The 2014 Ice Hockey World Championship is the 78th world tournament, which started in Minsk (Belarus) on May 9, and the final game for the World Champion title will take place on May 25. Games are held at once on 2 ice arenas - "Chizhovka-Arena" and "Minsk-Arena".
Selecting a venue
The decision to hold the 2014 World Ice Hockey Championship in Minsk was made in May 2009 in the city of Bern during the regular congress of the International Ice Hockey Federation. Hungary, Czech Republic, Ukraine and Latvia also suppressed the application for the championship. The Czech Republic later withdrew its application, citing the unstable economic situation in the country due to the transition to the euro in 2014. Thus, the Czech Republic will host the next 2015 Ice Hockey World Championship.
Participants
16 national teams participate in the world tournament - 13 teams from Europe (Belarus, France, Germany, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Italy, Norway, Latvia, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, Russia), 2 from North America (USA, Canada) and 1 from Asia (Kazakhstan). The national teams of the same countries took part in the 2012 World Ice Hockey Championship.
According to the regulations, 16 teams were divided into two groups, each of which contains 8 teams. Group A included the following teams: Czech Republic, Slovakia, Sweden, Canada, France, Norway, Italy, Denmark. The preliminary stage matches will be held at the Chizhovka Arena ice rink.
Group B includes the following national teams: USA, Finland, Russia, Germany, Switzerland, Latvia, Kazakhstan, Belarus. All games of this group will be held in the Minsk-Arena ice palace.
Organization
In the period from April 25 to May 31, 2014, a visa-free regime will operate on the territory of Belarus, covering all participants of the championship and foreign fans, the basis for entering the country without a visa will be an electronic or original ticket for the championship match.
The bison Volat, who plays hockey, has become the official mascot of the current World Hockey Championship. The name Volat is translated from the Belarusian language as "hero".
During the world tournament in Minsk, organizers, members of national teams and their officials will have the opportunity to travel free of charge on public transport, while fans will pay in full.
Ticket prices for preliminary group games range from 6 to 50 euros, depending on the seat in the stands and the rating of the match. The price of tickets for the games of the quarterfinals will be from 16 to 110 euros, for the semifinal matches and the game for the title of the bronze medalist - from 32 to 212 euros. Tickets for the final final match of the 2014 Ice Hockey World Championship will be the most expensive - from 64 to 424 euros. Most of the tickets and season tickets for the championship games were purchased by residents of Belarus, Latvia and fans from Russia.
Regulations
16 teams from different countries take part in competitive matches. They are divided into two equal groups of 8 teams. Within the group, each national team will have to play 7 preliminary matches. Thus, a total of 28 games will be played in each group.
For a victory in the mast, a team is awarded 3 points, if in regulation time neither team managed to get into the lead and it came to overtime, then both teams receive 1 point.
The position of the national teams in the standings depends primarily on the number of points scored. If several teams score the same number of points, then the outcome of the match between these teams is taken into account.
Only those teams that take from 1 to 4 places in their group will get to the quarterfinals. The teams that take 1st place in their group will play with the teams that are in 4th place in the standings of another group, and the second team will play against the third. The winners of these pairs will meet in the semifinal match.
The winners of the semi-finals will meet in the final match, where the world champion will be determined, and the teams that have lost in the semi-finals will compete for the bronze medal title.
Schedule of matches with the participation of the Russian national team (Moscow time):
May 9 Switzerland - Russia at 17:45
11 May Finland - Russia at 22:00
12 May USA - Russia at 21:45
May 14 Kazakhstan - Russia at 21:45
17 May Latvia - Russia at 13:45
May 18 Germany - Russia at 21:45
May 20 Belarus - Russia at 21:45
May 22 Quarter-final matches
May 24 Semi-finals
May 25 Bronze match and final
