2020 IIHF World Championship Format, Participants, Schedule, Tickets, Broadcasters
The 2020 IIHF World Championship will be hosted from May 08 to May 24, 2020 by Switzerland. The Ice Hockey World Championships are an annual international men’s ice hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF).
Group A (Lausanne)
- Canada (1)
- Sweden (4)
- Czech Republic (5)
- Germany (7)
- Slovakia (9)
- Denmark (12)
- Belarus (14)
- Great Britain (20)
8 May 2020
- Canada – Germany
- Sweden – Czech Republic
9 May 2020
- Germany – Great Britain
- Slovakia – Denmark
- Belarus – Czech Republic
10 May 2020
- Great Britain – Slovakia
- Canada – Denmark
- Sweden – Belarus
11 May 2020
- Czech Republic – Canada
- Germany – Sweden
12 May 2020
Great Britain – Denmark
Belarus – Slovakia
13 May 2020
- Czech Republic – Great Britain
- Canada – Belarus
14 May 2020
- Denmark – Germany
- Sweden – Slovakia
15 May 2020
- Germany – Belarus
- Great Britain – Canada
16 May 2020
- Denmark – Belarus
- Canada – Sweden
- Slovakia – Czech Republic
17 May 2020
- Sweden – Great Britain
- Germany – Slovakia
18 May 2020
- Belarus – Great Britain
- Czech Republic – Denmark
19 May 2020
- Slovakia – Canada
- Czech Republic – Germany
- Denmark – Sweden
Group B (Zurich)
- Russia (2)
- Finland (3)
- United States (6)
- Switzerland (8)
- Latvia (10)
- Norway (11)
- Italy (16)
- Kazakhstan (19)
8 May 2020
- Finland – United States
- Russia – Switzerland
9 May 2020
- Italy – United States
- Latvia – Norway
- Switzerland – Kazakhstan
10 May 2020
- Russia – Norway
- Kazakhstan – Latvia
- Finland – Italy
11 May 2020
- United States – Russia
- Switzerland – Finland
12 May 2020
- Kazakhstan – Norway
- Italy – Latvia
13 May 2020
- United States – Kazakhstan
- Russia – Italy
14 May 2020
- Norway – Switzerland
- Finland – Latvia
15 May 2020
- Kazakhstan – Russia
- Switzerland – Italy
16 May 2020
- Latvia – United States
- Norway – Italy
- Russia – Finland
17 May 2020
- Finland – Kazakhstan
- Switzerland – Latvia
18 May 2020
- Italy – Kazakhstan
- United States – Norway
19 May 2020
- Latvia – Russia
- Norway – Finland
- United States – Switzerland
Tickets
Single-game tickets for the 2020 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship are on sale, you can purchase tickets from the official website of IIHF.
Broadcasters
IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship 2020 can be viewed in over 150 countries and territories all over the world.
- Africa: Fox Africa
- China: CCTV
- Hong Kong: iCable Hong Kong
- Korea: SBS Korea
- Caribbean: DIRECTV, Flow Sports, NHL Network
Format
The sixteen teams are divided into two groups for the Preliminary Round played in a single round-robin. The top four ranked teams from Group A and Group B advance to the quarter-finals. The first-place team in each preliminary-round group will play with the fourth-placed team of the other group, while the second-placed team will play with the third-place team of the other group. 1A-4B, 2A-3B, 1B-4A, 2B-3A.
The semi-final pairings will be formed based on the overall ranking of the preliminary round according to the team seeding regulation comparing.
- The position in the group
- The number of points
- Goal difference
- The number of goals scored
- Better seeding number entering the tournament.
- The highest-ranked team will play the lowest-ranked team making the semi-finals while the second-highest ranked semi-finalist will play the third-highest ranked semi-finalist.
- The winning teams of the semi-final games advance to the gold medal game while the semi-final losing teams play for bronze.
