History: WFC 2002 - Czechs Narrowly Miss Bronze Medals – 25.11.2018

The fourth World Championship took place in Helsinki, Finland from 18th to 25th May 2002. As expected, Sweden won the tournament, although this time Finland gave them a really hard time. The event had an unlucky outcome for the Czech team.

Unsurprisingly, Sweden dominated group A, outclassing all their opponents. They defeated Denmark 15-2, Norway 13-0, and Germany 18-1. Basically, this group was only about the fight for the second place. And it was Norway who came off best from the battle of the three teams thrashed by Sweden, beating both Germany and Denmark.

Matches in group B, which featured the Czech team, were much closer and more interesting. The first three teams had identical match record: two wins and one loss. The Czechs sensationally managed to beat Finland 4-3 and followed up on the 2-2 draw from the previous championship. The Finns thus didn’t beat the Czech team for the second time in a row. This feat helped the Czechs secure the second place in their group. 

Sweden and Finland cruised easily through the quarterfinals, with the defending champions crushing Latvia 16-0 and their challengers outclassing Germany 7-1. On the contrary, the Czech Republic and Switzerland worried about their advancement to the semis until the very last moment. Switzerland narrowly overcame Norway 3-2. The match between the Czech Republic and Denmark went into overtime after a 4-4 draw, in which Pavel Kožušník brought great relief to the Czechs with a golden goal.

So, the favorites for both semifinals were clear. And the assumptions were confirmed. The Czechs were routed by Sweden 1-7, while Finland outplayed Switzerland convincingly 5-1. A Nordic final and a bronze medal game between the Czech Republic and Switzerland gradually became an evergreen. 

For the Czech players, the tournament ended in a big disappointment. Despite being down by three goals in the 3rd place game, they managed to close the gap and tied the score at 3-3. However, Stefan Lüthi scored the decider in overtime and the Czechs remained without medals.

The final between the Nordic giants was incredibly tight for a long time and Sweden gained their decisive lead with just nine minutes left in the match. By winning 6-4 they earned their fourth gold medals out of four world championships. 

Johan Anderson of Sweden was the scoring leader of the tournament and won the MVP prize as well.