Tournament Format
The sixteen teams are divided into two groups for the Preliminary Round with the top-four teams of each group advancing to the quarter-finals.
The top-four ranked teams of each group advance to the quarter-finals that will be normally be played cross-over. The first-place team in each preliminary-round group plays the fourth-place team of the other group, while the second-place team plays the third-place team of the other group. 1A-4B, 2A-3B, 1B-4A, 2B-3A.
- If France is qualified for the Quarter Finals they will play the 20:15 QF (Game 60) in Paris
- If Germany is qualified for the Quarter Finals they will play the 20:15 QF (Game 59) in Cologne
- If Germany and France will play each other in the Quarter-Finals, no cross-overs, pairings would be A1-A4, B1-B4, A2-A3, B2-B3.
- If Germany and/or France are not qualified for the Quarter Finals, then the highest ranked team from that/each Group of the Preliminary Round will play the late game in either or both sites (Game fifty nine and/or 60) in Cologne or Paris.
The winning teams advance to the semi-finals. Both semi-final games will be played at LANXESS arena in Cologne. The highest ranked team at the conclusion of the Preliminary Round will play the 15:15 semi-final game (Game 61) in Cologne.
The winning teams of the semi-final games advance to the gold medal game while the semi-final losing teams play for bronze.
Relegation format
The overall bottom ranked two teams will be relegated to the two thousand eighteen IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Division I Group A.
The two thousand eighteen IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship will consist of sixteen teams including the team of the organizing member national association, thus Denmark cannot be among the two relegated teams.
The teams promoted to the two thousand eighteen IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship will be the top-two teams of the two thousand seventeen IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Division I Group A.
Three Point System
For all games points shall be awarded as goes after:
- Three points for the winning team at the conclusion of regulation time
- 1 point for both teams at the conclusion of regulation time if the game is tied
- An extra point earned for the team winning the game in a 5-minute overtime period, or the Penalty-Shot Shootout Procedure if the teams are still tied following conclusion of the overtime period
- 0 points for the team losing the game in regulation time
Overtime Operations
If a game is tied at the end of regulation time, a five-minute overtime period shall be played. The teams will switch finishes for the overtime period. The game will end when the five minutes has expired or when a objective is scored; the scoring team will be announced the winner. If no objective is scored in the overtime period then the Game Winning Shots Procedure will apply. All overtime periods of any IIHF game shall be played with each team at the numerical strength of three (Three) skaters and one (1) goalkeeper for games of the preliminary round.
Overtime procedure in Play-Off Games:
- In case of a tie at the conclusion of regulation time in a Relegation Playoff, Placement Playoff, Quarter Final, Semi Final and Bronze Medal Game, there will be a 10-minute sudden-death overtime period played, following a three-minute intermission.
- The teams will switch completes for the overtime period.
- The overtime period shall be played with each team at the numerical strength of four (Four) skaters and one (1) goalkeeper.
- The team, which scores a purpose during this period is the winner.
- In the Gold Medal game there will be a 20-minute sudden-death overtime period, following a 15-minute intermission during which the ice will be resurfaced.
- The teams will switch finishes.
- The overtime period shall be played with each team at the numerical strength of five (Five) skaters and one (1) goalkeeper.
- The team which scores a objective during this period is proclaimed winner.
- If no objective is scored during the sudden-death overtime, there will be Penalty-Shot Shootout according to the Penalty-Shot Shootout Procedure.
Penalty-Shot Shootout Procedure
If no objective is scored in the overtime period then the Penalty-Shot Shootout (PSS) procedure will apply. The following procedure will be utilized:
- Three different shooters from each team – five in playoff and medal games – will take alternate shots, until a decisive aim is scored.
- If the game is still tied after three shots (respectively five in playoff and medal games) by each team, the PSS will proceed with a tie-break shoot out by one player of each team, with a reversed shooting order. The same or fresh players can take the tie-break shots.
- The same player can also be used for each shot by a team in the tie-break shoot-out.
- Only the decisive objective will count in the result of the game.
- Shots will be taken at both finishes of the ice. The area of the ice to be used will be dry scraped.
- A coin throw will determine which team takes the very first shot, with the winner of the throw having the choice whether his team will shoot very first or 2nd.
- Any player whose penalty was not over when overtime ended cannot take the shots and must stay in the penalty box or in the dressing room.
- Once named, players may only be substituted in the event of injury or penalty.
- The substitute stand-by player is placed last in the shooting order.
- The goalkeepers will defend the same objective, as determined by the Referee. The goalkeepers from each team may be switched after each shot.
