top-level World Championship game since 9 March 1962, when Billy Brennan scored at 7:58 of the third period to give his team a 5-4 lead over Finland. Great Britain went on to win that game, 7-5. Not to be outdone, the Brits then defeated Belarus in their next game.
Italy: An “elevator team” that is too good for Division I but not quite up to snuff a lot of the time in the top division, Italy moves up and down between the two regularly. They seemd to have reached the nadir in 2019 when they were shut out in their first five games and scored only once in their sixth, but four goals in the last game kept them up for 2020/21. The last time they scored more than 11 goals in an entire tournament was 1998, but this year they have five goals in their first five games, which is as many as they had all of 2019 in seven games.
Kazakhstan: Since joining the World Championship as an independent nation in 1993, the Kazakhs have played only eight times in the top level. During that time, they have played in 48 games, winning a grand total of four. Here in Riga, they have won three of their first four games, two in a penalty-shot shootout, their longest winning streak ever, and a third in regulation. Their stated goal is to make the playoffs, and they are well on their way to a spot in the final eight.
Latvia: When Latvia beat Canada, 2-0, on the opening day, it was a monumental win on several fronts. It was the first win by the Latvians in any IIHF event after going 0-2 at the Olympics, 0-1-11 at the Worlds, 0-2 at the World Juniors, and 0-5 at the U18. To make the win sweeter, it was also, of course, the first shutout by Latvia against any Canadian team.
Norway: Off to a 1-3 start, Norway is trying to make the playoffs for the first time since 2012. This is their 15th straight year in the top division, and their best finish was a 6th in 2011. Overall, their bext placing was a 4th in 1951, thanks to wins over the United States (3-0) and Great Britain (4-3).
ROC: Nikita Nesterov averages more ice time per game than any other player so far. He is on for 22:51 a game. The 28-year-old played on the team’s Olympic gold medal team in 2018 and has also won medals at the U18 (bronze 2011), World Juniors (silver 2012, bronze 2013) and World Championship (bronze 2019).
Slovakia: The Slovaks have started this year with a nice 3-0 record, something they have done only twice before—in 2003 and 2015. In 2015, their streak ended at three, but in 2003 they won seven in a row and wound up with a bronze medal.
Sweden: The Swedes started the 2021 Worlds with consecutive losses to Denmark and Belarus, marking the first time since 1961 that they started a WM 0-2. They ended that mini-losing streak with a dominating 7-0 win over Switzerland in their third game.
Switzerland: Pride and humble pie are often best friends. Consider Switzerland’s record-setting 1-0 win over Denmark in which they permitted only four shots. Feeling good, they played Sweden next, only to lose 7-0, their worst loss to Tre Kronor since a 12-1 pasting in 1987.
United States: When Jake Oettinger came in early against Canada after an injury to Cal Petersen, he played the rest of the game and was credited with the win. This makes him one of a kind in IIHF history. He is the only goalie to record at least one win in the U18, World Juniors, and World Championships who has a perfect record. He was 4-0 at the 2016 U18, 2-0 at the 2018 World Juniors, and now 1-0 at the World Championship.
Team Chara: The 17th team in this story consists of the giants of the game. There are TEN players who are at least 6’6”/1.97m tall in the tournament, which must be some sort of record! Here are the Mountain Men of Riga:
Stepan Falkovski (BLR)/6’9”-2.05m
Marko Anttila (FIN) & Viktor Svedberg (KAZ)/6’8”-2.03m
Mathias Bau (DEN) & Tage Thompson (USA)/6’7”-2.00m
Oliver Lauridesen (DEN), Joshua Tetlow (GBR), Kristian Ostby (NOR), Brian Boyle (USA)/6’6”-1.97m