2006 IIHF World Championship

2006 IIHF World Championship

Tournament details
Host country	Latvia
Venue(s)	2 (in 1 host city)
Dates	5–21 May
Opened by	Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga
Teams	16
Final positions
Champions	Sweden (8th title)
Runner-up	Czech Republic
Third place	Finland
Fourth place	Canada
Tournament statistics
Games played	56
Goals scored	329 (5.88 per game)
Attendance	324,794 (5,800 per game)
Scoring leader(s)	Sidney Crosby (16 points)
MVP	Niklas Kronwall
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The 2006 IIHF World Championship was held in between 5–21 May 2006 in Riga, Latvia. It was the 70th annual event, and was run by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF).

One of the requirements of the IIHF for Latvia to host the event was that a new arena would be constructed. Sweden was the stand-by organizer in case the arena was delayed, but the construction was completed on schedule, marking the first time a former Soviet state apart from Russia has hosted the event. The mascot of the championships was a beaver called RIX (after Riga International Airport's IATA code.)

Sweden shut out the Czech Republic 4-0 in the Gold Medal Game to win the IIHF World Championships. Sweden had won the 2006 Winter Olympic Men's Ice Hockey Gold 3-2 versus Finland in Turin, Italy two months earlier. They therefore became the first hockey team to win both the Winter Olympics and the IIHF World Championships in the same year.^[1]