1938 World Ice Hockey Championships

1938 World Ice Hockey Championships
Tournament details
Host nation	Czechoslovakia
Dates	11–20 February
Teams	14
Champions	Canada (10 titles)
Tournament statistics
Games played	40
Goals scored	159  (3.98 per game)

The 1938 Ice Hockey World Championships were held between February 11 and February 20, 1938 in Prague, Czechoslovakia. It marked the 30th anniversary of the IIHF, and a special celebration was held with famous hockey players from all over Europe in attendance. Also a yearbook was produced for the twenty-two member nations which documented which European country had the most hockey clubs (Czechoslovakia 361) and the most artificial rinks (Great Britain 21).

Fourteen teams participated in this World Championship. It was first divided in three preliminary round groups—two groups of five and a group with four teams. In the preliminary round, the top three teams in each group advanced to second round. The nine teams advancing to the second round were divided into three groups of three teams each. The three group winners and the best second-place team advanced to the semifinals.

The Canadians won the World Championship title for the tenth time beating Great Britain three to one in the final, leaving the British with their fourth European Championship title (the third in a row). In the bronze medal game, Czechoslovakia defeated Germany three to zero, and in a match for fifth place Sweden defeated Switzerland two to zero. The Swiss were very unhappy with the IIHF's decision to pick Germany as the fourth semi-finalist, as the two of them, and Sweden, finished the second round in an absolute tie. The decision was made to advance Germany because they had lost to Canada, so they were the best European nation in their group.

World Men's Hockey Championships (in Prague, Czechoslovakia)

First Round

Group A

11. February 1938	Prague	Switzerland	–	Hungary		1:0 (0:0,1:0,0:0)
11. February 1938	Prague	Lithuania	–	Romania		1:0 (0:0,0:0,1:0)
12. February 1938	Prague	Switzerland	–	Romania		8:1 (2:0,1:1,5:0)
12. February 1938	Prague	Poland	–	Lithuania		8:1 (4:0,3:0,1:1)
13. February 1938	Prague	Poland	–	Romania		3:0 (1:0,2:0,0:0)
13. February 1938	Prague	Hungary	–	Lithuania		10:1 (2:0,4:0,4:1)
14. February 1938	Prague	Switzerland	–	Lithuania		15:0 (9:0,2:0,4:0)
14. February 1938	Prague	Poland	–	Hungary		3:0 (1:0,1:0,1:0)
15. February 1938	Prague	Hungary	–	Romania		3:1 (1:1,1:0,1:0)
15. February 1938	Prague	Switzerland	–	Poland		7:1 (3:0,1:0,3:1)

Standings - Group A

Pos.	Team	GP	Wins	Ties	Losses	Goals	Diff.	Points
1	Switzerland	4	4	0	0	31: 2	+29	8:0
2	Poland	4	3	0	1	15: 8	+ 7	6:2
3	Hungary	4	2	0	2	13: 6	+ 7	4:4
4	Lithuania	4	1	0	3	3:33	-30	2:6
5	Romania	4	0	0	4	2:15	-13	0:8

Group B

11. February 1938	Prague	Latvia	–	Norway		3:1 ET(1:0,0:1,0:0,2:0)
11. February 1938	Prague	Great Britain	–	Germany		1:0 (0:0,1:0,0:0)
12. February 1938	Prague	USA	–	Latvia		1:0 (0:0,1:0,0:0)
12. February 1938	Prague	Great Britain	–	Norway		8:0 (2:0,1:0,5:0)
13. February 1938	Prague	USA	–	Norway		7:1 (3:0,4:0,0:1)
13. February 1938	Prague	Germany	–	Latvia		1:0 (0:0,1:0,0:0)
14. February 1938	Prague	Great Britain	–	Latvia		5:1 (1:0,2:0,2:1)
14. February 1938	Prague	USA	–	Germany		1:0 (1:0,0:0,0:0)
15. February 1938	Prague	Germany	–	Norway		8:0 (2:0,1:0,5:0)
15. February 1938	Prague	Great Britain	–	USA		1:1 ET (0:0,0:0,1:1,0:0,0:0,0:0)

Standings - Group B

Pos.	Team	GP	Wins	Ties	Losses	Goals	Diff.	Points
1	Great Britain	4	3	1	0	15: 2	+13	7:1
2	USA	4	3	1	0	10: 2	+ 8	7:1
3	Germany	4	2	0	2	9: 2	+ 7	4:4
4	Latvia	4	1	0	3	4: 8	- 4	2:6
5	Norway	4	0	0	4	2:26	-24	0:8

