The 1987

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. The IIHF was created in 1908 while the I ...

was the 52nd such event hosted by the International Ice Hockey Federation. It was also the 63rd

European Championships A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...

. Teams representing 28 countries participated in four levels of competition. In the Division A Championship held 17 April to 3 May in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

, each team played each other once in the preliminary round. The four best placed teams then played each other once in a championship round and, unlike the relegation round, the first round of results were not counted.

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

won the gold medal for the fourth time and the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

won their 25th European title. In the European Championships, only the games of the first round between European teams counted.

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

was demoted to Division B. Sweden's victory was a controversial one. The Germans had beaten both Canada and Finland when it was revealed that forward Miroslav Sikora had played for the Polish junior team in

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...

. He was suspended, and the IIHF stripped West Germany of their two wins. The Germans took the matter to court, stating that they had been granted permission. Though Sikora remained suspended, the IIHF reinstated the two victories. If the courts had not intervened, Finland would have replaced Sweden in the medal round. Additionally, the Swedes earned the Gold over the Soviets by goal differential when the Soviets had gone undefeated and the Swedes had lost three preliminary round games. This led to further discussion of a change of format. The IIHF's account of the finale states that, "Sweden won thanks to an inflated score against Canada," however Sweden only needed to win by two (the same margin that the Czechoslovaks beat Canada by) for the Gold. In reality, the Soviets had to come from behind to capture Silver and deprive the Czechoslovaks of the Gold, and the Swedes winning by more than two ensured that the Czechoslovaks could not play to a tie and capture Gold. Promotion and relegation was effective for 1989 as the

IIHF The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF; ; ) is a worldwide governing body for ice hockey. It is based in Zurich, Switzerland, and has 84 member countries. The IIHF maintains the IIHF World Ranking based on international ice hockey tourn ...

did not run a championship in Olympic years at this time. Nations that did not participate in the

Calgary Olympics The 1988 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Calgary 1988 were a multi-sport event held from February 13 to 28, 1988, with Calgary, Calgary, Alberta as the main host city. This marks the m ...

were invited to compete in the final

Thayer Tutt Trophy The Thayer Tutt Trophy was an international ice hockey tournament contested in 1980, 1984, and 1988 for national teams that did not qualify for the Olympic Games. The tournament was named after William Thayer Tutt, who was the president of the I ...

World Championship Group A (Austria)

First round

Final Round

Consolation round

was relegated to Group B.''

World Championship Group B (Italy)

Played in

Canazei Canazei ( Ladin: ''Cianacéi'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in Trentino in the northern Italian region Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, located in the upper part of the Val di Fassa, about northeast of Trento. Its name derives from the Latin wo ...

26 March to 5 April. The top three teams earned

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

berths, and the fourth place team played off against the Group C winner to join them. ''

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

was promoted to Group A, and both the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

were relegated to Group C.''

World Championship Group C (Denmark)

Played in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

Herlev Herlev is a suburb about 11 km northwest of Copenhagen city centre, bordering Rødovre to the south, Ballerup to the west and Gladsaxe Municipality, Gladsaxe to the north. It is the site of the municipal council of Herlev Municipality, Denma ...

and

Hørsholm Hørsholm () is an urban area on the Øresund coast approximately north of Copenhagen, Denmark. It covers most of Hørsholm Municipality and straddles the borders neighbouring Fredensborg Municipality and Rudersdal Municipality. Hørsholm proper ...

20–29 March. In addition to being promoted, the winner played off against the fourth placed Group B team for the final

berth. Both

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

and

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

were promoted to Group B. On the final day, if either

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

had won, they would have been promoted, but they tied each other.

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

was relegated to Group D, and later

chose to compete in Group D as well, for financial reasons.

World Championship Group D (Australia)

Played in

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, Western Australia 13–20 March.

Chinese Taipei "Chinese Taipei" is the term used in various international organizations and tournaments for groups or delegations representing the Republic of China (ROC), a country commonly known as Taiwan. Due to the One China principle stipulated by the ...

also played four games as exhibition contests. They lost 31–3 to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, 24–0 to

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

, 12–1 to

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, and tied

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

2–2.

was promoted to Group C. Later, when

declined to travel to Australia for the

1989 World Ice Hockey Championships The 1989 Ice Hockey World Championships took place in Sweden from 15 April – 1 May. The games were played in Södertälje and Stockholm, in the newly built arena Globen. Eight teams took part, and each team played each other once. The four bes ...

Group C for financial reasons,

was promoted to take their place.1989 Summary
/ref>

Ranking and statistics

Tournament Awards

*Best players selected by the directorate: **Best

Goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as goalie or netminder) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their own team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays ...

Dominik Hašek Dominik Hašek (, ; born 29 January 1965) is a Czech former ice hockey goaltender who played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL), mostly for the Buffalo Sabres. Widely regarded as one of the best goaltenders in history, Hašek also p ...

**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 Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the l ...

Craig Hartsburg Craig William Hartsburg (born June 29, 1959) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and head coach, who currently serves as an amateur scout and defense development coach with the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League ( ...

**Best

Forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

Vladimir Krutov Vladimir Yevgenyevich Krutov (; 1 June 1960 – 6 June 2012), nicknamed "The Tank", was a Russian professional ice hockey forward (ice hockey), forward. Together with Igor Larionov and Sergei Makarov (ice hockey, born 1958), Sergei Makarov, he was ...

*Media All-Star Team: **Goaltender: Dominik Hašek **Defence:

Udo Kiessling Udo is a masculine given name. It may refer to: Medieval era *Udo of Neustria, 9th-century nobleman *Udo (Obotrite prince) (died 1028) * Udo (archbishop of Trier) (c. 1030 – 1078) * Lothair Udo II, Margrave of the Nordmark (c. 1025 – 1082 ...

Viacheslav Fetisov Viacheslav Alexandrovich "Slava" Fetisov State Duma, MP (; born 20 April 1958) is a Russian former professional ice hockey defenceman, coach, politician and sports official. He played for HC CSKA Moscow for 13 seasons before joining the National ...

**Forwards: Vladimir Krutov, Sergei Makarov, Gerd Truntschka

Final standings

The final standings of the tournament according to

European championships final standings

The final standings of the

European championships A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...

according to

Scoring leaders

List shows the top skaters sorted by points, then goals. Source

/small>

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. Source

/small>

Citations

References

Detailed account of Championship "Story #44" of IIHF top 100 stories in history.
* * {{IIHF Ice Hockey European Championships IIHF Men's World Ice Hockey Championships, 1987

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 ...

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

April 1987 sports events in Europe May 1987 sports events in Europe Sports competitions in Vienna 1980s in Vienna International ice hockey competitions hosted by Italy March 1987 sports events in Europe International ice hockey competitions hosted by Denmark Herlev Municipality Hørsholm Municipality 1980s in Copenhagen International sports competitions in Copenhagen 1986–87 in Italian ice hockey 1986–87 in Danish ice hockey International ice hockey competitions hosted by Australia Sport in Perth, Western Australia 1980s in Perth, Western Australia March 1987 sports events in Australia