The2002 Men's Ice Hockey World Championships were held between 26 April and 11 May 2002 inGothenburg,Karlstad andJönköping,Sweden.
It was the 66th annual event, and was run by theInternational Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). The competition also served as qualification for division placements in the2003 competition.
The Championship division was contested from 26 April to 11 May 2002. Participants in this tournament were placed into groups of four with the top three teams in each group advancing to the qualifying round. Teams which finished last in the group were sent to the relegation round where the top bottom teams were relegated to the 2003 Division I tournament. Within the qualifying round teams where split into two groups of six with the top four advancing to the playoff round and the bottom two eliminated from advancing. The playoff round was a knockout stage towards the gold medal game. The Championship was played inGothenburg,Sweden.Slovakia won the gold medal game, defeatingRussia 4–3. WhilePoland andItaly were relegated to Division I for 2003.[1]
Slovakia
Russia
Sweden
Finland
Czech Republic
Canada
United States
Germany
Ukraine
Switzerland
Latvia
Austria
Slovenia
Poland —relegated to Division I for 2003
Italy —relegated to Division I for 2003
Japan —Far Eastern qualifier for 2003Group A was played inEindhoven,The Netherlands between April 14 and April 20, 2002.
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | BLR | FRA | KAZ | NED | CRO | KOR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Belarus | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 45 | 10 | +35 | 10 | — | 3–1 | 6–4 | 15–4 | 9–0 | 12–1 | |
 France | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 27 | 6 | +21 | 8 | 1–3 | — | 6–0 | 4–2 | 6–1 | 10–0 | |
 Kazakhstan | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 30 | 14 | +16 | 6 | 4–6 | 0–6 | — | 4–2 | 12–0 | 10–0 | |
 Netherlands | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 19 | 30 | −11 | 4 | 4–15 | 2–4 | 2–4 | — | 4–2 | 7–5 | |
 Croatia | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 32 | −26 | 2 | 0–9 | 1–6 | 0–12 | 2–4 | — | 3–1 | |
 South Korea | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 42 | −35 | 0 | 1–12 | 0–10 | 0–10 | 5–7 | 1–3 | — |
Group B was played inSzékesfehérvár andDunaújváros,Hungary between April 14 and April 20, 2002.
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | DEN | HUN | NOR | GBR | ROU | CHN | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Denmark | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 10 | +30 | 10 | — | 6–2 | 4–3 | 5–3 | 12–2 | 13–0 | |
 Hungary | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 19 | 9 | +10 | 8 | 2–6 | — | 3–1 | 4–1 | 4–1 | 6–0 | |
 Norway | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 26 | 11 | +15 | 6 | 3–4 | 1–3 | — | 2–1 | 8–1 | 12–2 | |
 Great Britain | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 18 | 16 | +2 | 4 | 3–5 | 1–4 | 1–2 | — | 5–2 | 8–3 | |
 Romania | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 31 | −21 | 2 | 2–12 | 1–4 | 1–8 | 2–5 | — | 4–2 | |
 China | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 43 | −36 | 0 | 0–13 | 0–6 | 2–12 | 3–8 | 2–4 | — |
Belarus and Denmark are promoted to the2003 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships, while China and South Korea are relegated to Division II.
To integrate a new Division III being added for the2003 Championships, the bottom team in each pool was relegated to the 2003 inaugural Division III competition.
Group A was played inCape Town,South Africa between March 31 and April 6, 2002.
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | EST | BEL | ISR | AUS | RSA | TUR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Estonia | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 74 | 7 | +67 | 10 | — | 4–3 | 11–0 | 20–4 | 15–0 | 24–0 | |
 Belgium | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 37 | 11 | +26 | 8 | 3–4 | — | 3–1 | 9–4 | 10–0 | 12–2 | |
 Israel | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 22 | −8 | 6 | 0–11 | 1–3 | — | 6–5 | 4–2 | 3–1 | |
 Australia | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 32 | 39 | −7 | 4 | 4–20 | 4–9 | 5–6 | — | 8–4 | 11–0 | |
 South Africa | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 13 | 37 | −24 | 2 | 0–15 | 0–10 | 2–4 | 4–8 | — | 7–0 | |
 Turkey | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 57 | −54 | 0 | 0–24 | 2–12 | 1–3 | 0–11 | 0–7 | — |
Group B was played inNovi Sad,Yugoslavia between March 25 and March 31, 2002.
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | LTU | YUG | ESP | BUL | ISL | LUX | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Lithuania | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 71 | 6 | +65 | 10 | — | 7–1 | 11–2 | 13–3 | 20–0 | 20–0 | |
 Yugoslavia | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 34 | 10 | +24 | 8 | 1–7 | — | 7–0 | 5–2 | 8–1 | 13–0 | |
 Spain | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 28 | 22 | +6 | 6 | 2–11 | 0–7 | — | 5–3 | 11–1 | 10–0 | |
 Bulgaria | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 30 | 29 | +1 | 4 | 3–13 | 2–5 | 3–5 | — | 5–4 | 17–2 | |
 Iceland | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 14 | 44 | −30 | 2 | 0–20 | 1–8 | 1–11 | 4–5 | — | 8–0 | |
 Luxembourg | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 68 | −66 | 0 | 0–20 | 0–13 | 0–10 | 2–17 | 0–8 | — |
Estonia and Lithuania are promoted to Division I, while Luxembourg and Turkey are relegated to Division III.
This Division II Qualification tournament took place between April 11 and April 13, 2002 inMexico City,Mexico to determine the two teams that would earn promotion to Division II for 2003 Division II.
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 North Korea | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 4 | +14 | 4 |
 Mexico | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 13 | −6 | 1 |
 New Zealand | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 17 | −8 | 1 |
All times local
| April 11, 2002 20:00 | North Korea | 11–3 | New Zealand |
| April 12, 2002 20:00 | Mexico | 1–7 | North Korea |
| April 13, 2002 20:00 | New Zealand | 6–6 | Mexico |
North Korea and Mexico are promoted to Division II.
