1998 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships

The 1998 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships (1998 WJHC) were held in Helsinki and Hämeenlinna, Finland. The championships began on December 25, 1997, and finished on January 3, 1998. Home team Finland was the winner, defeating Russia 2–1 in the gold medal game, thanks to the goaltending of Mika Noronen and the overtime heroics of Niklas Hagman. Switzerland defeated the Czech Republic 4–3 to capture the bronze medal, their first and only medal in the Ice Hockey World Junior Championship.

1998 IIHF World U20 Championship

Tournament details
Host country	Finland
Venue(s)	2 (in 2 host cities)
Dates	December 25, 1997 – January 3, 1998
Teams	10
Final positions
Champions	Finland (2nd title)
Runners-up	Russia
Third place	Switzerland
Fourth place	Czech Republic
Tournament statistics
Games played	34
Goals scored	219 (6.44 per game)
Attendance	139,680 (4,108 per game)
Scoring leader(s)	Jeff Farkas (10 points)
← 1997 1999 →

Canada had its five-year title streak broken with its worst placing to date (8th). Canada would miss out on gold seven years in a row before beginning their 2005–2009 streak of five straight championships. It was the only tournament from 1993 to 2012 in which Canada failed to medal.

This tournament attracted 139,680 fans to 34 games for an average of 4,108 per game. This set a record for the highest-attended World Junior tournament in Europe until the 2016 tournament, which was also held in Finland, attracted 215,225 spectators.^[1]

The playoff round was expanded to eight teams, with group leaders not getting a bye to the semifinals.

Championship results

All times are local. (Eastern European Time – UTC+2)

Pool A

Group A

Team	Pld	W	L	D	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Finland	4	3	0	1	17	10	+7	7
Czech Republic	4	2	1	1	16	12	+4	5
Sweden	4	2	2	0	16	6	+10	4
Canada	4	2	2	0	9	7	+2	4
Germany	4	0	4	0	1	24	−23	0

Source: Hockey Canada

December 25, 1997 18:30

Finland

3–2 (0–0, 1–1, 2–1)

Canada

Hartwall Arena, Helsinki Attendance: 9,000 (approx.)

Game reference
	Mika Noronen	Goalies	Mathieu Garon	Referee: Ulf Radbjer Linesmen: Allen Stensland Kent Thuden
	0–1 30:02 - Ward Kauppinen (Vallin, Kalto) - 33:01 1–1 Somervuori (Jokinen) (PP) - 47:27 2–1 2–2 51:39 - Dumont (Tkaczuk) Hagman (Somervuori, Jokinen) - 56:20 3–2
	10 min	Penalties	21 min
	38	Shots	18

December 25, 1997 15:00

Czech Republic

2–1

Sweden

Hämeenlinna

December 26, 1997 18:30

Sweden

4–0 (2–0, 1–0, 1–0)

Canada

Hartwall Arena, Helsinki Attendance: 2,523

Game reference
	Johan Holmqvist	Goalies	Roberto Luongo	Referee: Rami Savolainen Linesmen: Allen Stensland Dino Casgrande
	Nilson (Forsander) (PP) - 6:56 1–0 Hedin - 17:32 2–0 D. Sedin (H. Sedin) - 22:55 3–0 Cannerheim (Nilson) - 46:45 4–0
	14 min	Penalties	20 min

December 26, 1997 18:30

Finland

5–0

Germany

Hämeenlinna

December 27, 1997 15:00

Germany

1–9

Czech Republic

Hartwall Arena, Helsinki

December 28, 1997 15:00

Canada

5–0 (2–0, 3–0, 0–0)

Czech Republic

Hartwall Arena, Helsinki Attendance: 7,500 (approx.)

