The 2014 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships (formerly called the IIHF U20 World Championship) was the 38th edition of the Ice Hockey World Junior Championship (WJHC), hosted in Malmö, Sweden. The 13,700-seat Malmö Arena was the main venue, with the smaller Malmö Isstadion the secondary venue. It began on December 26, 2013, and ended with the gold medal game on January 5, 2014.
Finland defeated host team Sweden in the final 3âÂÂ2 in overtime and won their first gold medal since 1998, as well as their third gold medal in total. It was also their first medal in the tournament since 2006. Sweden earned their second consecutive silver medal, their ninth silver medal in total, as well as their third consecutive medal in the tournament.
For the first time since 1979âÂÂ81, Canada failed to capture a medal for the second consecutive year by losing the bronze medal game 1âÂÂ2 to Russia, who captured the team's fourth consecutive medal at the tournament. The 2014 tournament marked the first time since 1998 that all three medalists were European teams.
A total of 144,268 spectators attended the 31 games, setting a new attendance record for IIHF World Junior Championship tournaments hosted in Europe. 12,023 spectators attended the gold medal game, setting a new record for a single IIHF World Junior Championship game in Europe.
The playoff round was expanded to eight teams (again), with group leaders no longer getting a bye into the semifinals, the first time since the 2002 tournament.
The IIHF selected 12 referees and 10 linesmen to work the 2014 IIHF Ice Hockey U20 World Championship. <br /> They were the following:
A change in format was implemented for the Top Division. The four best ranked teams from each group of the preliminary round advanced to the quarterfinals, while the last placed teams from each group played a relegation round in a best of three format to determine the relegated team. This format was last used in 2002, except the current tournament will not incorporate playoff games to determine places five through eight.
A player is eligible to play in the 2014 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships if:
If a player who has never played in IIHF-organized competition wishes to switch national eligibility, he must have played in competitions for two consecutive years in the new country without playing in another country, as well as show his move to the new country's national association with an international transfer card. In case the player has previously played in IIHF-organized competition but wishes to switch national eligibility, he must have played in competitions for four consecutive years in the new country without playing in another country, he must show his move to the new country's national association with an international transfer card, as well as be a citizen of the new country. A player may only switch national eligibility once.
All times are local (Central European Time â UTC+1).
The relegation round was a best-of-three series. Norway lost two games and were relegated to the 2015 Division I A.
All times are local (Central European Time â UTC+1).
<small>GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/â = PlusâÂÂminus; PIM = Penalties In Minutes<br />Source: IIHF.com</small>
(minimum 40% team's total ice time)
<small>TOI = Time on ice (minutes:seconds); GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; Sv% = Save percentage; SO = Shutouts<br />Source: IIHF.com</small>
<small>Reference: </small>
Note that due to the lack of playoff games for determining the spots 5âÂÂ8, these spots were determined by the regulation round records for each team.
The Division I A tournament was played in Sanok, Poland, from 15 to 21 December 2013.
The Division I B tournament was played in Dumfries, Great Britain, from 9 to 15 December 2013.
The Division II A tournament was played in Miskolc, Hungary, from 15 to 21 December 2013.
The Division II B tournament was played in Jaca, Spain, from 11 to 17 January 2014.
The Division III tournament was played in ðzmir, Turkey, from 12 to 18 January 2014.