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Men's Pool A
IIHF Men's World Hockey Championships
World Championships Artifact
World Championships Photo The 1978 championship was staged later in the year than at any previous time. As a result of the games not starting until late April, the Canadian team was able to draw on players whose NHL clubs had been eliminated during the first round of the playoffs. Since the admittance of pro players to the World Championship, members of the same pro team began to find themselves representing opposing national squads. This year in Prague, for example, two NHL players from the Minnesota North Stars defended Canada's colors, three played for Sweden, and four were members of the United States team. Frantisek Cernik scored three goals to lead Czechoslovakia to a 6-4 win over the Soviet Union in the first round. When the arch-rivals met for the second time, it was the Soviets, under new coach Viktor Tikhonov, who came out on top by a score of 3-1. Helmut Balderis, nicknamed 'Elektrizhka' (the electric train) because of his speed, was a standout in the victory. The teams tied for top spot with 18 points apiece, but the Soviets won the gold medal with a far superior goals for and against differential. Marcel Dionne was named best forward in the tournament as Canada earned the bronze medal by defeating Sweden twice. The outstanding defenceman was the Soviets' Vyacheslav Fetisov, playing in just his second world tournament.
1978 Prague 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 1 0 18      
2 Czechoslovakia 10 9 1 0 18      
3 Canada 10 5 5 0 10      
4 Sweden 10 4 6 0 8      
5 West Germany 10 3 4 3 9      
6 USA 10 2 6 2 6      
7 Finland 10 2 6 2 6      
8 East Germany 10 1 6 3 5      

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