2010 IIHF World Championship The 2010 IIHF World Championship was the 74th IIHF World Championship , an annual international ice hockey tournament . It took place between 7th and 23rd May 2010 in Germany . The games were played in the Lanxess Arena in Cologne , SAP Arena in Mannheim , and one game at Veltins - Arena in Gelsenkirchen . The Russian team was the defending champion , having won the previous two championships . The tournament was won by the Czech Republic , who claimed their sixth world championship title by defeating Russia 2 – 1 in the final . Sweden won against Germany 3 – 1 for the bronze medal . The tournament stands as the most - watched IIHF championship in history , with an estimated cumulative audience of over over the course of the tournament and viewers in over 100 countries and dependencies worldwide . It also was a considerable success regarding attendance for the tournament ; it ranks as the second most - attended ice hockey world championship of all time , narrowly behind the 2004 edition . In total 548 , 788 people attended , compared with 552 , 097 in 2004 in the Czech Republic . The host nation of Germany had their best finish at the tournament since it switched to the current 16 nation format , and a player representing Germany ( goaltender Dennis Endras ) was named MVP for the first time in the history of the championship . Summary . Preliminary round . Group A saw the higher seeded team win each match , with the exception of the game between Belarus and Slovakia which was won by Slovakia . Russia topped the group with the full nine points , Slovakia qualified in second and Belarus in third . Kazakhstan was sent to the relegation round , after being promoted to the finals tournament for the first time since 2006 . In Group B the higher seeded team won each match , with the exception of the final group match which saw Switzerland defeat the second - seeded Canadians for the first time in the history of the tournament . This upset led to Switzerland winning the group with nine points , followed by Canada in second and Latvia in third . Italy , back at the finals tournament after missing 2009 , lost all its matches and was returned to the relegation round . Group C action ended with three teams having a record of two wins and one defeat . Norway ' s upset defeat of Czech Republic caused a controversy when Jaromír Jágr , a famous member of the Czech team , spoke out against other Czech stars turning down the tournament . This later triggered a international hockey dispute , when a column was posted on IIHF . com regarding these comments and about players ' turning down invitations to attend . This article was later taken down and René Fasel , president of the IIHF , noted his concern . Sweden , the Czech Republic and Norway all moved on to the qualification round , while France was sent to the relegation after failing to win any matches . In Group D the 2010 IIHF World Championship Opening Game saw the first major upset . Germany in front of a record crowd of over 77 , 000 persons defeated the United States in overtime , 2 – 1 . This group proved to be full of upsets ; in the next match Denmark beat the fourth - seeded Finns , followed by the Danes defeating the Americans . Finland came up with two wins to top the group and move on to the qualification round , along with Germany in second place and Denmark in third . The final match between the U . S . and Finland determined the United States ' last - place finish , and they were sent to the relegation round for the first time since 2003 . Qualification round . Group E action first saw Denmark handing favored Slovakia a blowout upset , 6 – 0 . In the next match Finland defeated Belarus , 2 – 0 , after out - shooting them 32 to 18 . Russia narrowly defeated Germany 3 – 2 , in which Alexander Ovetchkin scored the winner . Russia continued with two more wins over Denmark and Finland to propel them to the group win , making them the only team to go undefeated into the playoff round . Belarus defeated Germany in overtime , and then defeated Denmark 2 – 1 , but this was not enough to qualify and they ended in fifth place . In yet another upset , the host Germans defeated Slovakia 2 – 1 to win a qualifying spot in third place , much to the delight of the German fans and coach Uwe Krupp . Finland finished in second - place after Russia , followed by Germany and Denmark . Denmark managed to qualify for the quarter - finals for the first time in the history of the tournament . Slovakia finished a disappointing last , marking the third straight year in which they did not qualify for the quarter - finals in the lead up to their hosting of the 2011 IIHF World Championship . Group F opened with Canada flexing its offense against Norway in a 12 – 1 blowout . Sweden then defeated Latvia 4 – 2 , followed by Switzerland continuing its winning streak with an upset 3 – 2 win against the Czechs . Latvia defeated Norway but later lost to the Czech Republic , which resulted