1978 Ice Hockey World Championships

The 1978 Ice Hockey World Championships took place in Prague, Czechoslovakia from April 26 to May 14. This was the sixth time Czechoslovakia hosted the competition, and it was held at the Sportovní hala ČSTV. Eight teams played, with each team facing every other team once in the first round. The top four teams then played another round to decide the final standings.

This event was the 45th World Championships and also the 56th European Championships. The USSR won for the 15th time, narrowly beating the host team, Czechoslovakia. On the final day, the Soviet Union played Czechoslovakia in a game that decided the gold medal. The Soviet team needed to win by at least two goals, and they did, taking a three-nothing lead and holding on to win by two goals.

In another important game, Canada and Sweden played for the bronze medal. With just a minute left, Pat Hickey scored to give Canada a three-to-two victory and the bronze medal. A special feature of this year’s tournament was that professional players from the NHL were allowed to join. For example, the Minnesota North Stars had players on the teams from Canada, Sweden, and the United States.

World Championship Group A (Czechoslovakia)

The 1978 Ice Hockey World Championships took place in Prague, Czechoslovakia, from April 26 to May 14. Eight teams played each other once in the first round, and then the top four teams played again to decide the final standings.

_East Germany was moved down to Group B after this championship.

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Czechoslovakia	7	7	0	0	44	15	+29	14
2	Soviet Union	7	6	0	1	46	23	+23	12
3	Canada	7	4	0	3	32	26	+6	8
4	Sweden	7	4	0	3	35	21	+14	8
5	West Germany	7	2	1	4	23	35	−12	5
6	United States	7	1	1	5	25	42	−17	3
7	East Germany	7	1	1	5	13	45	−32	3
8	Finland	7	1	1	5	23	34	−11	3

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Soviet Union	10	9	0	1	61	26	+35	18
2	Czechoslovakia	10	9	0	1	54	21	+33	18
3	Canada	10	5	0	5	38	36	+2	10
4	Sweden	10	4	0	6	39	37	+2	8

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
5	West Germany	10	3	3	4	35	43	−8	9
6	United States	10	2	2	6	38	58	−20	6
7	Finland	10	2	2	6	37	44	−7	6
8	East Germany	10	1	3	6	20	57	−37	5

World Championship Group B (Yugoslavia)

The games took place in Belgrade from 17 to 26 March.

Poland stayed undefeated and moved up to Group A, while Italy and Yugoslavia moved down to Group C.

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
9	Poland	7	6	1	0	51	19	+32	13
10	Japan	7	5	1	1	26	17	+9	11
11	Switzerland	7	4	1	2	42	32	+10	9
12	Romania	7	3	1	3	41	29	+12	7
13	Hungary	7	3	0	4	21	36	−15	6
14	Norway	7	2	1	4	29	34	−5	5
15	Italy	7	1	1	5	32	41	−9	3
16	Yugoslavia	7	1	0	6	14	48	−34	2

World Championship Group C (Spain)

The World Championship Group C (Spain) took place in the Canary Islands, specifically in Las Palmas, from March 10 to March 19.

The Netherlands and Austria were promoted to Group B. Additionally, China and Denmark were also promoted due to a political situation involving China and South Korea, and because Austria should have been disqualified for using a player named Pentti Hyytiäinen.

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
17	Netherlands	7	6	1	0	74	17	+57	13
18	Austria	7	5	1	1	65	31	+34	11
19	Denmark	7	4	1	2	59	25	+34	9
20	China	7	4	0	3	47	30	+17	8
21	Bulgaria	7	3	1	3	27	30	−3	7
22	France	7	3	0	4	46	39	+7	6
23	Spain	7	1	0	6	26	84	−58	2
24	Belgium	7	0	0	7	13	101	−88	0

Ranking and statistics

The 1978 Ice Hockey World Championships awarded top players chosen by the tournament directorate. The best goaltender was Jiří Holeček from Czechoslovakia, the best defenceman was Viacheslav Fetisov from the Soviet Union, and the best forward was Marcel Dionne from Canada.

The Media All-Star Team included Jiří Holeček as goaltender, Jiří Bubla from Czechoslovakia and Viacheslav Fetisov from the Soviet Union as defencemen, and forwards Ivan Hlinka from Czechoslovakia, Sergei Kapustin and Alexander Maltsev from the Soviet Union.

1978 IIHF World Championship winners
Soviet Union 15th title

	Soviet Union
	Czechoslovakia
	Canada
4	Sweden
5	West Germany
6	United States
7	Finland
8	East Germany

	Soviet Union
	Czechoslovakia
	Sweden
4	West Germany
5	East Germany
6	Finland