- The players of both teams will take the shots alternately until a decisive aim is scored.
- The decisive aim will be credited to the player who scored and to the goalkeeper worried.
Tie cracking formula
The tie-breaking system for two teams with the same number of points in a standing will be the game inbetween the two teams, the winner of the game taking precedence.
Due to the fact that the three-point system does not permit a game to end in a tie, then the following tie violating procedure is applicable when three or more teams are tied in points in a Championship standing.
Should three or more teams be tied on points, then a tie cracking formula will be applied as goes after, creating a sub-group amongst the tied teams. This process will proceed until only two or none of the teams remain tied. In the case of two tied teams remaining, the game inbetween the two would then be the determining tie-breaker as the game could not end as a tie. In the case of none of the teams being tied, the criteria specified in the respective step applies.
Step 1: Taking into consideration the games inbetween each of the tied teams, a sub-group is created applying the points awarded in the direct games amongst the tied teams from which the teams are then ranked accordingly.
Step Two: Should three or more teams still remain tied in points then the better aim difference in the direct games amongst the tied teams will be decisive.
Step Three: Should three or more teams still remain tied in points and purpose difference then the highest number of goals scored by these teams in their direct games will be decisive
Step Four: Should three or more teams still remain tied in points, purpose difference and goals scored then the results inbetween each of the three teams and the closest best-ranked team outside the sub-group will be applied. In this case the tied team with the best result (1. points, Two. aim difference, Three. more goals scored) against the closest best ranked-team will take precedence
Step Five: Should the teams still remain tied, then the results inbetween each of the three teams and the next highest best-ranked team outside the sub-group will be applied.
Step 6: Should the teams still remain tied after these five steps have been exercised then Sport considerations will be applied and the teams will be ranked by their positions coming into the Championship (seeding).
Final Ranking / World Ranking
The gold medal game and bronze medal game will determine the final ranking for the top-4 teams. The eliminated teams from the preliminary round plus the losing teams of the quarter-finals will be ranked following their positions in the groups preceding the quarter-final round.
The final ranking will go after the following procedure:
1. Higher position in the group,
Two. Higher number of points,
Three. Better aim difference,
Four. Higher number of goals scored for,
Five. Better seeding number
The IIHF World Ranking will be produced after the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship. It is based on the rankings of the four most latest IIHF Ice Hockey World Championships and of the last Olympic men’s ice hockey tournament (including qualification tournaments).
Click here for more information on the IIHF World Ranking system.
More information
Click here to download the IIHF’s Rule Book and Sport Regulations.
Player Entry
- The teams submit the names of the participating players at the very first Championship Directorate.
- The maximum number of players permitted on a Team Registration Form at the beginning of the World Championship is twenty two skaters and three goalies. The minimum is fifteen skaters and two goalies.
- At the very first Directorate meeting, the teams must name at least the minimum number of fifteen skaters and two goalkeepers. The players entered must be present at the championship venue by the time of the Directorate meeting.
- The remaining players up to the permitted maximum of twenty two + three must be submitted for players’ control two hours before any of the following championship games. Players can be added across the tournament until the roster is utter.
- During a game, a team may inject (dress) twenty skaters and two goalkeepers on the Official Game Sheet, with the emergency goalkeeper standing by if a goalie entered to the Official Game Sheet is incapable to play.
Eligibility
To play in the IIHF World Championship, the Olympic ice hockey tournament and the qualifications to these competitions, players must fulfill the following qualification requirements:
– Each player must be under the jurisdiction of an IIHF member national association
Acquiring a fresh national eligibility (The ‘two-year’ case)
– Prove that he has participated for at least two consecutive hockey seasons and sixteen consecutive months (480 days) in the national competitions of his fresh country after his 10th bday during which period he has neither transferred to another country nor played ice hockey within any other country.
Switch of national eligibility (The ‘four-year’ case)
– He is a citizen of the fresh country of his choice.
Arenas
The two thousand seventeen IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship will be held for the 3rd time in Cologne and the 2nd time in Paris. The tournament days are from 5th to 21st of May in 2017. The preliminary round will be played in both cities. The top-four teams in each preliminary round group will advance to the Quarter-Finals. The Quarter-Finals will be played across the groups, if Germany and France play each other in the Quarter-Finals, no cross-overs. The Semi-Finals, the Bronze Medal and Gold Medal Game will be played in Cologne.
