| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country |  Czechoslovakia |
| Venue | 1 (in 1 host city) |
| Dates | 26 April – 14 May |
| Teams | 8 |
| Final positions | |
Champions  |  Soviet Union(15th title) |
Runners-up  | Czechoslovakia |
Third place  |  Canada |
| Fourth place |  Sweden |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Games played | 40 |
| Goals scored | 322 (8.05 per game) |
| Attendance | 362,642 (9,066 per game) |
| Scoring leader |  Erich Kühnhackl16 points |
The1978Ice Hockey World Championships took place inPrague,Czechoslovakia from 26 April to 14 May. Held at theSportovní hala ČSTV in the capital city, it was the sixth time Czechoslovakia hosted the competition.[1] Eight teams took part, with each team playing each other once in the first round, and then the four best teams meeting in a new round. This was the 45th World Championships, and also the 56thEuropean Championships. TheUSSR won for the 15th time, narrowly defeating the incumbent Czechoslovaks.
On the final day, there was essentially a gold medal game, and a bronze medal game. The Soviets played the Czechoslovaks and needed to win by at least two to win the Championship.[2] They took a three nothing lead, and hung to win by two, capturing gold by being even head-to-head with the Czechoslovaks, but having a cumulative two goal advantage against everyone else. Canada and Sweden came into the final game even, so the winner would claim the bronze.Pat Hickey scored with a minute left in the game to give Canada a three to two victory, and the medal.[3]
Because of the allowance of professionals from the NHL into the tournament, a peculiar (and new) situation arose during this year's tournament. TheMinnesota North Stars had players representing Canada (2), Sweden (3), and the United States (4).[4]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Czechoslovakia | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 15 | +29 | 14 |
| 2 | Soviet Union | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 46 | 23 | +23 | 12 |
| 3 | Canada | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 32 | 26 | +6 | 8 |
| 4 | Sweden | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 35 | 21 | +14 | 8 |
| 5 | West Germany | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 23 | 35 | −12 | 5 |
| 6 |  United States | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 25 | 42 | −17 | 3 |
| 7 |  East Germany | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 13 | 45 | −32 | 3 |
| 8 |  Finland | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 23 | 34 | −11 | 3 |
| 26 April | Sweden | 6–2 | West Germany |
| 26 April | Czechoslovakia | 8–0 | East Germany |
| 26 April | Soviet Union | 9–5 | United States |
| 27 April | Finland | 6–4 | Canada |
| 27 April | Soviet Union | 7–4 | West Germany |
| 27 April | Sweden | 5–1 | United States |
| 28 April | Czechoslovakia | 6–4 | Finland |
| 28 April | Canada | 6–2 | East Germany |
| 29 April | Sweden | 10–1 | East Germany |
| 29 April | Czechoslovakia | 8–2 | West Germany |
| 30 April | Canada | 7–2 | United States |
| 30 April | Soviet Union | 6–3 | Finland |
| 1 May | Canada | 6–2 | West Germany |
| 1 May | Soviet Union | 10–2 | East Germany |
| 2 May | Czechoslovakia | 8–3 | United States |
| 2 May | Sweden | 6–1 | Finland |
| 3 May | West Germany | 7–4 | United States |
| 3 May | East Germany | 4–3 | Finland |
| 4 May | Czechoslovakia | 5–0 | Canada |
| 4 May | Soviet Union | 6–1 | Sweden |
| 5 May | West Germany | 5–3 | Finland |
| 5 May | United States | 7–3 | East Germany |
| 6 May | Czechoslovakia | 6–4 | Soviet Union |
| 6 May | Canada | 7–5 | Sweden |
| 7 May | East Germany | 1–1 | West Germany |
| 7 May | Finland | 3–3 | United States |
| 8 May | Czechoslovakia | 3–2 | Sweden |
| 8 May | Soviet Union | 4–2 | Canada |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Soviet Union | 10 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 61 | 26 | +35 | 18 |
| 2 | Czechoslovakia | 10 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 54 | 21 | +33 | 18 |
| 3 | Canada | 10 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 38 | 36 | +2 | 10 |
| 4 | Sweden | 10 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 39 | 37 | +2 | 8 |
| 10 May | Soviet Union | 5–1 | Canada |
| 10 May | Czechoslovakia | 6–1 | Sweden |
| 12 May | Czechoslovakia | 3–2 | Canada |
| 12 May | Soviet Union | 7–1 | Sweden |
| 14 May | Canada | 3–2 (1–1, 1–1, 1–0) | Sweden | Sportovní hala ČSTV,Prague Attendance: 14,500 |
| [5] |
|---|
| 14 May | Soviet Union | 3–1 (1–0, 1–0, 1–1) | Czechoslovakia | Sportovní hala ČSTV,Prague Attendance: 14,500 |
| [5] | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vladislav Tretiak | Goalies | Jiří Holeček | ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | West Germany | 10 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 35 | 43 | −8 | 9 |
| 6 | United States | 10 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 38 | 58 | −20 | 6 |
| 7 | Finland | 10 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 37 | 44 | −7 | 6 |
| 8 | East Germany | 10 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 20 | 57 | −37 | 5 |
East Germany was relegated to Group B.
