1939 World Ice Hockey Championships

1939 World Ice Hockey Championships
Tournament details
Host nation	Switzerland
Dates	3–12 February 5 March
Teams	14
Champions	Canada (11 titles)
Tournament statistics
Games played	48
Goals scored	267  (5.56 per game)
Attendance	299,600  (6,242 per game)
Scoring leader(s)	Josef Malecek, Pic Cattini 12 goals

The 1939 Ice Hockey World Championships were held between February 3 and February 12, 1939 in Zürich and Basel, Switzerland. Austria had been annexed by Germany in 1938, and four Austrians played this tournament in German jerseys. The fourteen teams participating in the 1939 World Championship were initially divided into four preliminary groups: two groups of four and two groups of three. The top two teams in each group advanced to the second round. The eight teams in the second round played in two groups of four, with the top two from each group advancing to the third (final) round. The six teams not advancing to the second round played a consolation round in two groups of 3 teams with the winners of each group playing a one game play-off for 9th place. The four teams not advancing from the second round played a consolation round for placed 5 through 8.

Canada won its eleventh world championship winning all their games while only giving up one goal in the entire tournament. The USA had lost to the Swiss in the semi-final round, but defeated them in the final to claim silver. The host, Switzerland, won its third European championship by winning a one-game playoff against Czechoslovakia well after the World Championship had concluded. Both teams had earned one point in the final round and decided to play tie-breaking game.

World Ice Hockey Championship (in Basel and Zurich, Switzerland)

First Round

Group A

3. February 1939	Basel	Germany	–	Finland		12:1 (2:0,7:1,3:0)
3. February 1939	Basel	USA	–	Italy		5:0 (3:0,1:0,1:0)
4. February 1939	Basel	Italy	–	Finland		5:2 (1:0,1:0,3:2)
4. February 1939	Basel	USA	–	Germany		4:0 (2:0,0:0,2:0)
5. February 1939	Basel	USA	–	Finland		4:0 (0:0,1:0,3:0)
5. February 1939	Basel	Germany	–	Italy		4:4 ET (1:0,3:2,0:2,0:0,0:0,0:0)

Standings

Pos.	Team	G.P.	Wins	Ties	Losses	Goals	Goal Diff	Pts..
1	USA	3	3	0	0	13: 0	+13	6:0
2	Germany	3	1	1	1	16: 9	+ 7	3:3
3	Italy	3	1	1	1	9:11	- 2	3:3
4	Finland	3	0	0	3	3:21	-18	0:6

Group B

3. February 1939	Basel	Czechoslovakia	–	Yugoslavia		24:0 (10:0,7:0,7:0)
3. February 1939	Zürich	Switzerland	–	Latvia		12:0 (5:0,3:0,4:0)
4. February 1939	Zürich	Switzerland	–	Yugoslavia		23:0 (7:0,7:0,9:0)
4. February 1939	Zürich	Czechoslovakia	–	Latvia		9:0 (3:0,3:0,3:0)
5. February 1939	Zürich	Latvia	–	Yugoslavia		6:0 (0:0,3:0,3:0)
5. February 1939	Zürich	Switzerland	–	Czechoslovakia		1:0 (0:0,1:0,0:0)

Standings

Pos.	Team	G.P.	Wins	Ties	Losses	Goals	Goal Diff	Pts..
1	Switzerland	3	3	0	0	36: 0	+36	6:0
2	Czechoslovakia	3	2	0	1	33: 1	+32	4:2
3	Latvia	3	1	0	2	6:18	-12	2:4
4	Yugoslavia	3	0	0	3	0:53	-53	0:6

Group C

3. February 1939	Basel	Canada	–	Netherlands		8:0 (1:0,4:0,3:0)
4. February 1939	Basel	Poland	–	Netherlands		9:0 (3:0,2:0,4:0)
5. February 1939	Basel	Canada	–	Poland		4:0 (2:0,1:0,1:0)

Standings

Pos.	Team	G.P.	Wins	Ties	Losses	Goals	Goal Diff	Pts..
1	Canada	2	2	0	0	12: 0	+12	4:0
2	Poland	2	1	0	1	9: 4	+ 5	2:2
3	Netherlands	2	0	0	2	0:17	-17	0:4