Group C

11. February 1938	Prague	Canada	–	Sweden		3:2 (1:0,1:2,1:0)
11. February 1938	Prague	Czechoslovakia	–	Austria		1:0 (0:0,0:0,1:0)
13. February 1938	Prague	Canada	–	Austria		3:0 (1:0,1:0,1:0)
13. February 1938	Prague	Czechoslovakia	–	Sweden		0:0 ET (0:0,0:0,0:0,0:0,0:0,0:0)
15. February 1938	Prague	Czechoslovakia	–	Canada		0:3 (0:2,0:0,0:1)
15. February 1938	Prague	Sweden	–	Austria		1:1 ET (0:1,1:0,0:0,0:0,0:0,0:0)

Standings - Group C

Pos.	Team	GP	Wins	Ties	Losses	Goals	Diff.	Points
1	Canada	3	3	0	0	9:2	+7	6:0
2	Czechoslovakia	3	1	1	1	1:3	-2	3:3
3	Sweden	3	0	2	1	3:4	-1	2:4
4	Austria	3	0	1	2	1:5	-4	1:5

Second Round

Group A

16. February 1938	Prague	Czechoslovakia	–	USA		2:0 (0:0,1:0,1:0)
17. February 1938	Prague	Switzerland	–	USA		1:0 (0:0,0:0,1:0)
18. February 1938	Prague	Czechoslovakia	–	Switzerland		3:2 ET. (0:1,1:0,0:0,2:1)

Standings - Group A

Pos.	Team	GP	Wins	Ties	Losses	Goals	Diff.	Points
1	Czechoslovakia	2	2	0	0	5:2	+3	4:0
2	Switzerland +	2	1	0	1	3:3	0	2:2
3	USA	2	0	0	2	0:3	-3	0:4

Group B

16. February 1938	Prague	Great Britain	–	Sweden		3:2 (0:0,1:1,2:1)
17. February 1938	Prague	Sweden	–	Poland		1:0 (0:0,0:0,1:0)
18. February 1938	Prague	Great Britain	–	Poland		7:1 (3:1,4:0,0:0)

Standings - Group B

Pos.	Team	GP	Wins	Ties	Losses	Goals	Diff.	Points
1	Great Britain	2	2	0	0	10: 3	+7	4:0
2	Sweden +	2	1	0	1	3: 3	0	2:2
3	Poland	2	0	0	2	1: 8	-7	0:4

Group C

16. February 1938	Prague	Canada	–	Germany		3:2 ET. (1:1,0:1,1:0,1:0)
17. February 1938	Prague	Germany	–	Hungary		1:0 (0:0,1:0,0:0)
18. February 1938	Prague	Canada	–	Hungary		1:1 ET. (1:1,0:0,0:0,0:0,0:0,0:0)

Standings—Group C

Pos.	Team	GP	Wins	Ties	Losses	Goals	Diff.	Points
1	Canada	2	1	1	0	4:3	+1	3:1
2	Germany +	2	1	0	1	3:3	0	2:2
3	Hungary	2	0	1	1	1:2	-1	1:3

+ Germany, Switzerland and Sweden ended with identical records. The Organizing Committee awarded the semifinal position to Germany because it had played Canada.

Consolation round 5-6 place

19. February 1938

Prague

Sweden

–

Switzerland

2:0 (1:0,0:0,1:0)

Final Round

Semifinals
19. February 1938	Prague	Canada	–	Germany		1:0 (0:0,0:0,1:0)
19. February 1938	Prague	Czechoslovakia	–	Great Britain		0:1 (0:0,0:0,0:1)
Game for 3rd place
20. February 1938	Prague	Czechoslovakia	–	Germany		3:0 (1:0,2:0,0:0)
Final
20. February 1938	Prague	Canada	–	Great Britain		3:1 (3:1,0:0,0:0)

Final Rankings – World Championships

RF	Team
1	Canada
2	Great Britain
3	Czechoslovakia
4	Germany
5	Sweden
6	Switzerland
7	Hungary
7	USA
7	Poland
10	Austria
10	Latvia
10	Lithuania
13	Romania
13	Norway

Canada was represented by the Sudbury Wolves.

Final Rankings – European Championships

	Great Britain
	Czechoslovakia
	Germany
4	Sweden
5	Switzerland
6	Hungary
6	Poland
8	Austria
8	Latvia
8	Lithuania
11	Norway
11	Romania

