Austria and France Replace Russia and Belarus at IIHF Worlds

The IIHF Council has announced that Austria and France will replace Belarus and Russia at this year’s World Championship in Finland.

The 16-team tournament takes place in Tampere and Helsinki from 13th to 29th May.

It means Austria will join Great Britain in Group B in Tampere, alongside Czech Republic, Finland, Latvia, Norway, Sweden and the USA.

The games will be played at the newly-built 13,500-seater Tampere Deck Arena.

France will slot into Group A in Helsinki with Canada, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Kazakhstan, Slovakia and Switzerland.

GB last met Austria at the 2012 World Championship Division I Group A in Slovenia, with Colin Shields (2) and Corey Neilson scoring in a 7-3 defeat.

The IIHF said in a statement: “Aside from the replacement of these teams, the game schedule remains the same and the last-ranked team of Group A and the last-ranked team of Group B will be relegated.”

Click here for detailed information on the IIHF website.

Great Britain revised World Championship schedule
Saturday 14th May 2022 – Czech Republic v Great Britain 16:20 (14:20 UK time)
Sunday 15th May 2022 – Norway v Great Britain 12:20 (10:20 UK time)
Tuesday 17th May 2022 – Sweden v Great Britain 20:20 (18:20 UK time)
Thursday 19th May 2022 – Great Britain v USA 16:20 (14:20 UK time)
Friday 20th May 2022 – Great Britain v Finland 16:20 (14:20 UK time)
Sunday 22nd May 2022 – Great Britain v Latvia 16:20 (14:20 UK time)
Monday 23rd May 2022 – Austria v Great Britain 20:20 (18:20 UK time)