2003 IIHF World Championship
The 2003 IIHF World Championship was held between 26 April and 11 May 2003 in Helsinki, Tampere and Turku, Finland. It was the 67th annual event, and was run by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). Canada won the gold medal after defeating Sweden 3–2 in a tightly fought final. Over 14 minutes into the overtime, Canadian forward Anson Carter beat Swedish goaltender Mikael Tellqvist with a wraparound goal. The goal was contested for several minutes before replays confirmed that Tellqvist had stopped the puck behind the goal line. It was Canada's first World Championship  win in five years. Sweden surrendered five consecutive goals against Finland in their quarterfinal to trail 5–1 seven minutes into the second period, at which point Swedish goaltender Tommy Salo was swapped for Mikael Tellqvist. This proved to be the Swedish team's necessary wake-up call as the Swedes went on to score five unanswered goals before the end of regulation and ultimately win the game 6–5. Qualification Tournament. The Far Eastern Qualification was played as a single game during the 2003 Asian Winter Games on February 4, 2003 in Hachinohe, Japan. South Korea had opted to not play  as they believed it more beneficial to focus on training and developing for their Division II tournament. During the games Japan also beat the Koreans eleven to two in the semi-finals. All times local Final tournament. First round. In the First Round, the top 3 teams from each group progressed to the Second Round, whilst the last placed team progressed to the Consolation Round. Group A. All times local Group B. All times local Group C. All times local Group D. All times local Second round. In the Second Round, the top 4 teams from each group progressed to  the Final Round, whilst the bottom 2 teams are eliminated. Group E. Tables and scores below include meetings between teams during the First Round. Group F. Tables and scores below include meetings between teams during the First Round. Group G. As the Far Eastern qualifier, avoids relegation. Therefore, and are relegated to Division I for the 2004 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships All times local Ranking and Statistics. Final standings. The final standings of the tournament according to IIHF: Scoring leaders. List shows the top ten skaters sorted by points, then goals, then (fewer) games played. 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.