The2001 Men's Ice Hockey World Championships were the 65th such event organized by theInternational Ice Hockey Federation. 40 teams representing their countries participated in several levels of competition. The competition also served as qualifications for division placements in the2002 competition.
Czech Republic
Finland
Sweden
United States
Canada
Russia
Slovakia
Germany
Switzerland
Ukraine
Austria
Italy
Latvia
Belarus —relegated to Division I for 2002
Norway —relegated to Division I for 2002
JapanGroup A was played inGrenoble,France between April 16 and April 22, 2001. Coached byWiktor Pysz [pl], Poland earned promotion from Division I for the first time in ten years.[1]
| Team | Pld | W | L | D | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Poland | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 27 | 9 | +18 | 8 |
 France | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 20 | 10 | +10 | 7 |
 Denmark | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 23 | 14 | +9 | 6 |
 Hungary | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 19 | 15 | +4 | 6 |
 Netherlands | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 25 | −15 | 3 |
 Lithuania | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 10 | 36 | −26 | 0 |
| April 16, 2001 13:00 | Hungary | 3–5 | Denmark |
| April 16, 2001 16:30 | Netherlands | 0–4 | Poland |
| April 16, 2001 20:00 | Lithuania | 1–7 | France |
| April 17, 2001 13:00 | Poland | 3–0 | Hungary |
| April 17, 2001 16:30 | Denmark | 8–1 | Lithuania |
| April 17, 2001 20:00 | France | 4–4 | Netherlands |
| April 19, 2001 13:00 | Lithuania | 2–3 | Netherlands |
| April 19, 2001 16:30 | Poland | 5–3 | Denmark |
| April 19, 2001 20:00 | France | 1–3 | Hungary |
| April 21, 2001 13:00 | Netherlands | 2–8 | Hungary |
| April 21, 2001 16:30 | Poland | 13–2 | Lithuania |
| April 21, 2001 20:00 | Denmark | 0–4 | France |
| April 22, 2001 13:00 | Hungary | 5–4 | Lithuania |
| April 22, 2001 16:30 | Denmark | 7–1 | Netherlands |
| April 22, 2001 20:00 | France | 4–2 | Poland |
Group B was played inLjubljana,Slovenia between April 15 and April 21, 2001. The final day was a controversial one, with the British and Slovene teams having to decide promotion based on overall goal differential. The British beat the Kazakhs by an improbable nine goals. When coachChris McSorley was asked how much he paid the Kazakhs, he responded, "zero, you have not much confidence in your team, I think Slovenia can beat Estonia by at least 12 goals."[2] The medal presentation was marred by Slovenian fans throwing debris on the ice when the Brits received their silver medals, the Kazakh team did not even attend to receive their bronze.
| Team | Pld | W | L | D | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Slovenia | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 44 | 6 | +38 | 9 |
 Great Britain | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 42 | 9 | +33 | 9 |
 Kazakhstan | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 35 | 21 | +14 | 6 |
 Croatia | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 17 | 45 | −28 | 3 |
 China | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 39 | −31 | 2 |
 Estonia | 5 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 13 | 39 | −26 | 1 |
| April 15, 2001 11:00 | Kazakhstan | 12–1 | China |
| April 15, 2001 14:30 | Great Britain | 6–2 | Estonia |
| April 15, 2001 18:00 | Croatia | 1–15 | Slovenia |
| April 17, 2001 11:00 | Estonia | 3–8 | Kazakhstan |
| April 17, 2001 14:30 | Great Britain | 10–1 | Croatia |
| April 17, 2001 18:00 | Slovenia | 7–1 | China |
| April 18, 2001 11:00 | Croatia | 3–12 | Kazakhstan |
| April 18, 2001 14:30 | China | 3–2 | Estonia |
| April 18, 2001 18:00 | Slovenia | 3–3 | Great Britain |
| April 20, 2001 11:00 | Great Britain | 12–1 | China |
| April 20, 2001 14:30 | Estonia | 6–6 | Croatia |
| April 20, 2001 18:00 | Kazakhstan | 1–3 | Slovenia |
| April 21, 2001 11:00 | China | 2–6 | Croatia |
| April 21, 2001 14:30 | Kazakhstan | 2–11 | Great Britain |
| April 21, 2001 18:00 | Estonia | 0–16 | Slovenia |
Poland and Slovenia are promoted to the2002 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships, while Estonia and Lithuania are relegated to Division II.