Group D

3. February 1939	Zürich	Hungary	–	Belgium		8:1 (2:0,4:1,2:0)
4. February 1939	Zürich	Great Britain	–	Belgium		3:1 (0:0,0:1,3:0)
5. February 1939	Zürich	Great Britain	–	Hungary		1:0 (1:0,0:0,0:0)

Standings

Pos.	Team	G.P.	Wins	Ties	Losses	Goals	Goal Diff	Pts..
1	Great Britain	2	2	0	0	4: 1	+3	4:0
2	Hungary	2	1	0	1	8: 2	+6	2:2
3	Belgium	2	0	0	2	2:11	-9	0:4

Consolation Round – Places 9 to 14

Group A

6. February 1939	Basel	Netherlands	–	Finland		2:1 (1:1,1:0,0:0)
7. February 1939	Basel	Italy	–	Netherlands		2:1 (0:0,0:0,2:1)
8. February 1939	Basel	Italy	–	Finland		2:1 (0:0,1:1,1:0)

Standings

Pos.	Team	G.P.	Wins	Ties	Losses	Goals	Goal Diff	Pts..
1	Italy	2	2	0	0	4:2	+2	4:0
2	Netherlands	2	1	0	1	3:3	0	2:2
3	Finland	2	0	0	2	2:4	-2	0:4

Group B

6. February 1939	Zürich	Latvia	–	Belgium		5:1 (2:0,1:1,2:0)
7. February 1939	Zürich	Belgium	–	Yugoslavia		3:3 (2:1,1:0,0:2)
8. February 1939	Zürich	Latvia	–	Yugoslavia		4:0 (2:0,0:0,2:0)

Standings

Pos.	Team	G.P.	Wins	Ties	Losses	Goals	Goal Diff	Pts..
1	Latvia	2	2	0	0	9:1	+8	4:0
2	Belgium	2	0	1	1	4:8	-4	1:3
3	Yugoslavia	2	0	1	1	3:7	-4	1:3

Consolation round 9-10 Place

9. February 1939

Basel

Italy

–

Latvia

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

Second Round

Group A

7. February 1939	Zürich	Czechoslovakia	–	Germany		1:1 ET (0:0,1:0,0:1,0:0,0:0,0:0)
7. February 1939	Zürich	Canada	–	Great Britain		4:0 (0:0,0:0,4:0)
8. February 1939	Zürich	Great Britain	–	Germany		0:1 (0:0,0:0,0:1)
8. February 1939	Basel	Canada	–	Czechoslovakia		2:1 (0:1,0:0,2:0)
9. February 1939	Basel	Great Britain	–	Czechoslovakia		0:2 (0:1,0:1,0:0)
9. February 1939	Zürich	Canada	–	Germany		9:0 (2:0,5:0,2:0)

Standings

Pos.	Team	G.P.	Wins	Ties	Losses	Goals	Goal Diff	Pts..
1	Canada	3	3	0	0	15: 1	+14	6:0
2	Czechoslovakia	3	1	1	1	4: 3	+1	3:3
3	Germany	3	1	1	1	2:10	- 8	3:3
4	Great Britain	3	0	0	3	0: 7	- 7	0:6

Group B

7. February 1939	Basel	USA	–	Hungary		3:0 (1:0,1:0,1:0)
7. February 1939	Basel	Switzerland	–	Poland		4:0 (0:0,4:0,0:0)
8. February 1939	Basel	Poland	–	Hungary		5:3 (1:1,2:0,2:2)
8. February 1939	Basel	Switzerland	–	USA		3:2 (0:0,2:2,1:0)
9. February 1939	Basel	USA	–	Poland		4:0 (0:0,2:0,2:0)
9. February 1939	Basel	Switzerland	–	Hungary		5:2 (2:1,2:0,1:1)

Standings

Pos.	Team	G.P.	Wins	Ties	Losses	Goals	Goal Diff	Pts..
1	Switzerland	3	3	0	0	12: 4	+8	6:0
2	USA	3	2	0	1	9: 3	+ 4	4:2
3	Poland	3	1	0	2	5:11	- 6	2:4
4	Hungary	3	0	0	3	5:13	- 8	0:6

