The 1955 Ice Hockey World Championships was the 22nd edition of the
Ice Hockey World Championships
The Ice Hockey World Championships are an annual international men's ice hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). First officially held at the 1920 Summer Olympics, it is the sport's highest profile annual ...
. The tournament was held in
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian language, Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second- ...
,
Dortmund,
Krefeld
Krefeld ( , ; li, Krieëvel ), also spelled Crefeld until 1925 (though the spelling was still being used in British papers throughout the Second World War), is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located northwest of Düsseldorf, i ...
and
Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...
,
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
from February 25 to March 6, 1955. A total of 14 nations participated in this World Championship, which was a new record for the postwar era. As a result, the teams were seeded with the strongest 9 teams placed in Pool A (the championship pool) and the remaining 5 nations as well as the West German B team placed in Pool B.
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, represented by the
Penticton Vees
The Penticton Vees are a junior "A" ice hockey team from Penticton, British Columbia, Canada. They are a part of the British Columbia Hockey League. The junior Vees were founded in 1961, sharing the name of the senior hockey team, the Penticton ...
of the
Okanagan Senior League, won their 16th international title. For the second straight year both the Soviets and Canadians were undefeated until they played each other in the final game of the tournament. This time Canada won 5–0, giving the Soviets the silver medal, and their second
European Championship. Czechoslovakia won the bronze by dominating the weaker teams, drawing the Americans, and narrowly defeating the Swedes.
Despite the victory,
the Canadian Press
The Canadian Press (CP; french: La Presse canadienne, ) is a Canadian national news agency headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Established in 1917 as a vehicle for the time's Canadian newspapers to exchange news and information, The Canadian Pre ...
reported sentiments from Canadian players and spectators that "Canada should never again take part in the tournament under its present setup", and
Canadian Amateur Hockey Association president
W. B. George was concerned that the game in Europe took on political and religious meanings in which Canada did not want to become involved.
World Championship Group A (West Germany)
Final Round
Standings
Tournament awards
* Best players selected by the directorate:
** Best
Goaltender
In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as the goalie) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays in or near t ...
:
Don Rigazio
Donald Edmund Rigazio (born July 3, 1934) is a former American ice hockey goaltender who was a member of the silver medal-winning United States team in ice hockey at the 1956 Winter Olympics.
Rigazio played for the United States men's national ...
**Best
Defenceman
Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the latter a reference to ...
:
Karel Gut
Karel Gut (16 September 1927 – 6 January 2014) was a Czech ice hockey player and coach, who later worked in sports management. He was born in Prague and later played in the Czechoslovak Extraliga. While Gut played soccer in his youth, he was ...
**Best
Forward:
Bill Warwick
William Harvey "The Dapper Yapper" Warwick (November 17, 1924 – October 3, 2007) was a professional Canadian ice hockey forward. He was inducted into the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame and Museum.
World Championship Group B (West Germany)
Final Round
Standings
Note:West Germany B games were unofficial.
European Championship medal table
Citations
References
*
Complete results*
*
{{IIHF Ice Hockey European Championships
IIHF Men's World Ice Hockey Championships
World Championships
A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
1955
World
In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...
February 1955 sports events in Europe
March 1955 sports events in Europe
Sports competitions in Düsseldorf
Sports competitions in Cologne
20th century in Düsseldorf
20th century in Cologne
20th century in Dortmund
1950s in North Rhine-Westphalia
Sports competitions in Dortmund
Sport in Krefeld