in their last placement in the group and their failure to qualify . Sweden beat Canada after an impressive performance by Swedish goaltender Jonas Gustavsson . In another upset , Norway managed to beat the in - form Swiss 3 – 2 , but they would end in fifth place . The Czech Republic won against Canada 3 – 2 to lead them to finish ahead of the Canadians in the group . Sweden capped off the round with a convincing 5 – 0 win over Switzerland to finish as group winners . Switzerland finished in second after Sweden , followed by the Czech Republic . Canada , somewhat surprisingly as the second seed , grabbed the last qualifying spot in fourth place . Relegation round . In the relegation round ( Group G ) the teams from the U . S . , France , the newly - promoted Italy and Kazakhstan faced each other after they had ended their respective preliminary groups in fourth and last place . The U . S . beat Kazakhstan in the first game in a 10 – 0 blowout , while France won against Italy in the decisive match for second place . There were no surprises on the second game - day , with the U . S . defeating France and Italy winning against Kazakhstan . The U . S . then defeated Italy in a shootout and France beat Kazakhstan 5 – 3 . The final relegation results saw Kazakhstan and Italy go directly back down to Division I . Group - winners U . S . and second - placed France both qualified for the 2011 World Championships . Playoff round . The playoff round saw the top eight teams competing for the title of 2010 world champions . The quarter - finals began with a close match between Finland and the Czech Republic . After Petri Kontiola ' s early goal in the first minute , the game remained scoreless all the way into the third period . Jakub Klepiš scored the equalizer shortly after the final period started . No further goals were scored , so the game went into a scoreless overtime followed by a shootout . Jan Marek scored the decisive goal to put the Czechs into the semifinals . In the second quarter - final , Sweden faced Denmark . This was Denmark ' s first appearance in the playoff round . After Sweden established a comfortable 3 – 0 lead , the Danes scored a goal in the second period . Seven minutes before the end Linus Omark scored a goal which restored the three - goal lead for Sweden . A late power play goal by Dane Morten Madsen was to no avail and Sweden won 4 - 2 . The third quarter - final featured a storied and contentious rivalry . Russia played against Canada in a repeat of the quarter - finals at the 2010 Olympics , in which Canada embarrassed the Russians 7 – 3 . The opening period was a dead heat until a late goal by Maxim Afinogenov . Russia , still undefeated at the tournament , immediately overtook Canada in the second period , and led at one point in the third period by 4 – 0 . Ilya Kovalchuk had a three - assist game and was a big boost for the Russians who won 5 – 2 , following two late Canadian goals . The final quarter - final was an evening game between the host Germany and their traditional rival , Switzerland . The first period was scoreless but not without chances , as the Swiss hit the post twice . Midway through the second period Philip Gogulla scored on the power play to give Germany the lead , and this goal would turn out to be the game winner . The Swiss out - shot the Germans 41 to 27 , and Dennis Endras is credited with keeping Germany in the game by preserving the one goal lead . The win put Germany in the semifinals for the first time since 1953 and the match was dubbed by the IIHF as " The Miracle at Mannheim " . At the end of the match there was a brawl between the teams , which included German assistant coach Ernst Höfner getting into an altercation with Swiss defenceman Timo Helbling . Both were handed match suspensions . After one day off the semifinals started with Sweden versus the Czech Republic . The first period was equal with both teams scoring one goal . Andreas Engqvist scored midway through the second period to put Sweden up 2 – 1 . This lead held into very late in the third period . With 1 : 13 left in the third period the Czechs pulled their goalie to get a six on five opportunity and Karel Rachůnek scored the 2 – 2 equalizer with just 7 . 5 seconds left , putting the game into overtime . The overtime period stayed scoreless and it came down to the shootout . In a repeat of the quarter - final the Czechs won by a goal from Jan Marek . The other semifinal between Germany and Russia was a close match , much like their qualification round game . The Germans started off the scoring with a goal from Marcel Goc during a two - man power play . At the midway point of the match Evgeni Malkin scored to tie up the game for the Russians . The remainder of the game was very close , and the tie was only broken with 1 : 50 minutes left , when Pavel Datsyuk scored the game - winning goal . The Germans pressed in the final minutes but the score held for a 2 – 1 Russian victory , putting them in the final