|
Finland
|
|
Russia |
|
Switzerland |
|
The 1998 World Junior Championship was held in Helsinki and was dominated by the hosts from Finland. In the preliminary round, they went 3-0-1 to top Group A. After victories in the quarterfinals and semifinals, the Finns played Russia, who were also undefeated with just one tie in the tournament. For the first time in the history of World Junior Championships, the final game went into overtime with Finland emerging with 2-1victory and just its second world junior title in tournament history. Russia settled for the silver, with the bronze medal going to the surprising team from Switzerland. The five-time defending champions from Canada had trouble scoring throughout the tournament. After going 2-2 during the preliminaries, Team Canada dropped three straight playoff games, including a 6-3 loss to Khazakstan that dropped the team into eighth place for its worst finish in tournament history. Ollie Jokinen of Finland was named the Best Forward of the tournament after he and American Jeff Farkas tied atop the scoring list with 10 points apiece. The Best Defenseman was Pavel Skrbek of the Czech Republic. Switzerland's Daniel Aebischer was the Best Goalie.
|
