Golden Memories from the 2001 IIHF World Championship

Originally published in Rinkside in 2001

By Lucas Aykroyd

“Dynasty” is a word that doesn’t get bandied around much in either NHL or international hockey these days. That’s not surprising. The globalization of our game has made it much harder to build a team that wins year after year, as players now move around with unprecedented freedom.

Heading into the 2001 IIHF World Championship in Germany, hockey observers had to wonder whether the Czech Republic would buck the trend by winning its third consecutive gold medal at this tournament.

The odds weren’t good. The last true dynasty at the World Championships had come from the Soviet Union, which captured five straight titles from 1978 to 1983 with masterful performances from Sergei Makarov, Viacheslav Fetisov and Vladislav Tretiak.

Then again, no one was betting against the Czechs after they stunned the hockey world at the 1998 Olympics by defeating the USA, Canada and Russia en route to gold. Even if they lacked Dominik Hasek and Jaromir Jagr this time around.

The 2001 IIHF World Championship would prove to be an alchemist’s dream. Nobody can quite explain the chemistry that makes a winning team come together within days at a tournament like this. But the results are always brilliant to see.

As the 16 elite national teams arrived in Hannover, Cologne and Nuremberg to kick off play on April 28, neither of the bridesmaids from 2000 were glowing with confidence about their chances.

“It will be an uphill battle for us,” said Jan Filc, the head coach of Slovakia, which claimed silver in St. Petersburg, Russia. “With the expectations everybody has for us, I have only one thing to say: we’ll do our best, and I will be pleased if we finish better than fifth or sixth.”

It looked like Finland might be hard-pressed to prolong its three-year medal streak at the championships. The 2001 squad lacked such scoring threats as Teemu Selanne and Saku Koivu and would not boast Teppo Numminen or Jyrki Lumme on the blueline.

Of course, these were hardly the only medal contenders. Canada’s entry attracted special attention for its blend of skill, grit and speed. Although Eric Lindros was scratched as a possibility due to health and conditioning concerns, Michael Peca decided to suit up for Canada, ending his season-long exile from the ice. The former Buffalo captain joined the likes of Ryan Smyth and Joe Thornton up front, with support from such solid defenders as Wade Redden and Jason Smith. It looked like this could be a dress rehearsal for the Olympics, enabling young talent to step out on the international stage.

Sweden brought its own talent-laden roster featuring Tommy Salo in goal. Russia was out for revenge after a humiliating 11th-place finish the year before, and was counting on Alexei Yashin for leadership. The USA had the inspirational coaching of Lou Vairo to propel a young squad, and Germany had, if little else, the raucous soccer-style home crowds to give it heart.

Opening day yielded mostly predictable results, but Germany’s 3-1 victory over Switzerland raised some eyebrows. The Swiss were heavily favored, having sent several prospects to the NHL recently. But even though German forward Mark MacKay was knocked out of action with a broken collarbone, his teammates played fierce defensive hockey to claim the win. The sellout crowd of 18,500 at the Kölnarena set a new record for the largest crowd at a World Championships game. The old record had stood since the 1957 tournament in Russia.

Could it get any better for the host country? The answer came the very next night, as Germany stunned the Czech Republic by eking out a 2-2 tie, thanks largely to a heroic 32-save outing from goalie Robert Muller. “We frustrated the Czechs for 60 minutes,” said German coach Hans Zach. “We showed we have great character on the team and we’re happy about the enthusiasm from the fans. We are glad we could give something back to them.”

But while the German crowd’s flag-waving and drum-beating was tough to outdo, the boisterous Latvian fans blew the roof off in Cologne on April 30. Facing the USA, Carolina netminder Arturs Irbe showed no signs of fatigue after playing 77 NHL regular season games for the Hurricanes in 2000-01. Irbe made 42 stops, posting a 2-0 shutout for Latvia. American coach Lou Vairo jokingly commented on the Latvian fans afterwards: “I didn’t expect the entire country of Latvia to be here! I was looking for the king in the crowd but I didn’t see him.”

The most competitive games of the Preliminary Round were scheduled for May 2. Unquestionably, the marquee matchup featured Canada versus Russia. This marked the first time that rival centers Michael Peca and Alexei Yashin had faced each other since the first round of the 1999 NHL playoffs, where Peca kept Yashin off the scoreboard as his Sabres swept the Senators 4-0. Although Yashin had been named Russia’s captain, he ended up filling a second-line role behind the top trio of Andrei Razin, Ravil Gusmanov and Alexander Golts from Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the Russian League.

Peca captained Canada to a convincing 5-1 win over Russia, but paid a dear price. Throwing an open-ice bodycheck on defenseman Oleg Tverdovsky, he fractured his cheekbone and would be sidelined for the rest of the tournament.

With Finland triumphing 5-2 over Slovakia and Sweden tying the USA 3-3 the same day, the matchups for the Qualifying Round were set. To no one’s great surprise, Belarus, Norway and Japan were sent to the Relegation Round, while Latvia, the oldest team in the tournament with an average age of 30, joined them after failing to sustain its early momentum.

Both Canada and Sweden suffered the loss of key young players heading into the Qualifying Round. Goaltender Roberto Luongo was found to have fractured the index finger of his stick hand against Switzerland, and winger Daniel Sedin was diagnosed with a herniated disc in his back. Although Dan Cloutier of the Vancouver Canucks was summoned to take Luongo’s place, the loss of the Florida goalie would prove particularly costly for Canada.

