# 2004 IIHF World U18 Championships

The 2004 IIHF World U18 Championships were held in Minsk, Belarus. The championships began on April 8, 2004, and finished on April 18, 2004. Games were played at the Ice Palace and Palace sport in Minsk. Russia defeated the United States 3–2 in the final to claim the gold medal, while the Czech Republic defeated Canada 3–2 to capture the bronze medal.

## Championship results
### Preliminary round
#### Group A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | United States | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 5 | +17 | 8 | Semifinals |
| 2 | Canada | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 5 | +10 | 6 | Quarterfinals |
| 3 | Sweden | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 12 | −4 | 4 | Quarterfinals |
| 4 | Denmark | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 10 | −2 | 2 | Relegation round |
| 5 | Belarus (H) | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 24 | −21 | 0 | Relegation round |

#### Group B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Russia | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 9 | +7 | 6 | Semifinals |
| 2 | Czech Republic | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 3 | +7 | 5 | Quarterfinals |
| 3 | Slovakia | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 13 | 7 | +6 | 5 | Quarterfinals |
| 4 | Finland | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 14 | 8 | +6 | 4 | Relegation round |
| 5 | Norway | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 32 | −26 | 0 | Relegation round |
* 1 2 Czech Republic 1–1 Slovakia

### Relegation round

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Relegation |
| 7 | Finland | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 3 | +15 | 6 | |
| 8 | Denmark | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 9 | +3 | 4 | |
| 9 | Belarus (H) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 12 | −5 | 2 | 2005 Division I |
| 10 | Norway | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 20 | −13 | 0 | 2005 Division I |

### Final round
#### Bracket

| Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Final | Final | Final |
| | | | A1 | United States | 3 | | | |
| B2 | Czech Republic | 5 | B2 | Czech Republic | 2 | | | |
| A3 | Sweden | 1 | | | | A1 | United States | 2 |
| | | | | | | B1 | Russia | 3 |
| | | | B1 | Russia | 5 |
| A2 | Canada | 3 | A2 | Canada | 2 |
| B3 | Slovakia | 1 | | | | Third place | Third place | Third place |
| | | | | | | B2 | Czech Republic | 3 |
| | | | | | | A2 | Canada | 2 |

#### Final
### Final standings

| Rk. | Team |
| | Russia |
| | United States |
| | Czech Republic |
| 4 | Canada |
| 5 | Sweden |
| 6 | Slovakia |
| 7 | Finland |
| 8 | Denmark |
| 9 | Belarus |
| 10 | Norway |
Belarus and Norway are relegated to Division I for the 2005 IIHF World U18 Championships.

### Statistics
#### Scoring leaders

| Pos | Player | Country | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| 1 | Lauri Korpikoski | Finland | 6 | 5 | 6 | 11 | +7 | 2 |
| 1 | Lauri Tukonen | Finland | 6 | 5 | 6 | 11 | +7 | 10 |
| 1 | Petteri Nokelainen | Finland | 6 | 5 | 6 | 11 | +5 | 16 |
| 1 | Roman Voloshenko | Russia | 6 | 5 | 6 | 11 | +6 | 18 |
| 5 | Phil Kessel | United States | 6 | 7 | 3 | 10 | +3 | 6 |
| 6 | Peter Regin | Denmark | 6 | 5 | 4 | 9 | +6 | 0 |
| 7 | Roman Tománek | Slovakia | 6 | 7 | 1 | 8 | +6 | 6 |
| 8 | Marek Zagrapan | Slovakia | 6 | 4 | 4 | 8 | +9 | 8 |
| 8 | Evgeni Malkin | Russia | 6 | 4 | 4 | 8 | +4 | 31 |
| 10 | Morten Madsen | Denmark | 6 | 3 | 5 | 8 | +5 | 2 |
GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/− = Plus–minus; PIM = Penalties in minutes Source: IIHF

#### Goaltending leaders

(minimum 40% team's total ice time)
| Pos | Player | Country | TOI | GA | GAA | SA | Sv% | SO |
| 1 | Marek Schwarz | Czech Republic | 419:21 | 9 | 1.29 | 148 | 93.92 | 1 |
| 2 | Cory Schneider | United States | 350:31 | 10 | 1.71 | 141 | 92.91 | 1 |
| 3 | Tuukka Rask | Finland | 298:42 | 8 | 1.61 | 110 | 92.73 | 1 |
| 4 | Devan Dubnyk | Canada | 356:50 | 12 | 2.02 | 145 | 91.72 | 1 |
| 5 | Anton Khudobin | Russia | 360:00 | 13 | 2.17 | 152 | 91.45 | 0 |
TOI = Time On Ice (minutes:seconds); GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; SA = Shots against; Sv% = Save percentage; SO = Shutouts Source: IIHF

### Awards

* Best players selected by the Directorate:
** Best Goaltender: Marek Schwarz
** Best Defenceman: Zach Jones
** Best Forward: Evgeni Malkin
Source: IIHF
* Media All-Stars:
** Goaltender: Anton Khudobin
** Defencemen: Andy Rogers / Ladislav Šmíd
** Forwards: Liam Reddox / Evgeni Malkin / Phil Kessel

## Division I

Division I consisted of two separate tournaments. The Group A tournament was held between 27 March and 2 April 2004 in Amstetten, Austria and the Group B tournament was held between 29 March and 4 April 2004 in Asiago, Italy. Switzerland and Germany won the Group A and Group B tournaments respectively and gained promotion to the Championship Division for the 2005 IIHF World U18 Championships. While Romania finished last in Group A and South Korea last in Group B and were both relegated to Division II for 2005.

### Final standings
## Division II

Division II consisted of two separate tournaments. The Group A tournament was held between 28 March and 3 April 2004 in Debrecen, Hungary and the Group B tournament was held between 1 and 7 March 2004 in Elektrėnai and Kaunas, Lithuania. Ukraine and Great Britain won the Group A and Group B tournaments respectively and gained promotion to Division I for the 2005 IIHF World U18 Championships. While Belgium finished last in Group A and Australia last in Group B and were both relegated to Division III for 2005.

### Final standings
## Division III

The Division III tournament was held between 6 and 14 March 2004 in Sofia, Bulgaria. Mexico and South Africa finished first and second respectively and both gained promotion to Division II for the 2005 IIHF World U18 Championships. While Turkey and Bosnia and Herzegovina finished sixth and seventh respectively and were relegated to the Division III Qualification tournament for 2005.

### Final standings

* Mexico — promoted to Division II for 2005
* South Africa — promoted to Division II for 2005
* New Zealand
* Bulgaria
* Israel
* Turkey — relegated to Division III Qualification for 2005
* Bosnia and Herzegovina — relegated to Division III Qualification for 2005