Group A was played inMajadahonda,Spain between April 1 and April 7, 2001
| Team | Pld | W | L | D | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 South Korea | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 42 | 5 | +37 | 10 |
 Spain | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 52 | 8 | +44 | 8 |
 Australia | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 40 | 23 | +17 | 6 |
 South Africa | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 17 | 48 | −31 | 4 |
 Iceland | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 11 | 34 | −23 | 2 |
 New Zealand | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 12 | 56 | −44 | 0 |
| April 1, 2001 13:00 | South Africa | 0–13 | Spain |
| April 1, 2001 17:00 | New Zealand | 0–13 | South Korea |
| April 1, 2001 21:00 | Iceland | 2–6 | Australia |
| April 2, 2001 13:00 | South Korea | 10–1 | South Africa |
| April 2, 2001 17:00 | Australia | 13–3 | New Zealand |
| April 2, 2001 21:00 | Spain | 14–1 | Iceland |
| April 4, 2001 13:00 | New Zealand | 6–7 | South Africa |
| April 4, 2001 17:00 | South Korea | 7–0 | Iceland |
| April 4, 2001 21:00 | Spain | 5–3 | Australia |
| April 5, 2001 13:00 | South Africa | 5–3 | Iceland |
| April 5, 2001 17:00 | Australia | 2–9 | South Korea |
| April 5, 2001 21:00 | Spain | 18–1 | New Zealand |
| April 7, 2001 13:00 | South Korea | 3–2 | Spain |
| April 7, 2001 17:00 | Australia | 16–4 | South Africa |
| April 7, 2001 21:00 | Iceland | 5–2 | New Zealand |
Group B was played inBucharest,Romania between March 26 and April 1, 2001
| Team | Pld | W | L | D | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Romania | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 4 | +42 | 10 |
 Israel | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 21 | 11 | +10 | 8 |
 Yugoslavia | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 24 | 13 | +11 | 5 |
 Bulgaria | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 21 | 25 | −4 | 4 |
 Belgium | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 23 | 20 | +3 | 3 |
 Mexico | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 66 | −62 | 0 |
| March 26, 2001 11:30 | Belgium | 1–5 | Israel |
| March 26, 2001 15:00 | Bulgaria | 1–5 | Yugoslavia |
| March 26, 2001 19:30 | Romania | 19–0 | Mexico |
| March 27, 2001 11:30 | Yugoslavia | 4–4 | Belgium |
| March 27, 2001 15:00 | Israel | 7–1 | Mexico |
| March 27, 2001 19:30 | Romania | 8–0 | Bulgaria |
| March 29, 2001 11:30 | Mexico | 3–14 | Bulgaria |
| March 29, 2001 15:00 | Yugoslavia | 1–2 | Israel |
| March 29, 2001 20:00 | Romania | 6–1 | Belgium |
| March 31, 2001 10:00 | Bulgaria | 5–4 | Belgium |
| March 31, 2001 13:00 | Israel | 2–7 | Romania |
| March 31, 2001 17:00 | Yugoslavia | 13–0 | Mexico |
| April 1, 2001 10:00 | Belgium | 13–0 | Mexico |
| April 1, 2001 13:00 | Israel | 5–1 | Bulgaria |
| April 1, 2001 17:00 | Romania | 6–1 | Yugoslavia |
South Korea and Romania are promoted to Division I and Mexico and New Zealand are relegated to Division II Qualification.