LANXESS arena, Cologne
Situated in the heart of Cologne, Germany‘s media capital in the Sea Rhine Valley, the LANXESS arena offers a fresh dimension for indoor events. With a future oriented concept it operates one of the largest, sophisticated and most frequented multi-purpose arenas in Europe. The spacious glass construction, which is towered over by a 76-metre-high steel structure, the LANXESS arena offers well over one hundred seventy various events per year with a compact program of superstars, large events from the international music, display, sports scene and also business events from ten to 20,000 visitors. The LANXESS arena also has the ideal prerequisites for staging events of all kinds by a variable room portioning concept.
Total space: eighty three 700 sq m
Space indoor: four 000 sq m
Space outdoor: ten 000 sq m
Exhibition space: six 000 sq m
Number of people indoor: 20,000
Ice Hockey: Legal,500
AccorHotels Arena, Paris
The AccorHotels Arena is the largest multi-purpose arena in France with a seating capacity of 13,437 for hockey, and twelve million inhabitants in a radius of one hundred km. The arena has been renovated in 2015.
This arena is one of the most popular sports-culture centres sought after by many international artists, games, concerts and other events. In two thousand seventeen it will also welcome host to the 25th IHF Men’s World Championship of Handball.
One of the five thickest arenas in the world
30 different setups (sport events, concerts)
130 events by year
Entirely renovated in October 2015.
Total space renovated: eighty 000 sq m
Hospitalities area: four 000 sq m
Number of people indoor: 20,300 seats
Ice Hockey setup: 13,437
Directions Cologne
Location & Route Map
The LANXESS arena in Cologne is located in the district Deutz – east of the Rhine. You can get a detailed overview of the Location including all bus and rail stops in the Route Map .
Car, Fan coach or Caravan
Address of the LANXESS arena for GPS:
Willy-Brandt-Platz, fifty thousand six hundred seventy nine Cologne (50°56’Legal.Four”N 6°58’58.Five”E)
Car parks & parking fees
All Car parks are signposted – maximum vertical clearance is 1.90m.
Parking fee is 1.30€ per hour. There is also the possibility to pay the so-called “Arena-Tarif” of Five.50€, before the beginning of the game at the cash machines.
Fan coaches
Fan coaches can use the bus car park „Kuhweg Köln“. This public car park is free of charge and open 24/7. You can find more information here.
Wohnmobile
For fans who travel with caravans, we recommend the Reisemobilhafen An der Schanz and the Campingplatz in Poll.
Further Information
Public Transport
Regional & long-distance traffic
For visitors who travel to Cologne by train, the railway station „Köln Messe/Deutz“ is the easiest destination. The LANXESS arena can be reached on foot in about five minutes.
Travelers, whose train stops at “Köln Hauptbahnhof” (Cologne Central Station), have the chance to take the S-Bahn to “Bahnhof Messe/Deutz”
S-Bahn
The train station „Bahnhof Köln Messe/Deutz“ can be reached with the S-Bahn lines S6, S11, S12, S13 & S19.
Streetcar/Subway & Bus
The stations „Köln Deutz/Messe LANXESS arena“, „Köln Deutz Technische Hochschule“ and „Köln Gummersbacher Straße“ are served by the lines 1, Trio, four & nine of the city tramp (Streetcar & Subway) and the bus lines 150, one hundred fifty three & 156. All three stations are within a few walking minutes to the LANXESS arena.
Further information
By plane
The airport „Cologne/Bonn“ is 12km south of the LANXESS arena and can be reached by taxi or train in approximately fifteen minutes. The S-Bahn lines S13 & S19 run directly inbetween Cologne/Bonn airport and the station „Bahnhof Messe/Deutz“.
Further information
Useful information Paris
From five to eighteen May, the AccorHotels Arena in Paris welcomes the IIHF two thousand seventeen Ice Hockey World Championship. The competition will host thirty games inbetween eight of the sixteen best nations in the world: Canada, Finland, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Belarus, Norway, France and Slovenia. Whether you will be attending matches or just want to love the festive atmosphere around the site, here are some practical information.
Opening hours and access conditions
– During the entire competition, a safety perimeter will be set up around the AccorHotels Arena. Security checks (visual inspection of the bags and opening of the covers) will be done to get in. Tickets holders and non-holders will be able to get through it. According to the games affluence, the access will open inbetween ninety and one hundred twenty minutes before the kick-off. Arrive early, to give you extra time to get through security.
– Final access to the AccorHotels Arena will then take place after a 2nd security check (palpation) and an electronic tickets control. WARNING: a certain number of objects will be prohibited inwards the enclosure. Click here to download the list.
– After each match, all spectators will have to get out of the Arena. For spectators holding a ticket for the next game, a specific access will be dedicated to them in order to reach directly the large hall in which they will be managed again.