| 9 May | Finland | 4–4 | West Germany |
| 9 May | United States | 5–5 | East Germany |
| 11 May | West Germany | 0–0 | East Germany |
| 11 May | United States | 4–3 | Finland |
| 13 May | West Germany | 8–4 (2–1, 1–1, 5–2) | United States | Sportovní hala ČSTV,Prague Attendance: 10,000 |
| [5] |
|---|
| 13 May | Finland | 7–2 (3–1, 4–0, 0–1) | East Germany | Sportovní hala ČSTV,Prague Attendance: 9,500 |
| [5] |
|---|
Played inBelgrade 17–26 March.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 |  Poland | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 51 | 19 | +32 | 13 |
| 10 |  Japan | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 26 | 17 | +9 | 11 |
| 11 |  Switzerland | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 42 | 32 | +10 | 9 |
| 12 |  Romania | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 41 | 29 | +12 | 7 |
| 13 |  Hungary | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 21 | 36 | −15 | 6 |
| 14 |  Norway | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 29 | 34 | −5 | 5 |
| 15 |  Italy | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 32 | 41 | −9 | 3 |
| 16 |  Yugoslavia | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 14 | 48 | −34 | 2 |
UndefeatedPoland was promoted to Group A, and both Italy andYugoslavia were relegated to Group C.
| 17 March | Italy | 4–5 | Japan |
| 17 March | Switzerland | 1–8 | Poland |
| 17 March | Romania | 6–4 | Norway |
| 17 March | Yugoslavia | 2–4 | Hungary |
| 18 March | Hungary | 4–3 | Norway |
| 18 March | Yugoslavia | 2–5 | Poland |
| 19 March | Romania | 5–5 | Italy |
| 19 March | Japan | 1–6 | Switzerland |
| 20 March | Hungary | 1–2 | Japan |
| 20 March | Romania | 3–7 | Switzerland |
| 20 March | Norway | 4–9 | Poland |
| 20 March | Yugoslavia | 3–12 | Italy |
| 21 March | Poland | 7–2 | Hungary |
| 21 March | Yugoslavia | 1–7 | Norway |
| 22 March | Japan | 5–2 | Romania |
| 22 March | Italy | 4–7 | Switzerland |
| 23 March | Hungary | 0–8 | Romania |
| 23 March | Switzerland | 6–6 | Norway |
| 23 March | Italy | 2–12 | Poland |
| 23 March | Yugoslavia | 1–6 | Japan |
| 25 March | Switzerland | 12–5 | Hungary |
| 25 March | Norway | 4–3 | Italy |
| 25 March | Poland | 2–2 | Japan |
| 25 March | Yugoslavia | 0–11 | Romania |
| 26 March | Norway | 1–5 | Japan |
| 26 March | Italy | 2–5 | Hungary |
| 26 March | Yugoslavia | 5–3 | Switzerland |
| 26 March | Poland | 8–6 | Romania |
Played in theCanary Islands (Las Palmas) 10–19 March.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 |  Netherlands | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 74 | 17 | +57 | 13 |
| 18 |  Austria | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 65 | 31 | +34 | 11 |
| 19 |  Denmark | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 59 | 25 | +34 | 9 |
| 20 |  China | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 47 | 30 | +17 | 8 |
| 21 |  Bulgaria | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 27 | 30 | −3 | 7 |
| 22 |  France | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 46 | 39 | +7 | 6 |
| 23 |  Spain | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 26 | 84 | −58 | 2 |
| 24 |  Belgium | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 13 | 101 | −88 | 0 |
TheNetherlands and Austria were both promoted to Group B. China and Denmark also ended up being promoted to alleviate a political situation between the Chinese and the South Koreans and to address the IIHF missing that Austria should have been disqualified for usingPentti Hyytiäinen.[6][7]
| 10 March | China | 8–4 | France |
| 10 March | Netherlands | 18–3 | Belgium |
| 10 March | Austria | 7–4 | Denmark |
| 10 March | Spain | 2–7 | Bulgaria |
| 12 March | China | 3–2 | Denmark |
| 12 March | Austria | 9–7 | France |
| 12 March | Spain | 11–4 | Belgium |
| 12 March | Bulgaria | 0–8 | Netherlands |
| 13 March | China | 12–1 | Belgium |
| 13 March | Denmark | 7–6 | France |
| 13 March | Spain | 0–19 | Netherlands |
| 13 March | Austria | 3–3 | Bulgaria |
| 15 March | Bulgaria | 10–3 | Belgium |
| 15 March | Netherlands | 12–3 | France |
| 15 March | Austria | 9–4 | China |
| 15 March | Spain | 2–10 | Denmark |
| 16 March | Netherlands | 3–3 | Denmark |
| 16 March | France | 9–0 | Belgium |
| 16 March | Spain | 4–14 | Austria |
| 16 March | China | 2–4 | Bulgaria |
| 18 March | Austria | 19–1 | Belgium |
| 18 March | Denmark | 8–3 | Bulgaria |
| 18 March | Spain | 3–13 | France |
| 18 March | China | 4–6 | Netherlands |
| 19 March | Denmark | 22–1 | Belgium |
| 19 March | Bulgaria | 0–4 | France |
| 19 March | Austria | 4–8 | Netherlands |
| 19 March | Spain | 4–14 | China |
| 1978 IIHF World Championship winners |
|---|
 Soviet Union 15th title |
Jiří HolečekJiří Bubla, Viacheslav FetisovIvan Hlinka,Sergei Kapustin,Alexander MaltsevThe final standings of the tournament according toIIHF:
 | Soviet Union |
 | Czechoslovakia |
 | Canada |
| 4 | Sweden |
| 5 | West Germany |
| 6 | United States |
| 7 | Finland |
| 8 | East Germany |
The final standings of theEuropean championships according toIIHF:
 | Soviet Union |
 | Czechoslovakia |
 | Sweden |
| 4 | West Germany |
| 5 | East Germany |
| 6 | Finland |