for the third straight year . The bronze medal game was between Sweden and the surprise semifinalists , hosts Germany . Magnus Pääjärvi - Svensson scored an early goal to put up Sweden 1 – 0 . The game then went scoreless until late in the second period when on a 4 – 3 rush Alexander Barta managed to retrieve his own rebound and put it top - shelf past Jonas Gustavsson , tying up the game for Germany . Early in the third period Jonas Andersson fired a shot from a very tight angle which managed to beat Dennis Endras on the five hole . The score held until Andersson netted an empty - net goal to ensure Sweden ' s 3 – 1 victory , giving them their second straight bronze medal at the worlds . Final . The final was played between Russia and the Czech Republic for the first time in the history of the tournament , although the predecessors of both these nations , the USSR and Czechoslovakia , had met several times in the 1960s , 70s , and 80s . It was Russia ' s third consecutive finals appearance , and the Czech Republic ' s first appearance since 2006 . The match began with a goal after just 20 seconds , scored by Jakub Klepiš from a pass by Jaromír Jágr . The goal was seemingly the result of a defensive mistake which led to a Czech offensive possession with Russian defensemen out of position . For the remainder of the period the Russians held almost complete possession of the puck , and veteran Sergei Fedorov hit the post after an odd man rush . Very late in the period the Russians put the puck in the net on a power play , but it was determined to be after the clock had run out and was ruled as no goal . There was some brief confusion however , as the buzzer sounds after the clock on the scoreboard runs out . In the second period Russia pressed once again but the Czech Republic slowed the game down and forced Russia to regroup , resulting in an error in the Russian defensive zone when Alexander Ovechkin collided with team - mate Fedorov . This led to a 3 - on - 2 rush for the Czechs and Karel Rachůnek centered the puck while Tomáš Rolinek crashed the net . The puck was redirected off Rolinek ' s skates , and it was ruled a good goal because there was no kicking motion visible . The third period began with more Russian pressure , including a close chance off the post by Evgeni Malkin , but at the midway point of the period Russian Alexei Emelin was given a five minute major and thrown out of the game for clipping Jaromír Jágr , who did not return for the remainder of the game . This was followed by more penalty trouble for both teams . In the final minutes after pulling goaltender Semyon Varlamov , Pavel Datsyuk buried a goal on a 5 - on - 3 with 35 seconds left , bringing Russia within one goal of the Czechs . Under pressure the Czech goalie Tomáš Vokoun managed to stave off the final Russian assault and the Czechs held on to win the game 2 – 1 . The president of the Czech Republic Václav Klaus handed out the gold medals alongside IIHF president René Fasel . Host selection . Four nations , all located in Europe placed formal bids to host the 2010 IIHF World Championship . Those nations were : Slovakia and Sweden withdrew from bidding before voting began in order to apply for the 2011 World Championship . All four nations to bid on the 2010 World Championship later received winning bids . Slovakia won the bid to host the 2011 IIHF World Championship , Sweden won its bid to host in 2012 , but this decision was later switched to be the joint host of the 2012 , and 2013 IIHF World Championship editions ( both with Finland ) , and Belarus to host the 2014 IIHF World Championship . After one round of voting , the winning bid was announced by IIHF president René Fasel on May 15 , 2005 , from Zürich , Switzerland . Belarus ' bidding cities Minsk and Zhodzina received 18 votes to Germany ' s 89 , thus finalizing Germany ' s successful bid . Promotions . Official song . The official song of the tournament is Stuck on Replay by the German electronic dance band Scooter . It is the fourth single from the album " Under The Radar Over The Top " . It was released on March 12 , 2010 , on the day of the Hamburg concert , the biggest show of their " Under The Radar Over The Top " tour . Mascot . Urmel on Ice is the official mascot of the tournament . A character created by Max Kruse and known by the German public from the Augsburger Puppenkiste and the Impy ' s Island ( Urmel aus dem Eis ( Urmel from the ice ) ) film was previously the mascot of the Deutsche Eishockey - Bund and the German national team . He wears number 10 on his jersey . Motto . The official motto of the tournament was unveiled on September 2 , 2009 , in Lanxess Arena and is " Germany on Ice " . Ambassadors . The " World Championship Ambassadors " for 2010 included ; Canadian legend Wayne Gretzky , Soviet ice hockey goaltender and ten time World champion Vladislav Tretiak , and " Germany ' s ice hockey player of the century " Erich Kühnhackl . They are all members of the IIHF Hall