# 1993 Men's Ice Hockey World Championships

The 1993 Men's Ice Hockey World Championships was the 57th such event sanctioned by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). Teams representing 32 countries participated in several levels of competition, with an additional six national teams failing to advance from mid-season preliminary qualifying tournaments. The competition also served as qualifications for group placements in the 1994 competition.
The top Championship Group A tournament took place in Germany from 18 April to 2 May 1993, with games played in Munich and Dortmund. Twelve teams took part, with the first round being split into two groups of six, with the four best teams from each group advancing to the quarter-finals. Russia beat the reigning world champions Sweden to win the World Championships for the first time since entering competition after the dissolution of the Soviet Union at the end of 1991. The bronze medal was won by the Czech Republic, defeating Canada in their first major tournament as an independent country after their split with Slovakia at the beginning of the calendar year.
While Latvia had last competed in 1939, this year marked the World Championship debut of three national teams. Kazakhstan, Slovenia, and Ukraine, played for the first time, in Group C. Belarus, Croatia, Estonia, and Lithuania all did not make it out of the autumn qualifiers and had to wait at least another year. Also waiting until the following year was Slovakia, who made their World Championship debut in Group C1 in 1994. The official mascot of this tournament was Bully the penguin.
Eleven of the twelve openings for the Lillehammer Olympics were established in Group A. Switzerland, by being relegated, was excluded, and the final nation had to qualify in a tournament the next fall. The top two teams from Group B, the Group C champion, the top Asian nation, and Slovakia all were given the opportunity to fill the final vacancy.

## World Championship Group A (Germany)
### Group 1

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Canada | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 4 | +27 | 10 |
| 2 | Sweden | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 17 | 14 | +3 | 6 |
| 3 | Russia | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 15 | 12 | +3 | 5 |
| 4 | Italy | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 20 | −12 | 4 |
| 5 | Switzerland | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 14 | −3 | 4 |
| 6 | Austria | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 22 | −18 | 1 |

### Group 2

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Czech Republic | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 17 | 4 | +13 | 9 |
| 2 | Germany | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 20 | 12 | +8 | 8 |
| 3 | United States | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 14 | 10 | +4 | 6 |
| 4 | Finland | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 5 |
| 5 | Norway | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 17 | −11 | 2 |
| 6 | France | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 10 | 24 | −14 | 0 |

### Playoff round

| Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | | Final | Final |
| 27 April | 27 April | | | |
| Sweden | 5 | | | |
| Sweden | 5 | 30 April | 30 April | | |
| United States | 2 | 30 April | 30 April | |
| United States | 2 | Sweden (OT) | 4 | |
| 28 April | 28 April | | Sweden (OT) | 4 | |
| 28 April | 28 April | Czech Republic | 3 | |
| Czech Republic | 8 | Czech Republic | 3 | |
| Czech Republic | 8 | | | | 2 May | 2 May |
| Italy | 1 | | | | 2 May | 2 May |
| Italy | 1 | | | | Sweden | 1 |
| 28 April | 28 April | | | | | Sweden | 1 |
| 28 April | 28 April | | | | Russia | 3 |
| Canada | 5 | | | | Russia | 3 |
| Canada | 5 | 30 April | 30 April | | | |
| Finland | 1 | 30 April | 30 April | | | |
| Finland | 1 | Canada | 4 | | | |
| 27 April | 27 April | | Canada | 4 | | | |
| 27 April | 27 April | Russia | 7 | | Third place | Third place |
| Germany | 1 | Russia | 7 | | Third place | Third place |
| Germany | 1 | | | | 1 May | 1 May |
| Russia | 5 | | | | 1 May | 1 May |
| Russia | 5 | | | | Czech Republic | 5 |
| | | | | | Canada | 1 |

### Consolation round 11–12 place

Switzerland was relegated to the Group B.

### Final

| | 0-1 | xx:xx − German Titov |
| | 0-2 | xx:xx − Andrei Nikolishin |
| | 0-3 | xx:xx − Andrei Khomutov |
| Mikael Renberg − xx:xx | 1-3 | |

## World Championship Group B (Netherlands)

Played in Eindhoven 25 March to 4 April. The British team, just promoted from Group C, won all their games. Their first game was won by either keen strategy, or controversy, depending on how you view it. With the score against tournament favorite Poland tied three all, the British coach, Alex Dampier, asked the referee to measure the opposing goalie's stick. It was found to be illegal, and Great Britain scored the winning goal on the ensuing powerplay.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 13 | Great Britain | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 50 | 13 | +37 | 14 |
| 14 | Poland | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 71 | 12 | +59 | 12 |
| 15 | Netherlands | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 47 | 20 | +27 | 10 |
| 16 | Denmark | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 38 | 24 | +14 | 8 |
| 17 | Japan | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 34 | 31 | +3 | 6 |
| 18 | Romania | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 20 | 44 | −24 | 4 |
| 19 | China | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 12 | 79 | −67 | 2 |
| 20 | Bulgaria | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 9 | 58 | −49 | 0 |
Great Britain was promoted to the Group A while Bulgaria was relegated to the Group C.

## World Championship Group C (Slovenia)
### Qualifying round

All qualifiers were played from 6 to 8 November 1992.

#### Group 1 (Latvia)

Played in Riga. The winner qualified for the Group C, and the other two nations had to play each other for inclusion into the Group C2.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Latvia | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 5 | +14 | 4 |
| 2 | Estonia | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 7 | +2 | 2 |
| 3 | Lithuania | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 19 | −16 | 0 |
Latvia qualified for the Group C.