Game reference
	Mathieu Garon	Goalies	Adam Svoboda, Vlastimil Lakosil (15:46 second)	Referee: Scott Hansen Linesmen: Alfred Hascher Kent Thuden
	Holden (Corso) - 10:10 1–0 Cooke (Sarich) (PP) - 11:10 2–0 Tanguay (McLean) - 26:45 3–0 McLean (Tanguay, Brewer) (SH) - 30:40 4–0 Holden (Corso) - 38:05 5–0
	12 min	Penalties	14 min

December 28, 1997 18:30

Sweden

3–4

Finland

Hartwall Arena, Helsinki

December 29, 1997 18:30

Germany

0–8

Sweden

Hartwall Arena, Helsinki

December 30, 1997 15:00

Canada

2–0 (0–0, 1–0, 1–0)

Germany

Hartwall Arena, Helsinki Attendance: 8,933

Game reference
	Mathieu Garon	Goalies	Björn Leonhardt	Referee: Ulf Radbjer Linesmen: Dino Casagrande Nadir Mandioni
	Bradley (Cooke, Lecavalier) -28:05 1–0 Lecavalier (Bradley) - 54:59 2–0
	26	Shots	17

December 30, 1997 18:30

Czech Republic

5–5

Finland

Hartwall Arena, Helsinki

Group B

Team	Pld	W	L	D	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Russia	4	3	0	1	22	6	+16	7
Switzerland	4	2	1	1	14	8	+6	5
United States	4	2	2	0	17	12	+5	4
Kazakhstan	4	1	3	0	8	29	−21	2
Slovakia	4	1	3	0	9	15	−6	2

Source: Hockey Canada

December 25, 1997 15:00

Russia

12–1

Kazakhstan

Hämeenlinna

December 25, 1997 15:00

Slovakia

6–3

United States

Hartwall Arena, Helsinki

December 26, 1997 15:00

Kazakhstan

2–8

United States

Hartwall Arena, Helsinki

December 26, 1997 15:00

Slovakia

1–3

Switzerland

Hämeenlinna

December 27, 1997 18:30

Switzerland

3–3

Russia

Hartwall Arena, Helsinki

December 28, 1997 15:00

Kazakhstan

5–2

Slovakia

Hämeenlinna

December 28, 1997 18:30

United States

2–3

Russia

Hämeenlinna

December 29, 1997 18:30

Switzerland

7–0

Kazakhstan

Hämeenlinna

December 30, 1997 15:00

Russia

4–0

Slovakia

Hämeenlinna

December 30, 1997 18:30

United States

4–1

Switzerland

Hämeenlinna

Final round

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Finals

B1

Russia

2

A4

Canada

1

QF1

Russia

5

QF2

Czech Republic

1

A2

Czech Republic

4

B3

United States

1

SF1

Russia

1

SF2

Finland

2

A1

Finland

14

B4

Kazakhstan

1

QF3

Finland

2

Bronze medal game

QF4

Switzerland

1

B2

Switzerland

2

SF1

Switzerland

4

A3

Sweden

1

SF2

Czech Republic

3

Quarterfinals

December 31, 1997 15:00

Russia

2–1 (OT) (1–0, 0–0, 0–1, 1–0)

Canada

Hämeenlinna Attendance: 2,877

Game reference
	Denis Khlopotnov	Goalies	Mathieu Garon	Referee: Rami Savolainen Linesmen: Riku Peltonen Kent Thuden
	Vlasenkov (Lyashenko) - 18:01 1-0 1-1 42:31 - Tkaczuk (Willsie, Blanchard) Afinogenov (Balmochnykh) - 69:21 2-1
	21	Shots	18

December 31, 1997 15:00

Finland

14–1 (6–1, 5–0, 3–0)

Kazakhstan

Hartwall Arena, Helsinki

December 31, 1997 18:30

Switzerland

2 – 1 GWS (0–0, 0–0, 1–1, 0–0, 5–4)

Sweden

Hartwall Arena, Helsinki

December 31, 1997 18:30

Czech Republic

4–1 (0–0, 3–0, 1–1)

United States

Hämeenlinna

Semifinals

January 1, 1998 16:00

Russia

5–1 (0–0, 3–1, 2–0)

Czech Republic

Hartwall Arena, Helsinki

January 1, 1998 20:00

Switzerland

1–2 (0–1, 0–0, 1–1)

Finland

Hartwall Arena, Helsinki

	David Aebischer	Goalies	Jean-Marc Pelletier

Placement games

January 2, 1998 15:00

Canada

0–3 (0–1, 0–1, 0–1)