of Fame , and have all played in the IIHF World Championship previously . They were special members , alongside ; Zdeno Chára , Peter Forsberg , Sergei Kostitsyn , Jari Kurri , Kim Martin , Mark Streit , Hayley Wickenheiser and Henrik Zetterberg , of a campaign called " The Green Puck campaign " , which was an anti - doping initiative in association with the World Anti - Doping Agency . Venues . Attendance world record . The opening game of the 74th IIHF World Championship took place at Veltins - Arena in Gelsenkirchen on 7 May between Germany and the United States . On this occasion , the stadium ' s planned configuration would allow for a capacity of 76 , 152 . This figure is higher than the past ice hockey attendance World Record held by Michigan State University , which was 74 , 554 . It was announced at the second intermission by Guinness World Records spokesman Christian Teufe , that not only had the Gelsenkirchen game passed the world record , but had exceeded it by over 3 , 000 individuals . The official attendance according to the IIHF , and confirmed by the Guinness World records , was 77 , 803 . Both Eric Nystrom and David Moss , who were playing for the United States , had also played in the Michigan State game in 2001 , making them the only people to have played both world record games . The noise inside the stadium was considerably loud , due to the German football chants , whistles and drums , which according to Ryan Carter of Team USA left the Americans frustrated at the inability to communicate . Carter also said that the " crowd was definitely the seventh man in this game for Germany " . Also notable about the game was that it was the first time in over 17 years of international hockey competition that Germany had defeated the United States , with Felix Schütz scoring the game winner in overtime , on Scott Clemmensen , for a 2 – 1 final score . The previous win was on April 25 , 1993 , also in Germany in Dortmund , during the 1993 World Championship when Germany beat the United States 6 – 3 . The President of Germany , Horst Köhler , along with other politicians were present for the match . Nations . The following 16 nations qualified for the elite - pool tournament . One nation from Asia , 13 nations from Europe , and two nations from North America were represented . Seeding and groups . The seeding in the preliminary round was based on the 2009 IIHF World Ranking , which ends at the conclusion of the 2009 IIHF World Championship . The 2010 Olympics were therefore not included . The teams were grouped accordingly by seeding ( in parenthesis is the corresponding world ranking ) : Group A Group B Group C Group D Rosters . Each teams roster for the 2010 IIHF World Championship consists of at least 15 skaters ( forwards , and defencemen ) and 2 goaltender s , and at most 20 skaters and 3 goaltenders . All sixteen participating nations , through the confirmation of their respective national associations , had to submit a roster by the first IIHF directorate meeting on May 6 , 2010 . Preliminary round . Sixteen participating teams were placed in the following four groups . After playing a round - robin , the top three teams in each group advanced to the Qualifying Round . The last team in each group competes in the Relegation Round . Groups A and D played in Cologne , with one game in Gelsenkirchen , and groups B and C played in Mannheim . Qualification round . The top three teams from each group of the Preliminary Round advanced to the Qualifying Round . They were placed into two groups : teams from Groups A and D were placed into Group E , while teams from Groups B and C were placed into Group F . Every team kept the points from preliminary round matches against teams who also advanced . The teams played a single round robin , but did not play against teams which they had already met in preliminary groups . The top four teams in both groups E and F advanced to the Playoff Round . Relegation round . The bottom team in the standings from each group of the Preliminary Round played in the Relegation Round . The bottom two teams in the Relegation Round moved down to Division 1 for the 2011 World Championship . Playoff round . Quarter - finals . Quarterfinals in Cologne were scheduled to be the pairs 1E – 4F and 2E – 3F , and in Mannheim the pairs 1F – 4E and 2F – 3E . Semi - finals . Pairs were the winner of 1E – 4F vs . the winner of 2F – 3E and 1F – 4E vs . 2E – 3F . Ranking and statistics . Final standings . The final standings of the tournament according to IIHF : Scoring leaders . List shows the top skaters sorted by points , then goals . If the list exceeds 10 skaters because of a tie in points , all of the tied skaters are shown . Leading goaltenders . Only the top five goaltenders , based on save percentage , who have played 40 % of their team ' s minutes are included in this list . Officials . The IIHF selected 16 referees and 16 linesmen to work the 2010 IIHF World Championship . They are the following :