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The 1987 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships was the 1987 edition of the World Junior Ice Hockey Championships and was held in Piešťany, Trenčin, Nitra, and Topoľčany, Czechoslovakia (now Slovakia). Finland captured its first World Junior gold medal. Czechoslovakia captured the silver, and Sweden the bronze.
[edit] Punch-up in Piestany
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This tournament featured one of the most infamous brawl in international hockey history as Canada and the Soviet Union engaged in a wild melee after both benches cleared in the second period of the final game of the tournament.
It began when Pavel Kostichkin took a two handed slash at Theoren Fleury, sparking a fight between the two. The benches cleared after the USSR's Evgeny Davydov left his bench to join the melee. The officials, unable to break up the fight, walked off the ice and eventually tried shutting off the arena lights, but the brawl lasted for 20 minutes before the International Ice Hockey Federation abandoned the contest. An emergency meeting was held following the brawl that ended with the delegates voting 7-1 to disqualify both teams from the tournament, the sole dissenter being Canadian Dennis McDonald. Both teams were also banned from attending the players' banquet at the end of the tournament.
While the Soviets were out of medal contention, Canada was playing for the gold medal, and were leading 4-2 at the time of the brawl (they needed to win by at least five to claim the gold). [1] Even had they lost the game, they were assured at least the bronze medal. Afterwards, Soviet hockey official Anatoly Kastriukov claimed that the hostilities were fueled by a Canadian trainer, alleging that he assaulted one of the Soviet assistant coaches. The Canadians maintained that the Soviets had started the brawl by leaving their bench first, and had done so with the intention of getting Canada disqualified.
The elimination of the Canadian team had the retroactive effect of making the Finland-Czechoslovakia game, played earlier the same day, essentially the gold medal game.
[edit] Final Standings
Switzerland was relegated to Pool B for 1988.
Totals do not include the suspended game between Canada and the Soviet Union.
[edit] Results
[edit] Leading scorers
- Canada and the USSR disqualified from final scoring standings. (Canada's Pat Elynuik had 11 points and David Latta had 10.)
[edit] Tournament all-stars
[edit] References
Finland
Czechoslovakia
Sweden
United States
Poland
Switzerland
Canada
Soviet Union
Par Edlund
Jukka Seppo
Scott Young
Jiri Latal