United States

Hämeenlinna

Game reference
	Mathieu Garon	Goalies	Jean-Marc Pelletier	Referee: Petr Bolina Linesmen: Riku Peltonen Nadir Mandioni
	0-1 5:59 - York (Mottau) (PP) 0-2 39:31 - Dusbabek (Mara) 0-3 59:25 - Farkas (EN)
	12 min	Penalties	8 min
	15	Shots	40

January 2, 1998 18:30

Sweden

5–1 (1–0, 2–0, 2–1)

Kazakhstan

Hämeenlinna

7th place game

January 3, 1998 12:00

Canada

3–6 (0–2, 0–2, 3–2)

Kazakhstan

Hämeenlinna Attendance: 169

Game reference
	Mathieu Garon, Roberto Luongo (14:00 second)	Goalies	Roman Krivomazov	Referee: Petr Bolina Linesmen: Vyacheslav Bulanov Dariusz Sudol
	0-1 3:45 - Troshchinsky (Antropov) 0-2 13:14 - Alexandrov (Troshchinsky, Antropov) (PP) 0-3 31:47 - Troshchinsky (Alexandrov, Novopashin) (SH) 0-4 34:00 - Troshchinsky (Antropov) Holden (Blanchard) (PP) - 47:25 1-4 Holden (Ference, Corso) (PP) - 50:10 2-4 2-5 58:21 - Komissarov (Ksandopulo) 2-6 59:20 - Rifel (EN) Tkaczuk (Willsie, Brewer) - 59:57 3-6
	19 min	Penalties	20 min
	43	Shots	17

5th place game

January 3, 1998 16:00

United States

4–3 (1–2, 2–0, 1–1)

Sweden

Hämeenlinna

Bronze medal game

January 3, 1998 15:00

Switzerland

4 – 3 GWS (2–0, 0–2, 1–1, 0–0, 2–0)

Czech Republic

Hartwall Arena, Helsinki

Gold medal game

January 3, 1998 18:30

Finland

2–1 (OT) (0–0, 0–1, 1–0, 1–0)

Russia

Hartwall Arena, Helsinki Attendance: 13,655

	Mika Noronen	Goalies	Denis Khlopotnov
	0–1 37:10 − Vlassenkov Puistola (PP) - 43:25 1–1 Hagman (Jokinen, Petriläinen) - 73:41 2–1
	45	Shots	26

Relegation round

January 1, 1998

Germany

0–9 (0–1, 0–4, 0–4)

Slovakia

Hartwall Arena, Helsinki

January 3, 1998

Slovakia

8–3 (0–1, 3–2, 5–0)

Germany

Hartwall Arena, Helsinki

 Germany lost the two game total goal series 17–3 and was relegated for the 1999 World Juniors

Final ranking

Rank	Country
	Finland
	Russia
	Switzerland
4	Czech Republic
5	United States
6	Sweden
7	Kazakhstan
8	Canada
9	Slovakia
10	Germany

Scoring leaders

Player	Country	GP	G	A	Pts
Jeff Farkas	United States	7	6	4	10
Olli Jokinen	Finland	7	4	6	10
Eero Somervuori	Finland	7	3	6	9
Ladislav Nagy	Slovakia	6	6	2	8
Brian Gionta	United States	7	5	3	8
Marián Hossa	Slovakia	6	4	4	8
Timo Vertala	Finland	7	4	4	8
Andrej Podkonický	Slovakia	6	3	5	8
Marcus Nilson	Sweden	7	3	5	8
Maxim Balmochnykh	Russia	7	2	6	8
Kamil Piroš	Slovakia	7	2	6	8

Tournament awards

	IIHF Directorate Awards	Media All-Star Team
Goaltender	David Aebischer	David Aebischer
Defencemen	Pavel Skrbek	Pierre Hedin Andrei Markov
Forwards	Olli Jokinen	Maxim Balmochnykh Olli Jokinen Eero Somervuori

Pool B

The second tier was held in Sosnowiec and Tychy Poland, from December 28 to January 4. Two groups of four played round robins, and then the top three played each of the top three teams from the other group. All scores carried forward except the results against the lone eliminated team from each group.

