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| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country | |
| Venue(s) | 1 (in 1 host city) |
| Dates | 7–22 April |
| Teams | 6 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | |
| Runner-up | |
| Third place | |
| Fourth place | |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Games played | 30 |
| Goals scored | 288 (9.6 per game) |
| Attendance | 285,564 (9,519 per game) |
| Scoring leader(s) | |
The 1972 Ice Hockey World Championships was the 39th edition of the Ice Hockey World Championships. The tournament was held in Prague, Czechoslovakia from 7 to 22 April 1972, and the Czechoslovakia national team won the tournament, the third time they had done so and first since 1949, ending the Soviet Union's streak of nine consecutive titles.[1] In addition it was the Czechoslovaks' 12th European title.
For the first time, a separate tournament is held for both the World Championships and the Winter Olympics. Previously, the Olympic tournament was held in lieu of a world championships, with the winner being declared world champion for that year.[1] It also marked the first time in international ice hockey that all goaltenders were required to wear face masks.[1]
The American team, who had won the silver medal earlier in the year at the Olympics, failed to win the 'B' pool, losing to Poland in their final game.

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | D | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 72 | 16 | +56 | 19 | |
| 2 | 10 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 78 | 17 | +61 | 16 | |
| 3 | 10 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 49 | 33 | +16 | 11 | |
| 4 | 10 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 47 | 48 | −1 | 8 | |
| 5 | 10 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 21 | 76 | −55 | 4 | |
| 6 | 10 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 19 | 96 | −77 | 2 |
| 7 April | Czechoslovakia | 19–1 |
| 7 April | Soviet Union | 11–0 |
| 8 April | Switzerland | 1–12 |
| 8 April | West Germany | 5–8 |
| 9 April | Czechoslovakia | 4–1 |
| 9 April | Finland | 2–10 |
| 10 April | Czechoslovakia | 8–1 |
| 10 April | Soviet Union | 10–2 |
| 11 April | West Germany | 0–10 |
| 11 April | Switzerland | 3–2 |
| 12 April | Finland | 1–2 |
| 12 April | Czechoslovakia | 3–3 |
| 13 April | Switzerland | 3–6 |
| 14 April | Sweden | 2–11 |
| 14 April | Czechoslovakia | 5–3 |
| 15 April | Czechoslovakia | 12–2 |
| 15 April | West Germany | 0–7 |
| 16 April | Sweden | 8–5 |
| 16 April | Finland | 13–3 |
| 17 April | Soviet Union | 7–2 |
| 17 April | Czechoslovakia | 2–0 |
| 18 April | Czechoslovakia | 8–1 |
| 18 April | Switzerland | 0–14 |
| 19 April | Sweden | 7–1 |
| 19 April | Finland | 9–1 |
| 20 April | Sweden | 4–5 |
| 20 April | Czechoslovakia | 3–2 |
| 21 April | West Germany | 4–1 |
| 22 April | Czechoslovakia | 8–2 |
| 22 April | Soviet Union | 3–3 |
Played in Bucharest from 24 March to 2 April.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | D | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 12 | +29 | 12 | |
| 8 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 39 | 22 | +17 | 10 | |
| 9 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 31 | 18 | +13 | 8 | |
| 10 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 25 | 26 | −1 | 6 | |
| 11 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 20 | 49 | −29 | 3 | |
| 12 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 25 | 28 | −3 | 2 | |
| 13 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 15 | 41 | −26 | 1 |
Poland was promoted to Group A, both Norway and France were relegated to Group C. The French team boycotted the tournament in a protest over their federation's failure to finance the team's participation in the Sapporo Olympics[2][3]
| 24 March | United States | 5–3 |
| 24 March | Poland | 9–1 |
| 24 March | East Germany | 7–1 |
| 25 March | Romania | 3–2 |
| 26 March | East Germany | 5–2 |
| 26 March | United States | 14–5 |
| 27 March | Romania | 7–2 |
| 27 March | Poland | 11–1 |
| 27 March | East Germany | 4–3 |
| 29 March | United States | 6–5 |
| 29 March | Japan | 4–4 |
| 29 March | Romania | 0–7 |
| 30 March | Romania | 3–8 |
| 30 March | United States | 5–1 |
| 30 March | Poland | 5–3 |
| 1 April | Romania | 10–3 |
| 1 April | Yugoslavia | 11–5 |
| 1 April | Poland | 6–5 |
| 2 April | Japan | 6–3 |
| 2 April | Romania | 2–4 |
| 2 April | Poland | 3–2 |
Played in Miercurea-Ciuc from 3 March to the 12th. The Chinese won their first game ever played in a World Championship.[4]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | D | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 21 | 12 | +9 | 11 | |
| 15 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 31 | 13 | +18 | 9 | |
| 16 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 19 | 20 | −1 | 6 | |
| 17 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 20 | 19 | +1 | 6 | |
| 18 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 31 | 24 | +7 | 6 | |
| 19 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 13 | 25 | −12 | 2 | |
| 20 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 11 | 33 | −22 | 2 |
Both Austria and Italy were promoted to Group B.
| 3 March | China | 4–3 |
| 3 March | Hungary | 11–4 |
| 4 March | Italy | 3–1 |
| 4 March | Austria | 4–2 |
| 5 March | Italy | 6–2 |
| 5 March | Netherlands | 4–3 |
| 6 March | Bulgaria | 6–2 |
| 6 March | China | 6–1 |
| 6 March | Austria | 4–2 |
| 8 March | Italy | 7–1 |
| 8 March | Austria | 4–3 |
| 8 March | Bulgaria | 5–3 |
| 9 March | Italy | 8–0 |
| 9 March | Austria | 4–2 |
| 9 March | Hungary | 6–1 |
| 11 March | China | 2–2 |
| 11 March | Denmark | 4–2 |
| 11 March | Hungary | 6–6 |
| 12 March | Bulgaria | 2–0 |
| 12 March | Hungary | 3–3 |
| 12 March | Austria | 3–1 |
| 1972 IIHF World Championship winners |
|---|
Czechoslovakia 3rd title |
The final standings of the tournament according to IIHF:
| 4 | |
| 5 | |
| 6 |
The final standings of the European championships according to IIHF:
| 4 | |
| 5 | |
| 6 |