The 1981 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships (1981 WJHC) was the 5th edition of the World Junior Ice Hockey Championships and was held from December 27, 1980 until January 2, 1981. The tournament was held in Fussen, West Germany. Sweden won the gold medal, while Finland won the silver, and the Soviet Union bronze.
Tournament format[]
The 1981 tournament divided participants into two divisions of four teams, each playing three games. The top two teams in each division advanced to the A division in the medal round, while the bottom two were placed in a B division. Each division played another round robin. The top three teams in the A division won the gold, silver and bronze medals. Teams that faced each other in the first round had their results carried over to the medal rounds.
Overall standings[]
This is the aggregate standings, ordered according to final placing. The four teams in the A division in the medal round were ranked one through four, while the four teams in the B division were ranked five through eight regardless of overall record.
| Rank | Team | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
 Sweden
|
5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 25 | 11 |
 |
 Finland
|
5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 29 | 18 |
 |
 Soviet Union
|
5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 36 | 14 |
| 4 |  Czechoslovakia
|
5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 34 | 21 |
| 5 |  Federal Republic of Germany
|
5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 29 | 24 |
| 6 |  United States of America
|
5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 19 | 27 |
| 7 |  Canada
|
5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 26 | 25 |
| 8 |  Austria
|
5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 9 | 67 |
Austria was relegated to Pool B for 1982.
Preliminary round[]
- Gold Division
| Team | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soviet Union
|
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 5 | 6 |
| Czechoslovakia
|
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 25 | 12 | 3 |
| Canada
|
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 17 | 11 | 3 |
| Austria
|
3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 51 | 0 |
| December 27, 1980 | |||
 Czechoslovakia
|
3 – 3 |  Canada
|
Kaufbeuren |
|---|---|---|---|
| December 27, 1980 | |||
 Soviet Union
|
19 – 1 |  Austria
|
Augsburg |
|---|---|---|---|
| December 28, 1980 | |||
| Soviet Union
|
7 – 3 | Canada
|
Landsberg |
|---|---|---|---|
| December 28, 1980 | |||
| Czechoslovakia
|
21 – 4 | Austria
|
Fussen |
|---|---|---|---|
| December 30, 1980 | |||
| Canada
|
11 – 1 | Austria
|
Landsberg |
|---|---|---|---|
| December 30, 1980 | |||
| Soviet Union
|
5 – 1 | Czechoslovakia
|
Fussen |
|---|---|---|---|
- Blue Division
| Team | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sweden
|
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 6 | 6 |
| Finland
|
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 17 | 9 | 4 |
| Federal Republic of Germany
|
3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 13 | 17 | 2 |
| United States of America
|
3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 22 | 0 |
| December 27, 1980 | |||
 Sweden
|
7 – 3 |  West Germany
|
Fussen |
|---|---|---|---|
| December 27, 1980 | |||
 Finland
|
8 – 1 |  United States
|
Landsberg |
|---|---|---|---|
| December 28, 1980 | |||
| Finland
|
8 – 6 | West Germany
|
Obertsdorf |
|---|---|---|---|
| December 28, 1980 | |||
| Sweden
|
10 – 2 | United States
|
Augsburg |
|---|---|---|---|
| December 30, 1980 | |||
| Sweden
|
2 – 1 | Finland
|
Kempten |
|---|---|---|---|
| December 30, 1980 | |||
| West Germany
|
4 – 2 | United States
|
Kaufbeuren |
|---|---|---|---|
Medal round[]
- Championship round
| Team | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sweden
|
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 6 | 5 |
| Finland
|
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 11 | 3 |
| Soviet Union
|
3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 10 | 2 |
| Czechoslovakia
|
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 14 | 2 |
| December 31, 1980 | |||
| Finland
|
6 – 3 | Soviet Union
|
Kaufbeuren |
|---|---|---|---|
| December 31, 1980 | |||
| Sweden
|
3 – 3 | Czechoslovakia
|
Oberstdorf |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 2, 1981 | |||
| Sweden
|
3 – 2 | Soviet Union
|
Augsburg |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 2, 1981 | |||
| Finland
|
6 – 6 | Czechoslovakia
|
Landsberg |
|---|---|---|---|
- Consolation round
| Team | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Federal Republic of Germany
|
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 9 | 6 |
| United States of America
|
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 9 | 4 |
| Canada
|
3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 20 | 15 | 2 |
| Austria
|
3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 27 | 0 |
| December 31, 1980 | |||
| United States
|
7 – 3 | Canada
|
Landsberg |
|---|---|---|---|
| December 31, 1980 | |||
| West Germany
|
9 – 1 | Austria
|
Fussen |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 2, 1981 | |||
| West Germany
|
7 – 6 | Canada
|
Kaufbeuren |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 2, 1981 | |||
| United States
|
7 – 2 | Austria
|
Fussen |
|---|---|---|---|
Leading scorers[]
| GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Dieter Hegen |
8 | 1 | 9 | ||
| Dale Hawerchuk |
5 | 4 | 9 | ||
| Bobby Carpenter |
5 | 4 | 9 | ||
| Ari Latheemaki |
5 | 4 | 9 | ||
| Vladimir Svitek |
5 | 4 | 9 |
Tournament all-stars[]
- Goaltender
Lars Eriksson - Defence Miloslav Hořava
- Defence Hakan Nordin
- Forward Ari Lahteenmaki
- Forward Patrik Sundström
- Forward Jan Erixon
References[]
- Podnieks, Andrew (1998). Red, White, and Gold: Canada at the World Junior Championships 1974–1999. ECW Press. ISBN 1-55022-382-8.
- 1977–81 World Junior Hockey Championships at TSN
| Preceded by 1980 World Juniors |
World Junior Ice Hockey Championships See also: 1981 World Championships |
Succeeded by 1982 World Juniors |