1953 World Ice Hockey Championships

1953 World Ice Hockey Championships
Tournament details
Host nation	Switzerland
Dates	7–15 March
Teams	4
Champions	Sweden (1 title)
Tournament statistics
Games played	6
Goals scored	64  (10.67 per game)
Attendance	53,000  (8,833 per game)

The 1953 Men's Ice Hockey World Championships were held between March 7 and March 15, 1953 in Basel and Zurich, Switzerland.

This was the first world championship tournament with only European teams. On January 12, 1953, Canadian Amateur Hockey Association president W.B. George stated Canada would not be sending a team to the 1953 World Championships. George told the press: "Every year we spend $10,000 to send a Canadian hockey team to Europe to play 40 exhibition games. All these games are played to packed houses that only enrich European hockey coffers. In return we are subjected to constant, unnecessary abuse over our Canadian style of play." Also absent were the Soviets, it was hoped that the USSR would participate but they did not, sending observers, including legendary coach Anatoli Tarasov to scout the tournament. It is believed that an injury to their star player Vsevolod Bobrov was the reason behind the decision.

Czechoslovakia withdrew from the tournament when it became obvious that their President, Klement Gottwald, was going to die from pneumonia he contracted at Stalin's funeral. General František Janda, the Chairman of the State Committee for the Physical Education and Sport ordered the team home, and Gottwald died the next day, March 14, 1953. The team was disqualified, their results annulled and their remaining games cancelled.

Sweden won their first World Championship title, and were undefeated during the tournament. In addition, it was the country's seventh European Championship title.

World Championships Group A (Switzerland)

Date	Matches A World Championships 1953	Result	Period.
7 March	Czechoslovakia - West Germany	11 - 2 (annulled)	4-1,5-0,2-1
7 March	Switzerland - Sweden	2 - 9	1-2,1-5,0-2
8 March	Switzerland - Czechoslovakia	4 - 9 (annulled)	0-4,1-2,3-3
8 March	Sweden - West Germany	8 - 6	4-1,3-3,1-2
10 March	Sweden - Czechoslovakia	5 - 3 (annulled)	5-1,0-1,0-1
10 March	West Germany - Switzerland	2 - 3	0-1,2-1,0-1
12 March	Sweden - Switzerland	9 - 1	5-1,1-0,3-0
12 March	West Germany - Czechoslovakia	4 - 9 (annulled)	2-4,1-2,1-3
13 March	Czechoslovakia - Switzerland	Cancelled
13 March	West Germany - Sweden	2 - 12	0-2,1-5,1-5
15 March	Czechoslovakia - Sweden	Cancelled
15 March	Switzerland - West Germany	3 - 7	2-4,0-1,1-2

Table

Place	Team	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	Sweden	4	4	0	0	38	11	8
2	West Germany	4	1	3	0	17	26	2
3	Switzerland	4	1	3	0	9	27	2
NC	Czechoslovakia	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

World Championships Group B (Switzerland)

Also participating was a Swiss 'B' team who (if their games counted) would have finished third.

Date	Matches B World Championships 1953	Result	Period.
7 March	Italy - Austria	9 - 5	3-1,4-3,2-1
7 March	Switzerland B - Great Britain	1 - 3	1-0,0-1,0-2
8 March	Austria - Netherlands	5 - 3	2-0,2-3,1-0
8 March	Switzerland B - France	7 - 1	4-1,1-0,2-0
10 March	Great Britain - Netherlands	8 - 4	4-2,1-2,3-0
10 March	Switzerland B - Italy	1 - 2	1-0,0-0,0-2
11 March	Austria - France	8 - 1	2-1,2-0,4-0
11 March	Italy - Netherlands	7 - 0	4-0,1-0,2-0
12 March	Great Britain - France	8 - 3	3-0,3-1,2-2
13 March	Great Britain - Austria	3 - 0	1-0,1-0,1-0
13 March	Switzerland B - Netherlands	7 - 5	1-1,5-2,1-2
14 March	Italy - France	5 - 2	2-1,1-0,2-1
14 March	Switzerland B - Austria	8 - 2	2-0,1-1,5-1
15 March	Netherlands - France	8 - 3	4-1,2-1,2-1
15 March	Italy - Great Britain	3 - 2	3-0,0-0,0-2

Table

Place	Team	Matches	Won	Drawn	Lost	Difference	Points
4	Italy	5	5	0	0	26 - 10	10
5	Great Britain	5	4	0	1	24 - 11	8
NC	Switzerland B	5	3	0	2	24 - 13	6
6	Austria	5	2	0	3	20 - 24	4
7	Netherlands	5	1	0	4	20 - 30	2
8	France	5	0	0	5	10 - 36	0

Team rosters

Place	Team	Player
1	Sweden	Goaltenders: Thord Flodqvist, Hans Isaksson. Defensemen: Göte Almqvist, Åke Andersson, Lars Björn, Rune Johansson, Sven Thunman. Forwards: Hans Tvilling, Stig Tvilling, Göte Blomqvist, Sigurd Bröms, Stig Carlsson, Erik Johansson, Gösta Johansson, Rolf Pettersson, Sven Tumba Johansson, Hans Öberg. Coach: Folke Jansson.
2	West Germany	Goaltenders: Alfred Hoffmann, Ulrich Jansen. Defensemen: Martin Beck, Anton Biersack, Bruno Guttowski, Karl Bierschel Forwards: Kurt Sepp, Xaver Unsinn, Georg Guggemos, Otto Brandenburg, Markus Egen, Walter Kremeshoff, Fritz Poitsch, Karl Enzler, Dieter Niess, Hans Rampf. Coach: Bruno Leinweber
3	Switzerland	Goaltenders: Hans Bänninger, Martin Riesen. Defensemen: Emil Handschin, Rudolf Keller, Silvio Rossi, Armin Schütz. Forwards: Hans-Martin Trepp, Uli Poltera, Gebi Poltera, Walter Dürst, Otto Schläpfer, Otto Schubiger, Françis Blank, Michael Wehrli, Gian Bazzi. Coach: Frank Sullivan.
-	Czechoslovakia	Goaltenders: Jan Richter, Josef Záhorský. Defensemen: Karel Gut, Jan Lidral, Miroslav Nový, Miloslav Ošmera, Stanislav Bacílek. Forwards: Vlastimil Bubník, Bronislav Danda, Miloslav Charouzd, Miroslav Rejman, Slavomír Bartoň, Jiří Sekyra, Oldřich Seiml, Miroslav Kluc, Michal Vidlák, Karel Bílek. Coach: Eduard Farda.

Team Photos

• 

  Czechoslovakia

• 

  Sweden

References

• Complete results
• Duplacey, James (1998). Total Hockey: The official encyclopedia of the National Hockey League. Total Sports, 498–528. ISBN 0-8362-7114-9. 
• Podnieks, Andrew (2010). IIHF Media Guide & Record Book 2011. Moydart Press, 133–4. 

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