Consolation Round -- Places 5 to 8

10. February 1939	Basel	Poland	–	Hungary		3:0 (1:0,1:0,1:0)
11. February 1939	Zürich	Germany	–	Hungary		6:2 (0:2,3:0,3:0)
12. February 1939	Basel	Germany	–	Poland		4:0 (1:0,3:0,0:0)

Standings

Pos.	Team	G.P.	Wins	Ties	Losses	Goals	Goal Diff	Pts..
5	Germany	2	2	0	0	10: 2	+8	4:0
6	Poland	2	1	0	1	3: 4	-1	2:2
7	Hungary	2	0	0	2	2: 9	-7	0:4
8	Great Britain	0	0	0	0	0: 0	0	0:0

Final Round – Places 1 to 4

10. February 1939	Zürich	USA	–	Czechoslovakia		1:0 ET (0:0,0:0,0:0,1:0)
10. February 1939	Basel	Switzerland	–	Canada		0:7 (0:2,0:4,0:1)
11. February 1939	Basel	Switzerland	–	USA		1:2 (0:1,0:0,1:1)
11. February 1939	Basel	Canada	–	Czechoslovakia		4:0 (0:0,1:0,3:0)
12. February 1939	Basel	Canada	–	USA		4:0 (3:0,1:0,0:0)
12. February 1939	Zürich	Switzerland	–	Czechoslovakia		0:0 ET (0:0,0:0,0:0,0:0,0:0,0:0)

Standings

Pos.	Team	G.P.	Wins	Ties	Losses	Goals	Goal Diff	Pts..
1	Canada	3	3	0	0	15: 0	+15	6:0
2	USA	3	2	0	1	3: 5	- 2	4:2
3	Switzerland	3	0	1	2	1: 9	- 8	1:5
4	Czechoslovakia	3	0	1	2	0: 6	- 6	1:5

Playoff for 3rd place (and European Championship)

5. March 1939

Basel

Switzerland

–

Czechoslovakia

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

Final Rankings – 1939 World Championships

	Canada
	United States
	Switzerland
4	Czechoslovakia
5	Germany
6	Poland
7	Hungary
8	Great Britain
9	Italy
10	Latvia
11	Belgium
11	Netherlands
13	Finland
13	Yugoslavia

World Champion 1939
Canada

Team Members

Trail Smoke Eaters

Pos.	Country	Members
1	CAN	Bunny Dame, Benny Hayes, Joe Benoit, Tom Johnston, Jim Haight, Mel Snowdon, Duke Scodellaro, Mickey Brennen, Dick Kowcinak, Ab Cronie, Jim Morris, John McCreedy, Buck Buchanan; Trainer: Elmer Piper

Final Rankings – 1939 European Championships

	Switzerland
	Czechoslovakia
	Germany
4	Poland
5	Hungary
6	Great Britain
7	Italy
8	Latvia
9	Belgium
9	Netherlands
11	Finland
11	Yugoslavia