Wayne Gretzky, the Executive Director of Team Canada, arrived in Hannover amid great fanfare, signing innumerable autographs and facing questions such as “What does a god think about?” at his first press conference. Perhaps all the hoopla got to his team. Canada only mustered a 3-3 tie with the host Germans on May 5, trailing 2-0 at one stage. Marco Sturm of the San Jose Sharks stepped up his offensive game for Germany, adding a goal, while former Western Hockey League star Wayne Hynes notched a pair.

“Before I came over I was like, ‘Oh, now I have to play another World Championships,’” Sturm said later of his experience. “But afterwards, I thought, ‘Thank God I was there!’ I had a great time and the German fans were unbelievable.”

Russian coach Boris Mikhailov had a more ominous-sounding forecast for the tournament after his team’s 4-3 loss to the Czechs: “If you’re afraid of the wolves, don’t go into the forest.”

The next day, the USA got its own jolt of reality, falling apart defensively in a 3-0 loss to lowly Austria. Once again, goaltending was a big story as Austria’s Reinhard Divis, a St. Louis draft pick, made 40 saves for the shutout. Meanwhile, coach Mikhailov had to be pleased when Alexei Yashin came out gunning for the first time in the tournament. Yashin got the winning goal for Russia in a 2-1 victory over Switzerland.

On May 7, the Swiss found themselves in the middle of a jungle. Swiss captain Jean-Jacques Aeschlimann notched two goals to power his team to an 8-1 win over Italy, but suffered a concussion when sucker-punched by Italian forward Anthony Iob. Italy’s Mario Chitarroni also bloodied Swiss defenseman Goran Bezina in a fight. Since brawling is banned at the World Championships, the IIHF dished out suspensions.

May 8 marked the renewal of some classic rivalries as the Qualifying Round drew to a close. The Czech Republic and Canada squared off, with memories of the climactic shootout at the 1998 Olympics still fresh in many minds. Pavel Kubina of the Tampa Bay Lightning tallied twice as the Czechs triumphed 4-2, showing their veteran experience. Tempers flared in the Sweden-Finland game, where the gritty Jarkko Ruutu gave his team a 5-4 win and aggravated Tommy Salo. The Swedish goalie scuffled with Ruutu and called him “cowardly” in a post-game interview.

The quarter-finals brought even more drama. While the Czechs and Finns advanced with relatively easy wins over Slovakia and Germany respectively, both the Sweden-Russia and Canada-USA games went into sudden-death overtime. Defenseman Kim Johnsson’s slapshot from the blueline at 6:03 of the extra frame earned Sweden a 4-3 victory. “I’ve been to Hannover many times, but I’ve never been so happy to go there as I am now,” said Swedish coach Hardy Nilsson, gearing up for the semi-finals.

In contrast, Canada was disappointed to be leaving Hannover after the USA’s Darby Hendrickson converted a 2-on-1 pass 32 seconds into overtime for a 4-3 win. Canada blew 2-0 and 3-1 leads, losing to the Americans for the first time at the World Championships since 1985. “Any time the USA plays Canada, it’s obviously a big rivalry, and any time we can beat Canada, it’s definitely fun,” said American forward Ryan Kraft.

Kraft gave special credit to USA coach Lou Vairo: “He basically tells you, ‘Don’t come back to the bench if you’re not working hard.’ He’s a good smart hockey man and he gives his players every opportunity.”

Excitement among Swedish fans hit a fever pitch when the team announced it would add Mats Sundin for the semi-finals against the Czechs. Coming off a second-round Game 7 loss to New Jersey, the Toronto Maple Leafs captain was flown in by private jet at a cost of $35,000 US, with a Swedish TV station footing the bill. But even though Sundin chipped in as a playmaker, it wasn’t enough. He was denied in the critical shootout as the Swedes fell 3-2. Meanwhile, Sami Kapanen scored two nifty goals to propel Finland past the USA 3-1 and into the finals.

With their shot at a dynasty on the line, the Czechs gave the Finns an unbelievable battle in the gold medal game on May 13. Finland outshot the Czech Republic 49-35, forcing Atlanta Thrashers goalie Milan Hnilicka to turn in arguably the best performance of his career. At 10:38 of overtime, David Moravec’s Jagr-like deke gave his team a 3-2 win and another golden memory to cherish. For the Finns, it was a heartbreaking repeat of their 1999 overtime loss to the Czechs in the finals. It was their third silver medal in the last four years. Sweden outlasted the USA 3-2 to claim the bronze.

Not all of the highlights occurred during the 56 tournament games. Members of Canada’s team from the 1972 Summit Series against the Soviet Union came to Hannover to play an exhibition for a local children’s charity. Ex-Maple Leafs Ron Ellis, Frank Mahovlich and Paul Henderson were among those who thrilled German hockey fans.

The total attendance of 407,542 at the games was second only to Finland’s 1997 record of 526,000. And the IIHF made the exciting announcement that Canada would be considered as a potential host country for the 2007 tournament. Canada was slated to host in 1970, but disagreements with the IIHF scuttled those plans, so this could be the first time ever.

But the greatest glory went to the Czechs, who got to hoist the IIHF’s brand-new championship trophy. Not only did they pull off the three-peat, but they became the only team to have earned a medal at the World Championships every year since 1996.

As the 2002 Olympics loom, the 2001 IIHF World Championship still casts a long shadow. Canada and the USA will bring star-studded rosters to Salt Lake City, but recent history suggests the Czechs will somehow make their way into the finals.

They’ll be looking for more golden memories.