1961 Ice Hockey World Championships

1961 Ice Hockey World Championships
Tournament details
Host country	Switzerland
Dates	1–12 March
Teams	8
Final positions
Champions	Canada (19th title)
Runner-up	Czechoslovakia
Third place	Soviet Union
Fourth place	Sweden
Tournament statistics
Matches played	28
Goals scored	236 (8.43 per match)
Attendance	141,300 (5,046 per match)
Scoring leader(s)	Boris Mayorov (17 points)
	← 1960 Olympics 1962 →

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 1 to 12 March 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]

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

West Germany

1 March

East Germany

6–1

Norway

World Championship Group A (Switzerland)

Final Round

Place	Team	Matches	Won	Drawn	Lost	Difference	Points
1	Canada	7	6	1	0	45 - 11	13
2	Czechoslovakia	7	6	1	0	33 - 09	13
3	Soviet Union	7	5	0	2	51 - 20	10
4	Sweden	7	4	0	3	33 - 27	8
5	East Germany	7	2	0	5	21 - 33	4
6	United States	7	1	1	5	24 - 43	3
7	Finland	7	1	1	5	19 - 43	3
8	West Germany	7	0	2	5	10 - 50	2

2 March

Canada

6–1

Sweden

2 March

Czechoslovakia

6–0

Finland

2 March

Soviet Union

13–2

United States

4 March

Czechoslovakia

4–1

United States

4 March

Finland

6–4

East Germany

4 March

Canada

9–1

West Germany

4 March

Soviet Union

6–2

Sweden

5 March

Canada

7–4

United States

5 March

Czechoslovakia

6–0

West Germany

5 March

Sweden

3–2

East Germany

5 March

Soviet Union

7–3

Finland

7 March

Sweden

6–4

Finland

7 March

Czechoslovakia

6–4

Soviet Union

7 March

United States

4–4

West Germany

7 March

Canada

5–2

East Germany

8 March

Sweden

12–1

West Germany

8 March

East Germany

6–5

United States

9 March

Soviet Union

9–1

East Germany

9 March

Finland

3–3

West Germany

9 March

Canada

1–1

Czechoslovakia

11 March

Czechoslovakia

5–1

East Germany

11 March

Sweden

7–3

United States

11 March

Soviet Union

11–1

West Germany

11 March

Canada

12–1

Finland

12 March

Canada

5–1

Soviet Union

12 March

Czechoslovakia

5–2

Sweden

12 March

United States

5–2

Finland

12 March

East Germany

5–0

West Germany

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