The 1973 Ice Hockey World Championships were the 40th Ice Hockey World Championships and the 51st European Championships of ice hockey. The tournament took place in the Soviet Union from 31 March to 15 April and the games were played at the Palace of Sports of the Central Lenin Stadium in Moscow.

Six teams took part in the main tournament, with each team playing each other twice. The Soviet Union took back their world title and became World Champions for the 12th time.

World Championship Group A (Soviet Union)

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPts
1Soviet Union10100010018+8220
2Sweden107125323+3015
3Czechoslovakia106134820+2813
4Finland103162439−157
5Poland101181476−623
6West Germany101091982−632

West Germany was relegated to Group B.

31 MarchCzechoslovakia14–1Poland
31 MarchSoviet Union17–1West Germany
1 AprilPoland2–11Sweden
1 AprilFinland8–3West Germany
2 AprilSweden2–0Czechoslovakia
2 AprilSoviet Union8–2Finland
3 AprilCzechoslovakia4–2West Germany
3 AprilSoviet Union9–3Poland
4 AprilWest Germany2–8Sweden
4 AprilPoland0–5Finland
5 AprilFinland2–3Sweden
5 AprilSoviet Union3–2Czechoslovakia
6 AprilPoland2–4West Germany
7 AprilFinland2–4Czechoslovakia
7 AprilSoviet Union6–1Sweden
8 AprilPoland1–4Czechoslovakia
8 AprilWest Germany2–18Soviet Union
9 AprilSweden7–0Poland
9 AprilFinland2–1West Germany
10 AprilCzechoslovakia3–3Sweden
10 AprilSoviet Union9–1Finland
11 AprilWest Germany2–7Czechoslovakia
11 AprilSoviet Union20–0Poland
12 AprilSweden12–1West Germany
12 AprilFinland1–1Poland
13 AprilSweden2–1Finland
13 AprilSoviet Union4–2Czechoslovakia
14 AprilWest Germany1–4Poland
15 AprilCzechoslovakia8–0Finland
15 AprilSoviet Union6–4Sweden

World Championship Group B (Austria)

Played in Graz, 22 to 31 March. The Austrian team was coached by Father David Bauer who had established the Canada men's national ice hockey team.

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPts
7East Germany77005621+3514
8United States75115223+2911
9Yugoslavia74213622+1410
10Romania74122420+49
11Austria72052144−234
12Japan72052328−54
13Switzerland72052644−184
14Italy70071854−360

East Germany was promoted to Group A, both Switzerland and Italy were relegated to group C. Rating Austria, Japan and Switzerland against each other head to head, they each had two points, Austria had a goal differential of +2, Japan +1, and Switzerland -3.

22 MarchUnited States6–4Japan
22 MarchEast Germany6–4Yugoslavia
22 MarchSwitzerland4–3Italy
22 MarchAustria2–4Romania
23 MarchYugoslavia6–6United States
23 MarchAustria6–5Italy
24 MarchRomania3–0Japan
24 MarchEast Germany8–5Switzerland
25 MarchUnited States4–6East Germany
25 MarchItaly2–5Romania
25 MarchYugoslavia6–0Switzerland
25 MarchAustria2–4Japan
26 MarchUnited States11–0Italy
26 MarchAustria1–6Yugoslavia
27 MarchJapan4–5Switzerland
27 MarchEast Germany4–2Romania
28 MarchEast Germany5–3Japan
28 MarchRomania5–4Switzerland
28 MarchYugoslavia8–4Italy
28 MarchAustria0–9United States
30 MarchUnited States6–3Romania
30 MarchYugoslavia4–3Japan
30 MarchItaly1–15East Germany
30 MarchAustria8–4Switzerland
31 MarchItaly3–5Japan
31 MarchSwitzerland4–10United States
31 MarchYugoslavia2–2Romania
31 MarchAustria2–12East Germany

World Championship Group C (Netherlands)

Played in Geleen, Rotterdam, Nijmegen, Utrecht, Tilburg and The Hague, from 9 to 18 March.

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPts
15Norway77005314+3914
16Netherlands75025221+3110
17Hungary75024424+2010
18Bulgaria73132928+17
19China72232128−76
20France73042329−66
21Denmark70252258−362
22Great Britain70161860−421

Norway and the Netherlands were promoted to Group B.

9 MarchChina3–3Denmark
9 MarchHungary9–0Great Britain
9 MarchNorway4–3Bulgaria
9 MarchNetherlands2–4France
10 MarchChina3–3Bulgaria
10 MarchFrance3–1Great Britain
10 MarchNorway14–2Denmark
10 MarchNetherlands5–3Hungary
12 MarchNorway4–0China
12 MarchBulgaria2–1Denmark
12 MarchHungary7–1France
12 MarchNetherlands13–3Great Britain
13 MarchFrance6–3Denmark
13 MarchNorway11–3Great Britain
13 MarchHungary9–6China
13 MarchNetherlands8–5Bulgaria
15 MarchChina2–1France
15 MarchBulgaria9–2Great Britain
15 MarchNorway6–0Hungary
15 MarchNetherlands14–0Denmark
16 MarchNorway8–3France
16 MarchHungary5–1Bulgaria
16 MarchGreat Britain8–8Denmark
16 MarchNetherlands7–0China
18 MarchChina7–1Great Britain
18 MarchBulgaria6–5France
18 MarchHungary11–5Denmark
18 MarchNetherlands3–6Norway

Ranking and statistics

1973 IIHF World Championship winners
Soviet Union 12th title

Tournament Awards

Final standings

The final standings of the tournament according to IIHF:

Soviet Union
Sweden
Czechoslovakia
4Finland
5Poland
6West Germany

European championships final standings

The final standings of the European championships according to IIHF:

Soviet Union
Sweden
Czechoslovakia
4Finland
5Poland
6West Germany

External links

  • Duplacey, James (1998). . Total Sports. pp. . ISBN 0-8362-7114-9.
  • Podnieks, Andrew (2010). IIHF Media Guide & Record Book 2011. Moydart Press. p. 143.