Preliminary round

Group A

Team	Pld	W	L	D	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Hungary	3	1	0	2	10	9	+1	4			3–2	2–2	5–5
Latvia	3	2	1	0	15	10	+5	4		2–3		5–2	8–5
France	3	1	1	1	12	9	+3	3		2–2	2–5		8–2
Japan	3	0	2	1	12	21	−9	1		5–5	5–8	2–8

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

Group B

Team	Pld	W	L	D	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Poland	3	2	1	0	13	11	+2	4			7–3	1–4	5–4
Ukraine	3	1	1	1	13	10	+3	3		3–7		2–2	8–1
Belarus	3	1	1	1	6	6	0	3		4–1	2–2		0–3
Norway	3	1	2	0	8	13	−5	2		4–5	1–8	3–0

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

Final round

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	D	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Belarus	5	4	0	1	22	8	+14	9			2–2	4–1	3–1	8–0	5–4
2	Ukraine	5	3	1	1	23	12	+11	7		2–2		3–7	5–1	4–1	9–1
3	Poland	5	3	2	0	24	13	+11	6		1–4	7–3		2–3	8–0	6–3
4	Latvia	5	2	3	0	12	15	−3	4		1–3	1–5	3–2		2–3	5–2
5	Hungary	5	1	3	1	6	24	−18	3		0–8	1–4	0–8	3–2		2–2
6	France	5	0	4	1	12	27	−15	1		4–5	1–9	3–6	2–5	2–2

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

 Belarus was promoted to Pool A for 1999.

Relegation round

Norway

6–4

Japan

Norway

3 – 4 ot

Japan

Norway

4–1

Japan

 Japan lost two games to one and was relegated to Pool C for 1999.

Pool C

Played in Tallinn and Kohtla-Järve Estonia from December 28 to January 1.

Preliminary round

Group A

Team	Pld	W	L	D	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Italy	3	2	0	1	20	6	+14	5			4–4	11–1	5–1
Austria	3	2	0	1	18	6	+12	5		4–4		8–1	6–1
Estonia	3	1	2	0	5	20	−15	2		1–11	1–8		3–1
Great Britain	3	0	3	0	3	14	−11	0		1–5	1–6	1–3

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

Group B

Team	Pld	W	L	D	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Denmark	3	3	0	0	26	8	+18	6			5–4	8–1	13–3
Slovenia	3	2	1	0	15	8	+7	4		4–5		4–1	7–2
Croatia	3	1	2	0	6	14	−8	2		1–8	1–4		4–2
Romania	3	0	3	0	7	24	−17	0		3–13	2–7	2–4

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

Placement games

• 7th place: Great Britain 7 – 5  Romania
• 5th place: Croatia 3 – 2  Estonia
• 3rd place: Slovenia 4 – 2  Austria
• 1st Place: Denmark 6 – 4  Italy

 Denmark was promoted to Pool B, and  Romania was relegated to Pool D for 1999.

Pool D

Played in Kaunas and Elektrenai Lithuania from December 30 to January 3.

Preliminary round

Group A

Team	Pld	W	L	D	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Netherlands	3	3	0	0	58	4	+54	6			7–1	19–2	32–1
Spain	3	2	1	0	18	9	+9	4		1–7		6–2	11–0
Bulgaria	3	1	2	0	17	29	−12	2		2–19	2–6		13–4
Turkey	3	0	3	0	5	56	−51	0		1–32	0–11	4–13

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

Group B

Team	Pld	W	L	D	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Lithuania	3	3	0	0	33	2	+31	6			5–1	14–0	14–1
Yugoslavia	3	2	1	0	23	7	+16	4		1–5		13–0	9–2
Mexico	3	1	2	0	3	28	−25	2		0–14	0–13		3–1
South Africa	3	0	3	0	4	26	−22	0		1–14	2–9	1–3

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

Placement games

• 7th place: South Africa 11 – 0  Turkey
• 5th place: Mexico 6 – 4  Bulgaria
• 3rd place: Yugoslavia 9 – 0  Spain
• 1st Place: Lithuania 6 – 3  Netherlands

 Lithuania was promoted to Pool C for 1999.