For all games points shall be awarded as follows:
- 3 points for the winning team after regulation time
- 1 point for both teams after regulation time if the game is tied
- An additional point earned for the team winning the game in a 5-minute overtime period, or the Penalty-Shot Shootout if the teams are still tied following conclusion of the overtime period
- 0 points for the team losing the game in regulation time
Overtime Operations
If a game is tied at the end of regulation time, a five-minute overtime period shall be played after a three-minute intermission. The teams will not change ends for the overtime period. The game will end when the five minutes have expired or when a goal is scored; the scoring team will be declared the winner. If no goal is scored in the overtime period then the Penalty-Shot Shootout Procedure will apply. All overtime periods of any IIHF preliminary-round or round-robin game shall be played with each team at the numerical strength of three (3) skaters and one (1) goaltender.
Overtime procedure in Play-Off Games
- In case of a tie after regulation time in a Relegation Playoff, Placement Playoff, Quarter Final, Semi-Final and Bronze Medal Game, there will be a 10-minute sudden-death overtime period played after a three-minute intermission.
- The teams will not change ends.
- The overtime period shall be played with each team at the numerical strength of three (3) skaters and one (1) goaltender.
- The team, which scores a goal during this period is the winner.
- If no goal is scored during the overtime period, there will be Penalty-Shot Shootout (PSS) according to the Penalty-Shot Shootout Procedure.
- In the Gold Medal Game, 20-minute sudden-death overtime periods will be played until the winning goal is scored. Between each period, there will be a 15-minute intermission during which the ice will be resurfaced.
- The overtime period shall be played with each team at the numerical strength of three (3) skaters and one (1) goaltender.
- The team which scores a goal in overtime is declared the winner.
Penalty-Shot Shootout Procedure
If no goal is scored in the overtime period then the Penalty-Shot Shootout (PSS) procedure will apply.
- Five different shooters from each team will take alternate shots until a decisive goal is scored.
- If the game is still tied after five shots by each team, the PSS will continue with a tie-break shoot out by one player of each team, with a reversed shooting order. The same or new players can take the tie-break shots.
- The same player can also be used for each shot by a team in the tie-break shoot-out.
- Only the decisive goal will count in the result of the game.
Shots will be taken at both ends of the ice. The area of the ice to be used will be dry scraped. - A coin toss will determine which team takes the first shot, with the winner of the toss having the choice whether his team will shoot first or second.
- Any player whose penalty was not over when overtime ended cannot take the shots and must stay in the penalty box or the dressing room.
- The goaltenders will defend the same goal, as in the overtime period. The goaltenders from each team may be changed after each shot.
- The players of both teams will take the shots alternately until a decisive goal is scored.
Only the decisive goal will count in the result of the game. It shall be credited to the team that scored the goal and charged against the team that was scored upon.
Tie breaking formula
- The tie-breaking system for two teams with the same number of points in a standing will be the game between the two teams, the winner of the game taking precedence.
- Because the three-point system does not allow a game to end in a tie, then the following tie-breaking procedure is applicable when three or more teams are tied in points in a Championship standing.
Should three or more teams be tied on points, then a tie-breaking formula will be applied as follows, creating a sub-group amongst the tied teams. This process will continue until only two or none of the teams remain tied.
In the case of two tied teams remaining, the game between the two would then be the determining tie-breaker as the game could not end as a tie. In the case of none of the teams being tied, the criteria specified in the respective step applies.
- Taking into consideration the games between each of the tied teams, a sub-group is created applying the points awarded in the direct games amongst the tied teams from which the teams are then ranked accordingly.
- Should three or more teams remain tied in points then the better goal difference in the direct games amongst the tied teams will be decisive.
- Should three or more teams remain tied in points and goal difference then the highest number of goals scored by these teams in their direct games will be decisive
- Should three or more teams remain tied in points, goal difference and goals scored then the results between each of the three teams and the closest best-ranked team outside the sub-group will be applied. In this case the tied team with the best result (1. points, 2. goal difference, 3. more goals scored) against the closest best ranked-team will take precedence
- Should the teams remain tied, then the results between each of the three teams and the next highest best-ranked team outside the sub-group will be applied.
- Should the teams remain tied after these five steps have been exercised then Sport considerations will be applied and the teams will be ranked by their positions coming into the Championship (seeding).
Final Ranking
The gold medal game and bronze medal game will determine the final ranking for the top-4 teams. The eliminated teams from the preliminary round plus the losing teams of the quarter-finals will be ranked following their positions in the groups preceding the quarter-final round.
