The 2003 Men's Ice Hockey World Championships were held in Helsinki, Turku and Tampere in Finland from April 26 to May 11.
In the quarterfinals, between Sweden and Finland, the Swedes completed an outstanding comeback, being down 4 goals 5–1 7 minutes into the second period. At that time, Sweden decided to change goalie, from Tommy Salo to Mikael Tellqvist. After the change, the Swedes scored 3 goals in a row in the second period to reduce the lead to 5–4. In the third period, Peter Forsberg scored a notable goal, when he skated from his own half of the rink all the way to Finland's offensive zone, scoring on a wrap around. Per Johan Axelsson scored the game winning goal in the third period to win the game 6–5 for the Swedes.
Preliminary round[]
Group A[]
| Team | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Slovakia |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 5 | 6 |
 Germany |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 8 | 4 |
 Ukraine |
3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 13 | 2 |
 Japan |
3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 20 | 0 |
Group B[]
| Team | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Russia |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 5 | 6 |
 Switzerland |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 7 | 4 |
 Denmark |
3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 14 | 2 |
 United States of America |
3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 0 |
Group C[]
| Team | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Canada |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 6 |
 Sweden |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 5 | 4 |
 Latvia |
3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 9 | 2 |
 Belarus |
3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 0 |
Group D[]
| Team | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Czech Republic |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 4 | 6 |
 Finland |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 18 | 3 | 4 |
 Austria |
3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 15 | 2 |
 Slovenia |
3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 23 | 0 |
Qualification round[]
Group E[]
| Team | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Slovakia |
5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 27 | 9 | 9 |
| Czech Republic |
5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 22 | 7 | 9 |
| Finland |
5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 18 | 10 | 5 |
| Germany |
5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 11 | 5 |
| Austria |
5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 9 | 27 | 2 |
| Ukraine |
5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 31 | 0 |
Group F[]
| Team | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canada |
5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 18 | 6 | 9 |
| Sweden |
5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 20 | 9 | 8 |
| Russia |
5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 16 | 14 | 4 |
| Switzerland |
5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 14 | 16 | 4 |
| Latvia |
5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 16 | 4 |
| Denmark |
5 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 25 | 1 |
Final round[]
| Quarter finals | Semi finals | Final | ||||||||
| May 7 - Elysee Arena | ||||||||||
| Canada
|
3 | |||||||||
| May 9 - Hartwall Areena | ||||||||||
| Germany
|
2 | |||||||||
| Canada
|
8 | |||||||||
| May 7 - Elysee Arena | ||||||||||
| Czech Republic
|
4 | |||||||||
| Czech Republic
|
3 | |||||||||
| May 11 – Hartwall Areena | ||||||||||
| Russia
|
0 | |||||||||
| Canada
|
3 | |||||||||
| May 7 - Hartwall Areena | ||||||||||
| Sweden
|
2 | |||||||||
| Slovakia
|
3 | |||||||||
| May 9 - Hartwall Areena | ||||||||||
| Switzerland
|
1 | |||||||||
| Slovakia
|
1 | Third place | ||||||||
| May 7 - Hartwall Areena | ||||||||||
| Sweden
|
4 | |||||||||
| Sweden
|
6 | Czech Republic
|
2 | |||||||
| Finland
|
5 | Slovakia
|
4 | |||||||
| May 10 – Hartwall Areena | ||||||||||
Relegation round[]
| Team | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States of America |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 5 | 6 |
| Belarus |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 8 | 4 |
| Slovenia |
3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 14 | 1 |
| Japan |
3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 14 | 1 |
Japan avoids relegation by defeating 
South Korea 4-1 in the 2004 IIHF World Championship Far East Qualification game.
Belarus and Slovenia are demoted to Division I at the 2004 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships.
Scoring leaders[]
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Žigmund Pálffy |
9 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 18 |
| Jozef Stümpel |
9 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 0 |
| Ľubomír Višňovský |
9 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 2 |
 Teemu Selänne |
7 | 8 | 3 | 11 | 2 |
| Saku Koivu |
7 | 1 | 10 | 11 | 4 |
 Dany Heatley |
9 | 7 | 3 | 10 | 10 |
 Mats Sundin |
7 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 10 |
| Miroslav Šatan |
9 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 2 |
 Martin Straka |
9 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 4 |
| Kimmo Rintanen |
7 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 0 |
Goaltending leaders[]
| Player | MINS | GA | GAA | SO | Sv% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sean Burke |
328 | 7 | 1.28 | 1 | .955 |
 Oliver Jonas |
180 | 4 | 1.33 | 0 | .960 |
| Mikael Tellqvist |
393 | 9 | 1.37 | 0 | .940 |
 Marco Bührer |
297 | 9 | 1.82 | 1 | .934 |
| Ján Lašák |
359 | 11 | 1.84 | 0 | .935 |
Division I[]
Group A[]
Played at Budapest, Hungary April 15-21
| Team | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Kazakhstan |
5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 9 | 10 |
 Poland |
5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 24 | 9 | 8 |
 Hungary |
5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 14 | 13 | 5 |
 Netherlands |
5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 17 | 22 | 3 |
 Romania |
5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 13 | 26 | 3 |
 Lithuania |
5 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 30 | 1 |
Group B[]
Played at Zagreb, Croatia April 13-20
| Team | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 France |
5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 21 | 5 | 9 |
 Norway |
5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 9 | 8 |
 Estonia |
5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 12 | 20 | 4 |
 Italy |
5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 16 | 11 | 4 |
 United Kingdom |
5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 16 | 14 | 3 |
 Croatia |
5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 10 | 35 | 2 |
France and Kazakhstan are promoted to the 2004 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships, Croatia and Lithuania are demoted to Division II.
Division II[]
Group A[]
Played at Seoul, South Korea April 5-12
| Team | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Korea |
5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 50 | 10 | 10 |
 Yugoslavia |
5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 46 | 11 | 8 |
 Spain |
5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 27 | 23 | 6 |
 Australia |
5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 25 | 26 | 4 |
 South Africa |
5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 19 | 32 | 2 |
 Mexico |
5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 70 | 0 |
Group B[]
Played at Sofia, Bulgaria March 24-30
| Team | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Belgium |
5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 29 | 8 | 8 |
 China |
5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 13 | 8 |
 Bulgaria |
5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 15 | 10 | 5 |
 North Korea |
5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 16 | 13 | 5 |
 Israel |
5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 19 | 4 |
 Iceland |
5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 31 | 0 |
Belgium and South Korea are promoted to Division I, Iceland and Mexico are demoted to Division III.
Division III[]
Played at Auckland, New Zealand April 3-6
| Team | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 New Zealand |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 3 | 4 |
 Luxembourg |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 10 | 2 |
 Turkey |
2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 12 | 0 |
Luxembourg and New Zealand are promoted to Division II.
Ice Hockey World Championships 2003 commemorative coin
See also[]
To celebrate the games, the Finnish government issued a high value commemorative coin: the 2003 Ice Hockey World Championships commemorative coin, minted also in 2003. On the reverse, three ice hockey sticks with a puck can be seen.