IZone MenuBar
IIHF Home About the IIHF IIHF Honor Roll Member Countries World Championships Tournaments Olympic Winter Games Pro Classics
Men's Pool A
IIHF Men's World Hockey Championships
World Championships Artifact
World Championships Photo The format of the tournament was changed once again prior to the 1982 "A" Pool Championship in Finland. All eight teams played a round-robin series, with the top four teams advancing to a medal round. As had been the case prior to 1979, teams were credited with all the points they had accumulated in the first round as opposed to just those gained against the other medal-round opponents. By initially sending over a team stocked with junior players, Canada was able to wait until the first round of the NHL playoffs was finished before finalizing its roster. In the end, six future Hockey Hall of Fame members were on the Canadian roster. A silver medal was well within the team's grasp after it blanked Sweden 6-0 on the final day. The Soviet Union had already clinched the gold, and a win by them over Czechoslovakia later in the day would clinch the silver for Canada. The Soviets looked very ordinary against the Czechoslovaks and the game wound up in a 0-0 tie. This result clinched the silver medal for Czechoslovakia and fueled a controversy. Canada cried foul, accusing the Soviets of throwing the game to make sure both the gold and silver medal went to Eastern Bloc countries. However, the Canadians had only themselves to blame for their situation. Even with Wayne Gretzky, Bobby Clarke, Bill Barber, Bob Gainey, Darryl Sittler and Mike Gartner in the lineup, they had earlier allowed themselves to be tied 3-3 by Italy. Two Canadians - Italian coach Dave Chambers and goalie Jim Corsi - were the architects of this startling result. Canada had also lost twice to the Soviets by scores of 4-3 and 6-4. Gretzky won the tournament scoring title with six goals and 14 points in 10 games.
1982 Helsinki, Tampere Summary
Click on a team below to see its roster and stats.
Rank Country Games Wins Losses Ties Points GDF GF GA
1 USSR 10 9 0 1 19      
2 Czechoslovakia 10 5 3 2 12      
3 Canada 10 5 3 2 12      
4 Sweden 10 3 4 3 9      
5 Finland 7 3 3 1 7      
6 West Germany 7 2 4 1 5      
7 Italy 7 1 5 1 3      
8 USA 7 0 6 1 1      

Games Chronology
Statistical Leaders
Back to Games List