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USSR
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Czechoslovakia |
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Sweden |
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The format for the 1975 championship in West Germany remained unchanged for the seventh consecutive year. Unfortunately the formula was satisfying neither spectators nor participants. The IIHF leadership had become convinced that the results in the "A" Pool had become predictable, thereby hurting attendance. Since the Canadians had withdrawn from the World Championships, the Soviets, Czechoslovaks and Swedes controlled the top places in the standings. The bottom teams in "A" Pool had managed very few victories.
Many fans were bored by the tournament as the Soviet Union finished first by four points to win another gold medal. They registered a perfect 10-0-0 record and beat the silver medalists from Czechoslovakia twice by scores of 5-2 and 4-1. Sweden and Finland tied for third place, but the former prevailed based on a superior goals for and against differential. The teams had split their two games. Left winger Alexander Yakushev, Soviet star of the 1972 Summit Series, was named the tournament's best forward. Viktor Shalimov, a teammate with the Spartak club in Moscow, was the scoring champion with 19 points.
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