Peter Schneider scores for Austria during a 13-goal thriller against Canada.
photo: © International Ice Hockey Federation / Andrea Cardin
Midway through the group stage, the 2024 IIHF World Championship is on course to bring more goals than ever.
So far, the teams have 184 goals through 28 games for an average of 6.57 goals per game. Since the current format, with two groups of eight teams, was introduced in 2012, the highest-scoring year was 2019, when 6.5 goals per game added up to 364 tallies.
Of course, high scoring games are not always an indicator of high-quality hockey, nor even great entertainment. That 2019 event in Slovakia suffered from a rash of blow-outs: only five out of 56 games went to overtime in the group stage, the lowest under the current format. And just 20 of 56 was decided by a margin of two goals or less. In 2024, we’ve already seen OT five times, and 13 games have been settled by no more than two goals.
Instead, we’ve seen some thrilling battles, with teams trading outlandish numbers of goals. Austria’s historic fightback against Canada saw those two share 13 goals on Tuesday. And the Austrians had already suffered a 5-6 loss to Switzerland. Germany and Slovakia shared 10 goals on the opening day. Twice, teams have tied 4-4 in regulation, with Latvia topping Poland in overtime and Slovakia getting the nod over the USA. Only Finland’s 8-0 against Britain and Germany’s 8-1 on Latvia have been one-sided to the point where it’s been a tough watch for a neutral.
Scoring efficiency is also more competitive compared with 2019. Back then, seven countries scored 10% or more of their shots, while four nations managed less than 8%. Fast forward five years and currently 11 countries are running 11% or better, and just two are below 8%.
So what’s changing?
In short, every team has attacking players that carry a genuine goal threat against any opponent. It’s easy to pick out the likes of Connor Bedard or Nico Hischier and expect big things from Canada or Switzerland. But we’re also seeing Norway bolster its offence with the return of veterans Patrick Thoresen and Mats Zuccarello. Overnight, they’ve made an impact: a stagnant team that scored nine in seven last year has eight in four here.
Even GB, with just two goals in its three games so far, can point to a player who led the Czech playoffs in goals: Liam Kirk’s nine with Litvinov.
At the same time, even though this tournament might currently lack a big-name goalie, there have been plenty of commendable performances between the piping. It would be hard to reproach Finland’s Harri Sateri, who stopped 97.56% of the shots he faced for a GAA of 0.48. Similarly, Samuel Hlavaj (Slovakia), Filip Gustavsson (Sweden), Leonardo Genoni (Switzerland) and Lukas Dostal (Czechia) all have GAAs below 2.
In addition, with the exception of Poland, the other competitors have a fair amount of World Championship experience. Great Britain may not be an established top division team, but this its fourth appearance in the elite since 2019. Kazakhstan is playing a fourth straight year, Austria and France are back for the third time in a row after relegation in 2019. Each one believes it can survive at this level and is looking to drag more established mid-table rivals into the mix.
That makes for more meaningful games and more competitive contests. For the moment, at least, teams are reluctant to rely on survival at the expense of an obvious whipping boy. That is translating into greater determination to compete every night, seeking those upset wins rather than trusting that one or two results will be good enough.
Oddly, amid the high scoring, 2024 also brought a rare low point. When Czechia opened its campaign against Finland on Friday, the teams went goalless through 65 minutes. It’s the first time since 2011 that neither team has scored in regulation in a top-division World Championship game. On that occasion, Switzerland squeaked past France on an overtime goal.
So far, the teams have 184 goals through 28 games for an average of 6.57 goals per game. Since the current format, with two groups of eight teams, was introduced in 2012, the highest-scoring year was 2019, when 6.5 goals per game added up to 364 tallies.
Of course, high scoring games are not always an indicator of high-quality hockey, nor even great entertainment. That 2019 event in Slovakia suffered from a rash of blow-outs: only five out of 56 games went to overtime in the group stage, the lowest under the current format. And just 20 of 56 was decided by a margin of two goals or less. In 2024, we’ve already seen OT five times, and 13 games have been settled by no more than two goals.
Instead, we’ve seen some thrilling battles, with teams trading outlandish numbers of goals. Austria’s historic fightback against Canada saw those two share 13 goals on Tuesday. And the Austrians had already suffered a 5-6 loss to Switzerland. Germany and Slovakia shared 10 goals on the opening day. Twice, teams have tied 4-4 in regulation, with Latvia topping Poland in overtime and Slovakia getting the nod over the USA. Only Finland’s 8-0 against Britain and Germany’s 8-1 on Latvia have been one-sided to the point where it’s been a tough watch for a neutral.
Scoring efficiency is also more competitive compared with 2019. Back then, seven countries scored 10% or more of their shots, while four nations managed less than 8%. Fast forward five years and currently 11 countries are running 11% or better, and just two are below 8%.
So what’s changing?
In short, every team has attacking players that carry a genuine goal threat against any opponent. It’s easy to pick out the likes of Connor Bedard or Nico Hischier and expect big things from Canada or Switzerland. But we’re also seeing Norway bolster its offence with the return of veterans Patrick Thoresen and Mats Zuccarello. Overnight, they’ve made an impact: a stagnant team that scored nine in seven last year has eight in four here.
Even GB, with just two goals in its three games so far, can point to a player who led the Czech playoffs in goals: Liam Kirk’s nine with Litvinov.
At the same time, even though this tournament might currently lack a big-name goalie, there have been plenty of commendable performances between the piping. It would be hard to reproach Finland’s Harri Sateri, who stopped 97.56% of the shots he faced for a GAA of 0.48. Similarly, Samuel Hlavaj (Slovakia), Filip Gustavsson (Sweden), Leonardo Genoni (Switzerland) and Lukas Dostal (Czechia) all have GAAs below 2.
In addition, with the exception of Poland, the other competitors have a fair amount of World Championship experience. Great Britain may not be an established top division team, but this its fourth appearance in the elite since 2019. Kazakhstan is playing a fourth straight year, Austria and France are back for the third time in a row after relegation in 2019. Each one believes it can survive at this level and is looking to drag more established mid-table rivals into the mix.
That makes for more meaningful games and more competitive contests. For the moment, at least, teams are reluctant to rely on survival at the expense of an obvious whipping boy. That is translating into greater determination to compete every night, seeking those upset wins rather than trusting that one or two results will be good enough.
Oddly, amid the high scoring, 2024 also brought a rare low point. When Czechia opened its campaign against Finland on Friday, the teams went goalless through 65 minutes. It’s the first time since 2011 that neither team has scored in regulation in a top-division World Championship game. On that occasion, Switzerland squeaked past France on an overtime goal.