2017 IIHF World Championship Division I – Group A - What to Expect

The Ice Hockey World Championships are seen as the biggest tournament when it comes to men’s ice hockey. First held in 1920, the competition receives a huge amount of interest from across the world. The IIHF World Championship Division I is just below the main event and acts as the buffer between the World Championship and Division II.

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The 2017 IIHF World Championship Division I is run by the International Ice Hockey Federation and Group A is contested in Kyiv, Ukraine between 22-28 April 2017, while Group B is hosted in Belfast, UK, between 23-29 April 2017.

The former will be hosting the Group A tournament, while United Kingdom will host the Group B tournament. Palace of Sports in Kyiv will be hosting the games in Group A.

History

The 2016 edition witnessed Slovenia and Italy being promoted to the top division after finishing with 12 and nine points respectively. Poland were the hosts of the last edition, and they missed out on the second spot due to inferior head-to-head points with the tally. Austria and South Korea finished in the fourth and fifth places to sustain their place in the division.

Japan were relegated to the Division I B after finishing bottom of the group. Ukraine were promoted from the Division I B after finishing as group winners with 12 points from the five matches.

Format and Participants

A total of 12 teams take part in the tournament, with 6 teams each in the Groups A and B. The Group A tournament will be held from April 22 – 28. Hungary, Kazakhstan, Poland, Austria, South Korea, and Ukraine are the teams that compete in the group A games. The top two teams from the group will be promoted to the 2018 IIHF World Championship whereas the bottom team will be relegated to Division I B for the 2018 edition. The teams are classified on the basis of points, but stalemates can be decided on the basis of head-to-head points, head-to-head goal difference, and six other rules.

The International Break Set The Tone for Division I Group A

Except Kazakhstan, which participated in the Asian Winter Games, all the other teams competing in Kyiv in April took part in three tournaments of the Euro Ice Hockey Challenge during the Feb. international break.

Things that must be noted: Austra won the tournament in Graz in the new arena on home ice. Herburger Raphael scored a 2-1 overtime winner against Slovakia's team and opened the tournament with another victory against Norway. Austria ultimately won the tournament after beating France 3-1 and the wins against well-prepared teams created a stunning base of success for Austria.

Poland finished second after starting with a hard loss against Slovenia. The host eventually bounced back. Ukraine was third thanks to a staggering win against Italy on an opening day.

Korea hosted the EIHC tournament in Goyang in Seoul. Denmark won it, and Hungary and Korea each won two games and earned six points. Japan was eventually winless.

Conclusion

We are looking forward to seeing what will happen in Division I - Group A this weekend. Plenty of top-tier teams are there to grab their victory, and it will definitely be extremely challenging for everyone. Group B will see teams compete next week as well.