#### Group 2 (Belarus)

Played in Minsk. The top two teams qualified for the Group C. Azerbaijan had the option of playing in this group, but did not.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Ukraine | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 6 | +2 | 2 |
| 2 | Kazakhstan | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 7 | −1 | 2 |
| 3 | Belarus | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 2 |
Ukraine and Kazakhstan both qualified for the Group C.

#### Group 3 (Croatia/Slovenia)

Played as a home and home series in Zagreb and Ljubljana. The winner qualified for the Group C, and the loser played the qualifiers for the Group C2. Originally, Luxembourg was to play in this group but declined.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Slovenia | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 3 | +19 | 4 |
| 2 | Croatia | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 22 | −19 | 0 |
Slovenia qualified for the Group C.

#### Group 4 (Turkey)

Played in Ankara. Originally, South Africa was to be in this group as well, but they went directly to the Group C instead.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Israel | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 6 | +16 | 4 |
| 2 | Greece | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 10 | +2 | 2 |
| 3 | Turkey | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 24 | −18 | 0 |
Israel qualified for the Group C.

### First round

Played from 12 to 18 March. The first and the second-placed team from each group of six advanced to the semifinals. In the finals, the winner gained promotion to the Group B. The three other semi-finalists, together with the two third-placed teams, remained to form the Group C1 in 1994. The remaining six nations would comprise Group C2, effectively being relegated. South Korea defeated Spain 7–3 to win what was expected to be a battle to remain in the Group C. Instead, Group C was divided into two parts, putting them both in the bottom tier.

#### Group 1

Played in Bled.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Ukraine | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 102 | 10 | +92 | 9 |
| 2 | Latvia | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 94 | 8 | +86 | 9 |
| 3 | North Korea | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 30 | 26 | +4 | 6 |
| 4 | Belgium | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 19 | 74 | −55 | 4 |
| 5 | South Korea | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 16 | 60 | −44 | 2 |
| 6 | Israel | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 8 | 91 | −83 | 0 |
Belgium, South Korea, and Israel were relegated to the Group C2.

#### Group 2

Played in Ljubljana.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Slovenia | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 74 | 4 | +70 | 10 |
| 2 | Kazakhstan | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 76 | 6 | +70 | 8 |
| 3 | Hungary | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 36 | 31 | +5 | 6 |
| 4 | Australia | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 19 | 51 | −32 | 4 |
| 5 | Spain | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 18 | 39 | −21 | 2 |
| 6 | South Africa | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 8 | 100 | −92 | 0 |
Australia, Spain, and South Africa were relegated to the Group C2.

### Final

Latvia was promoted to the Group B.

## Ranking and statistics

* 1993 IIHF World Championship winners
* Russia 1st/23rd title

### Tournament awards

* Best players selected by the directorate:
** Best Goaltender: Petr Bříza
** Best Defenceman: Dmitri Yushkevich
** Best Forward: Eric Lindros
* Media All-Star Team:
** Goaltender: Petr Bříza
** Defence: Ilya Byakin, Dave Manson
** Forwards: Ulf Dahlén, Eric Lindros, Mikael Renberg

### Final standings

The final standings of the tournament according to IIHF:
| | Russia |
| | Sweden |
| | Czech Republic |
| 4 | Canada |
| 5 | Germany |
| 6 | United States |
| 7 | Finland |
| 8 | Italy |
| 9 | Austria |
| 10 | France |
| 11 | Norway |
| 12 | Switzerland |

### Scoring leaders

List shows the top skaters sorted by points, then goals.
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM | POS |
| Eric Lindros | 8 | 11 | 6 | 17 | +16 | 10 | F |
| Andrei Khomutov | 8 | 5 | 7 | 12 | +8 | 10 | F |
| Shayne Corson | 8 | 3 | 7 | 10 | +14 | 6 | F |
| Dave Manson | 8 | 3 | 7 | 10 | +13 | 22 | D |
| Valeri Karpov | 8 | 4 | 5 | 9 | +6 | 0 | F |
| Petr Rosol | 8 | 4 | 5 | 9 | +10 | 10 | F |
| Paul Kariya | 8 | 2 | 7 | 9 | +10 | 0 | F |
| Dieter Hegen | 6 | 6 | 2 | 8 | +5 | 10 | F |
| Mikael Renberg | 8 | 5 | 3 | 8 | +5 | 6 | F |
| Martin Hosták | 8 | 4 | 4 | 8 | +5 | 0 | F |
Source:

### Leading goaltenders

Only the top five goaltenders, based on save percentage, who have played 50% of their team's minutes are included in this list.
| Player | MIP | GA | GAA | SVS% | SO |
| Petr Bříza | 488 | 10 | 1.23 | .949 | 2 |
| Brian Stankiewicz | 239 | 8 | 2.01 | .946 | 0 |
| Bill Ranford | 355 | 11 | 1.86 | .933 | 2 |
| Reto Pavoni | 298 | 12 | 2.42 | .921 | 0 |
| Markus Ketterer | 296 | 10 | 2.03 | .919 | 1 |
Source:

## Citations

* ↑ Podnieks pg.15. Note that the IIHF encyclopedia does not group Russian and Soviet Union medals in ice hockey, however their writers often do, which would make this their 23rd title.
* ↑ Olympic qualifier
* 1 2 3 4 5 Summary at Passionhockey.com
* ↑ If 22 World Championship titles won by the Soviet Union are included, this total comes to 23.