Team rosters

Place	Team	Player
1	Canada	Goaltenders: John Coulter, Mel Albright. Defensemen: Johnny Godfrey, Buster Portland. Forwards: Percy Allen, Pat McReavy, Roy Heximer, Gordie Bruce, Reg Chipman, Jimmy Russell, Jack Marshall, Glen Sutherland, Archie Burn. Coach: Max Silverman.
2	Great Britain	Goaltenders: James Foster, Reg Merrifield. Skaters: Alex Archer, Jimmy Chappell, Gordon Dailley, Gerry Davey, Pete Halford, Jimmy Kelly, Art Ridley, Archibald Stinchcombe, Ronnie Wilson, Pete Woozley, Bob Wyman. Coach: Percy Nicklin.
3	Czechoslovakia	Goaltenders: Bohumil Modry, Antonin Houba, Zlatko Cerveny. Skaters: Lolek Cetkovsky, Jaroslav Cisar, Oldrich Hurych, Drahos Jirotka, Zdenek Jirotka, Olda Kucera, Josef Malecek, Jan Michalek, Frantisek Pacalt, Frantisek Pergl, Jaroslav Pusbauer, Ladislav Trojak. Coach: Mike Buckna.
4	Germany	Goaltenders: Wilhelm Egginger, Freddy Hoffmann. Skaters: Rudi Ball, Gustav Jaenecke, Roman Kessler, Ludwig Kuhn, Hans Lang, Philipp Schenk, Herbert Schibukat, Walter Schmiedinger, Georg Strobl, Rudolf Tobien, Toni Wiedemann, Karl Wild. Coach: Bobby Bell
5	Sweden	Goaltenders: Arne Johansson, Kurre Svanberg. Skaters: Ake Andersson, Olle Andersson, Stig-Emanuel Andersson, Sven Bergqvist, Holger Engberg, Ake Ericson, Karl Forsstrom, Lennart Hellman, Masen Jansson, Ragge Johansson, Axel Nilsson. Coach: Viking Harbom.
6	Switzerland	Goaltenders: Arnold Hirtz, Albert Kunzler, Hugo Muller. Skaters: Christian Badrutt, Pic Cattini, Hans Cattini, Albert Geromini, Franz Geromini, Otto Heller, Herbert Kessler, Charly Kessler, Heini Lohrer, Bibi Torriani. Coach: Ulrich von Sury.
7	Hungary	Goaltenders: Istvan Hircsak, Mihaly Apor. Skaters: Miklos Barcza, Pal Bekesi-Bliesener, Gyozo Erdodi, Bela Haray, Frigyes Helmeczi, Istvan Hubay-Hruby, Zoltan Jeney, Gyorgy Margo, Sandor Miklos, Bela Pafalvy, Laszlo Rona, Ferenc Szamosi. Coaches: Frank Stapleford, Géza Lator.
7	Poland	Goaltenders: Jozef Stogowski, Jan Maciejko, Kazimierz Tarlowski. Skaters: Alfred Andrzejewski, Mieczyslaw Burda, Zbigniew Kasprzak, Adam Kowalski, Wladyslaw Krol, Witalis Ludwiczak, Czeslaw Marchewczyk, Wladyslaw Michalik, Czeslaw Przedpelski, Herbert Urson, Andrzej Wolkowski, Edward Zielinski. Coach: Przemyslaw Warmiński
7	United States	Goaltender: Gerry Cosby. Defensemen: Alfred Van, Spencer Wagnild, John Hutchinson (player-coach). Forwards: Art Bogue, Dowling, Ralph Dondi, George Quirk, Larry Charest, Hugh Young, Ray Lemieux.
10	Latvia	Goaltenders: Herberts Kuskis, Roberts Lapainis. Skaters: Aleksejs Auzins, Roberts Blukis, Edgars Klavs, Karlis Paegle, Arvids Petersons, Adolfs Petrovskis, Ludvigs Putnins, Leonids Vedejs, Karlis Zilpauss.
10	Lithuania	Goaltenders: Alfonsas Macius, Antanas Kuzmickas, A. Gudaitis. Skaters: Euleterijus Bacinskas, Vilhelmas Dornas, Jurgis Grigalauskas, Alfredas Hofmanas, Vytautas Ilgunas, Jocius, Vladas Karalius, Juozas Klimas, Antanas Kuzmickas, Bronius Kuzmickas, Vladas Matulevicius.
10	Austria	Goaltenders: Robert Nusser, Karl Oerdoegh, Josef Wurm. Skaters: Franz Csöngei, Fritz Demmer, Walter Feistritzer, Karl Kirchberger, Oskar Nowak, Hans Schneider, Max Schneider, Hans Stertin, Hans Tatzer, Rudolf Vojta, Franz Zehetmayer. Coach: Hans Weinberger.
13	Romania	Goaltenders: Emil Maesciuc, Gheorghe Flueras. Skaters: Paul Anastasiu, Laszlo Biro, Alexandru Botez, Bud Hugar, Robert Panenka, Robert Sadowski, Wilhelm Suck, Radu Tanase, Alexandru Teodorescu, Constantin Tico, Stefan Tomovici.
13	Norway	Goaltenders: Hans Fjeld, Ernst Henriksen. Skaters: Knut Bogh, Otto Buran, Rudolf Eisenhardt, Kaare Hansen, Johnny Lamtvet, Per Linnes, Johan Narvestad, Eugen Skalleberg.

Photographs

Canada

Czechoslovakia

The Czechoslovak players.

Lithuania

A photo from the opening ceremony.

Another photo from the opening ceremony.

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, 128–9.