The 1997 IIHF European U18 Championship was the thirtieth playing of the IIHF European Junior Championships .
Group A
Played April 12 to the 20th, in Znojmo and Třebíč , Czech Republic . Switzerland shocked everyone by opening the tournament with wins over the Czechs and the Russians. Although they tired by the end of the tournament, their win over Slovakia assured them of their first (and only) medal in the European Juniors.
First round
Group 1
Group 2
Team
FIN
SWE
SVK
GER
GF/GA
Points
1. Finland
3:3
5:0
3:0
11:0 3
5
2. Sweden
3:3
6:2
6:3
15:0 8
5
3. Slovakia
0:5
2:6
7:2
0 9:13
2
4. Germany
0:3
3:6
2:7
0 5:16
0
Final round
Championship round
Team
FIN
SWE
SUI
RUS
CZE
SVK
GF
Points
1. Finland
(3:3)
8:1
4:2
3:2
(5:0)
23:0 8
9
2. Sweden
(3:3)
4:2
4:4
4:1
(6:2)
21:12
8
3. Switzerland
1:8
2:4
(6:2)
(4:3)
3:0
16:17
6
4. Russia
2:4
4:4
(2:6)
(4:4)
8:3
20:21
4
5. Czech Republic
2:3
1:4
(3:4)
(4:4)
4:2
14:17
3
6. Slovakia
(0:5)
(2:6)
0:3
3:8
2:4
0 7:26
0 0
7th place
Germany , losing the best of three series in overtime, was relegated to Group B for 1998.
Tournament Awards
Kauppinen, a defenceman, set a record for the lowest point total to lead a tournament.
Group B
Played March 21 to the 30th, in Maribor and Celje , Slovenia .
First round
Group 1
Team
NOR
POL
BLR
SLO
GF/GA
Points
1. Norway
4:2
5:2
3:4
12:0 8
4
2. Poland
2:4
7:3
4:2
13:0 9
4
3. Belarus
2:5
3:7
5:4
10:16
2
4. Slovenia
4:3
2:4
4:5
10:12
2
Group 2
Team
DEN
HUN
FRA
ITA
GF/GA
Points
1. Denmark
4:3
6:4
6:0
16:0 7
6
2. Hungary
3:4
5:3
6:5
14:12
4
3. France
4:6
3:5
6:5
13:16
2
4. Italy
0:6
5:6
5:6
10:18
0
Final round
Championship round
Team
NOR
POL
HUN
BLR
DEN
FRA
Team
Points
1. Norway
(4:2)
2:2
(5:2)
4:3
2:2
17:11
8
2. Poland
(2:4)
5:5
(7:3)
6:4
3:1
23:17
7
3. Hungary
2:2
5:5
1:1
(3:4)
(5:3)
16:15
5
4. Belarus
(2:5)
(3:7)
1:1
4:2
8:6
18:21
5
5. Denmark
3:4
4:6
(4:3)
2:4
(6:4)
19:21
4
6. France
2:2
1:3
(3:5)
6:8
(4:6)
16:24
1
7th place
Norway was promoted to Group A, and Slovenia was relegated to Group C, for 1998.
Group C
Played March 12 to the 16th in Miercurea-Ciuc and Gheorgheni , Romania .
First round
Group 1
Group 2
Team
LAT
AUT
LTU
CRO
GF/GA
Points
1. Latvia
3:3
10:2
5:1
18:0 6
5
2. Austria
3:3
6:1
1:0
10:0 4
5
3. Lithuania
2:10
1:6
5:2
0 8:18
2
4. Croatia
1:5
0:1
2:5
0 3:11
0
Placing round
Great Britain was promoted to Group B and the Netherlands was relegated to Group D, for 1998.
Group D
Played in Belgrade , FR Yugoslavia from March 4 to 9. The hosts completely dominated, with forward Csaba Prokec scoring 29 points in their 5 games.[ 1]
Team
YUG
ESP
BUL
ISR
ISL
TUR
GF/GA
Points
1. Yugoslavia
11:0
16:2
14:2
21:0
52:1
114:0 5
10
2. Spain
0:11
5:3
3:3
11:6
20:3
0 39:26
0 7
3. Bulgaria
2:16
3:5
5:3
5:2
7:0
0 22:26
0 6
4. Israel
2:14
3:3
3:5
9:5
13:0
0 30:27
0 5
5. Iceland
0:21
6:11
2:5
5:9
4:2
0 17:48
0 2
6. Turkey
1:52
3:20
0:7
0:13
2:4
0 0 6:96
0 0
Yugoslavia was promoted to Group C for 1998.
References
Unofficial championships U19 championships U18 championships