– The site will close at the end of the last game at 11PM maximum.
– Across the competition, tickets will be available on the AccorHotels Arena website. Tickets can also be purchased directly at the AccorHotels Arena ticket offices within the security perimeter to come to the AccorHotels Arena
Heading to the AccorHotels Arena
The AccorHotels Arena is located less than nine hundred m from the SNCF train stations: Paris Gare de Lyon, Paris-Austerlitz, and Paris-Bercy.
RER Lines A and D: Station “Gare de Lyon”
METRO Lines fourteen and 6: Station “Bercy” / Line one Station “Gare de Lyon”
BUS Lines twenty four and eighty seven Station “Gare de Bercy” / Lines 20, 63, sixty five and Balabus Station “Gare de Lyon”
A basic T+ ticket (métro, bus, RER, tramway) costs €1,90.
Children under four years old travel for free. More information on www.ratp.fr
Vélib’ is Paris’ lithe bike service!
Choose inbetween fixed-price daily (€1,70) and weekly tickets (€8) for as many 30-minute journeys as you wish. More information on www.velib.paris
Autolib’ is an electrical car sharing service. Autolib’ offers 1,084 electrical car stations in Paris agglomeration with Five,935 charging points. More information on www.autolib.eu/en/
You will find several taxi terminals permitting you to be droped off near the AccorHotels Arena: Boulevard de Bercy, Quai de la gare, and Gare de Lyon.
– Car (be careful, traffic is very difficult in Paris, especially during the event period around the Arena) – Adress : eight Boulevard de Bercy, seventy five thousand twelve Paris
During the event, restricted circulation will be arranged depending on two
– Normal configuration : from five to eighteen may (excepted 15, seventeen et eighteen may)
– High configuration : fifteen and eighteen may
In high configuration, only people presenting a ticket parking permit obtained in advance will be granted access to boulevard de Bercy et quai de Bercy.
Click here to download the traffic limitations in pdf format.
Hospitality Cologne
Please find here all hospitality offers for Cologne during the two thousand seventeen IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship.
Together for 2017
Organizing the two thousand seventeen IIHF Ice Hockey Word Championship together, Germany and France have cracked fresh ground. For the very first time two countries jointly applied for the tournament. They have planned and organized it together, putting in practice every day its motto “Together for 2017”.
Sweden and Finland also organized the two thousand twelve and two thousand thirteen IIHF Ice Hockey Word Championships together. They had not applied together but the tournaments were joined together later.
Germany and France were chosen at the IIHF Annual Congress in 2013, a symbolic year. Fifty years before the so called Elysee-Agreement had been signed, also known as German-French treaty of friendship. Eighteen years after World War II had ended the former enemies set the foundation for the process of reconciliation and friendship.
The organization of the two thousand seventeen IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship has been coined by the spirit of the friendship inbetween the two nations. The collaboration works flawlessly, the countries even complement each other. Luc Tardif, president of the French Ice Hockey Federation (FFHG) and vice president of the Organizing Committee of the two thousand seventeen IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship, once summed it up it in pretty words: “German flair for organization plus French fantasy – it’s a ideal combination.”
In this millennium Germany organized in two thousand one and two thousand ten IIHF Ice Hockey World Championships. In Paris, the last IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship took place in 1951.
Mascots – Asterix & Obelix
Asterix and Obelix, the indomitable Gauls and two main characters of the world-famous Asterix comic series, act as mascots of the two thousand seventeen IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship, jointly organized by Germany and France in Cologne and Paris. Everybody knows Asterix and Obelix. Many people ask however what these heroes of a comic book have to do with ice hockey.
The successful battle that the famous Gauls fight against the superior Roman Empire should encourage the smaller teams on paper not to accept the supremacy of the leading ice hockey nations and to challenge them bravely.
Luc Tardif, president of the French Ice Hockey Federation (FFHG) and vice president of the Organizing Committee of the two thousand seventeen IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship, once said: “For our fans and the teams which participate in the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship, Asterix and Obelix serve as role models to display: Nothing is unlikely.” Anyhow, Asterix and Obelix are sportsmen. In Volume twelve of their adventures Asterix participates in the Olympic Games in Ancient Greece. There of course he goes without the magic potion of the druid Getafix!
Asterix and Obelix are very well-liked since many years in France and Germany which are clearly the strongest markets for the adventures of our two heroes. The global production of the thirty six volumes so far amounts to more than three hundred seventy million copies. They have been translated into more than one hundred eleven languages and dialects, inter alia “Kölsch”, the dialect of Cologne.