European Champion 1939
Switzerland

Team rosters

Place	Team	Player
1	Canada	Goaltenders: Buck Buchanan, Duke Scodellaro. Defensemen: James Morris, Mel Snowden, Thomas Johnson. Forwards: James Haight, Joseph Benoit, Mickey Brennan, Richard Kowcinak, Bunny Dame, John McCready, Ab Cronie, Benny Hayes. Coach: Elmer Piper.
2	United States	Goaltender: Edward Maki. Defensemen: Alfred Van, Spencer Wagnhild. Forwards: Arthur Bogue, Ralph Dondi, Thomas Leaky, Richard Maley, Ed Nicholson, George Quirk, Leonard Saari. Coach: John Hutchinson
3	Switzerland	Goaltenders: Albert Kunzler, Hugo Muller. Skaters: Erwin Adank, Christian Badrutt, Pic Cattini, Hans Cattini, Otto Delnon, Hans Durst, Albert Geromini, Franz Geromini, Herbert Kessler, Charly Kessler, Heini Lohrer, Beat Ruedi, Bibi Torriani, Hans Trauffer. Coach: Ulrich von Sury.
4	Czechoslovakia	Goaltenders: Bohumil Modry, Antonin Houba, Jiri Hertl. Skaters: Lolek Cetkovsky, Jaroslav Cisar, Jaroslav Drobny, Oldrich Hurych, Olda Kucera, Viktor Lonsmin, Josef Malecek, Jan Michalek, Frantisek Pacalt, Frantisek Pergl, Vilibald Stovik, Ladislav Trojak, Josef Trousilek. Coach: Mike Buckna
5	Germany	Goaltenders: Wilhelm Egginger, Freddy Hoffmann. Skaters: Franz Csöngei, Fritz Demmer, Walter Feistritzer, Gustav Jaenecke, Gunther Kelch, Karl Kögel, Ludwig Kuhn, Oskar Nowak, Philipp Schenk, Herbert Schibukat, Walter Schmiedinger, Rudolf Tobien, Karl Wild. Coach Bobby Bell
6	Poland	Goaltender: Jan Maciejko. Skaters: Alfred Andrzejewski, Mieczyslaw Burda, Zygmunt Czyzewski, Henryk Jarecki, Mieczyslaw Kasprzycki, Adam Kowalski, Czeslaw Marchewczyk, Wladyslaw Michalik, Czeslaw Przedpelski, Herbert Urson, Ryszard Werner, Andrzej Wolkowski. Coach: Zenon Paruszewski.
7	Hungary	Goaltender: Istvan Hircsak. Skaters: Miklos Barcza, Pal Bekesi-Bliesener, Andras Gergely, Bela Gosztonyi, Bela Haray, Frigyes Helmeczi, Zoltan Jeney, Gyorgy Margo, Sandor Miklos, Bela Pafalvy, Laszlo Rona, Ferenc Szamosi. Coach: Edward Trottier.
8	Great Britain	Goaltenders: James Foster, Maurice Simon. Skaters: Joe Collins, Gordon Dailley, Billy Fullerton, Tommy Grace, Art Green, Pete Halford, Jimmy Kelly, Tommy McInroy, Ken Perrin, Art Ridley, Bob Wyman. Coach: Percy Nicklin.
9	Italy	Goaltender: Augusto Gerosa. Skaters: Egidio Bruciamonti, Franco Carlassare, Otello D'Apollonia, Tino de Mazzeri, Ignazio Dionisi, Leo Gasparini, Dino Innocenti, Giorgio Pellegrini, Tony Prete, Otto Rauth, Franco Rossi, Luigi Venosta, Ontario Venturi.
10	Latvia	Goaltenders: Herberts Kuskis, Roberts Lapainis. Skaters: Roberts Blukis, Arturs Dale, Edgars Klavs, Eriks Koneckis, Karlis Muske, Karlis Paegle, Arvids Petersons, Ludvigs Putnins, Leonids Vedejs, Harijs Vitolins, Karlis Zilpauss. Coach: Larry Marsh
11	Netherlands	Goaltenders: Jan Gerritsen, Joost Van Os. Skaters: Dick Benjamins, Thijs Cohen-Tervaert, Felix de Jong, Huib du Pon, Rein Everwijn, Hans Gerritsen, Co Klotz, Martin Lammerts, Hans Smalhout, Jan Suurbeek, Kappie Taconis.
11	Belgium	Goaltender: Henri Heirman. Skaters: Roger Bureau, Fernand Carrez, Jimmy Graeffe, Johny Hartog, Andre Leempoels, Jef Lekens, Percy Lippitt, Georges Pootmans, Paul Van den Bussche, Leon Van Eeckhout, Pierre Van Reysschoot.
13	Yugoslavia	Goaltender: Ivan Rihar. Skaters: Mirko Erzen, Joze Gogala, Oto Gregoric, Jule Kacic, Milan Lombar, Karel Pavletic, Tone Pogacnik, Miljan Popovic, Zvonko Stipetic, Jovan Tomic, Ludovik Zitnik. Coach: Viktor Vodišek.
13	Finland	Goaltenders: Lars Blom, Teuvo Castren. Skaters: Holger Granstrom, Klaus Hagstrom, Erik Hedman, Kalevi Ihalainen, Seppo Jaakkola, Pentti Lappalainen, Henry Lindahl, Romeo Mikalunas, Olof Nyholm, Erkki Rintala, Edmund Sjoberg, Kalevi Sutinen, Risto Tiitola. Coach: Erkki Saarinen.

Photographs

Finland

Czechoslovakia

Poland

An action shot from the Great Britain-Hungary match.

An action shot from the Czechoslovakia-Yugoslavia match.

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, 129–30.