The 1966 World Ice Hockey Championships was the 33rd edition of the Ice Hockey World Championships. The tournament was held in Hala Tivoli, Ljubljana, SR Slovenia, SFR Yugoslavia from March 3 to March 14, 1966. For the fourth straight year, the Soviet Union won the tournament. For the Soviets, it was their sixth World and tenth European title. The Czechs beat both Canada and Sweden two to one, to take the Silver, while the Swedes' historic loss to East Germany helped put them fourth behind Canada for the Bronze.
The lower two tiers (Groups B and C) were formalized, so there would be no more qualifying tournaments with promotion and relegation taking places between these two tournaments as well. West Germany won all their games to return to the top level of competition while Great Britain went winless and was replaced by Group C winner Italy.
| Place |
Team |
Matches |
Won |
Drawn |
Lost |
Difference |
Points |
|---|
| 1 |  Romania | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 17 - 05 | 4 |
| 2 |  Italy | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 12 - 08 | 2 |
| 3 |  France | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 05 - 21 | 0 |
|
Romania qualified in Group B
Italy and France qualified in Group C
World Championship Group A (Ljubljana)
Final Round
| Place |
Team |
Matches |
Won |
Drawn |
Lost |
Difference |
Points |
|---|
| 1 |  Soviet Union | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 55 - 07 | 13 |
| 2 |  Czechoslovakia | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 32 - 15 | 12 |
| 3 |  Canada | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 33 - 10 | 10 |
| 4 |  Sweden | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 26 - 17 | 7 |
| 5 |  East Germany | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 12 - 30 | 6 |
| 6 |  United States | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 18 - 39 | 4 |
| 7 |  Finland | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 18 - 43 | 4 |
| 8 |  Poland | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 11 - 44 | 0 |
|
Poland was relegated to Group B for 1967.
| 3 March | Soviet Union | 8-1
| Poland | |
| 6 March | Czechoslovakia | 6-1
| Poland | |
| 10 March | Canada | 1-2
| Czechoslovakia | |
| 10 March | Soviet Union | 3-3
| Sweden | |
| 11 March | Czechoslovakia | 2-1
| Sweden | |
| 11 March | Soviet Union | 3-0
| Canada | |
| 13 March | Soviet Union | 7-1
| Czechoslovakia | |
World Championship Group B (Zagreb)
Final Round
West Germany was promoted to the top level while Great Britain was relegated to Group C for 1967 (but did not participate again until 1971).
| 12 March | West Germany  | 3-2
|  Norway | |
World Championship Group C (Jesenice)
A Yugoslav 'B' team participated unofficially in the tournament, playing games against each of the three other participating nations. This was South Africa's last appearance in the World Championships until 1992.
Final Round
| Place |
Team |
Matches |
Won |
Drawn |
Lost |
Difference |
Points |
|---|
| 17 | Italy | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 54 - 08 | 8 |
| 18 |  Denmark | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 21 - 21 | 4 |
| 19 | .svg.png) South Africa | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 04 - 50 | 0 |
| 20 |  Yugoslavia B | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 00 - 00 | 0 |
|
Italy was promoted to Group B, France decided not to participate, Yugoslavia B team participated instead of France
Ranking and statistics
| |
| 1966 IIHF World Championship Winners |
Soviet Union
6th title |
Tournament Awards
- Best players selected by the directorate:
- Media All-Star Team:
|
Final standings
The final standings of the tournament according to IIHF:
European championships final standings
Please note: At the time of the championship Sweden was awarded the bronze, however, East Germany should have won because of their better record amongst only European clubs. In 1999 this mistake was corrected and living players were presented with the medals they were supposed to have won.[1]
The final standings of the European championships according to IIHF:
Citations
References
- Müller, Stephan (2005). International Ice Hockey Encyclopaedia: 1904–2005. Books on Demand. ISBN 978-3-8334-4189-9.
- Summary (in french)
- Duplacey, James (1998). Total Hockey: The official encyclopedia of the National Hockey League. Total Sports. pp. 498–528. ISBN 0-8362-7114-9.
- Podnieks, Andrew (2010). IIHF Media Guide & Record Book 2011. Moydart Press. pp. 139–40.
- Szemberg, Szymon; Podnieks, Andrew, eds. (2007), World of Hockey: Celebrating a Century of the IIHF, Bolton, Ontario: Fenn Publishing, ISBN 1-55168-307-5
Austria 
Switzerland 
Hungary 
Great Britain 
