1957 Ice Hockey World Championships

The 1957 Ice Hockey World Championships took place from 24 February to 5 March at the Palace of Sports of the Central Lenin Stadium in Moscow, USSR. These were the last world championships played on natural ice and the first ever held in the Soviet Union.

The event is chiefly remembered for the political context: Hungary had recently been occupied by the Soviet Army following the suppression of the 1956 revolution. In protest, the United States, Canada, Norway, West Germany, Italy, and Switzerland boycotted the tournament. East Germany participated at the top level for the first time.

Competition

With so many teams absent, the host USSR was heavily favored, but Sweden pulled off an upset. In their third game, Sweden beat Czechoslovakia 2–0, a victory preserved when Leksands IF defenseman Vilgot Larsson headed the puck away from the Swedish net—before helmets were mandatory—earning several stitches.

In the deciding final game, Sweden scored two early goals, but the Soviets answered with four. Trailing by two in the third period, Sweden tied the match on goals by Eilert Määttä and Erling Lindström, backed by goaltender Thord Flodqvist and forward Sven "Tumba" Johansson. Since the USSR had only tied Czechoslovakia earlier, a draw gave Sweden the gold.

Karel Straka of Czechoslovakia was named best goaltender, Nikolaï Sologubov of the USSR best defenceman, and Sven "Tumba" Johansson best forward. Konstantin Loktev of the USSR led all scorers with 18 points (11 goals, 7 assists), followed by Sweden’s Nils Nilsson and Ronald Pettersson with 16 each. Vsevolod Bobrov of the USSR led in goals with 13. Japan competed for the first time since 1930 and finished last with one point.

At the gold medal ceremony, the Soviets had not prepared the Swedish national anthem. The Swedish players decided to sing it over the stadium’s PA system, but few knew the lyrics, so they instead sang the drinking song "Helan Går." Swedish captain Lasse Björn later recalled that Soviet Defence Minister Marshal Zhukov stood at attention for the tune.

Attendance record

The final game—USSR versus Sweden—was played on the football field of the Grand Sports Arena of the Luzhniki Stadium.