On the Scene - Hosts Start Strong at Ice Hockey World Champs

(ATR) The first week of preliminary round games is nearing completion with Sweden and Finland co-hosting the 76th IIHF Men’s Ice Hockey World Championship in Stockholm and Helsinki.

It’s the first time since 1930 that multiple countries are collaborating to stage the tournament with eight teams competing at each location – Ericsson Globe Arena in Stockholm and Hartwall Arena in Helsinki.

Semifinals for the 17-day, 64-game showpiece will be held in the Finnish capital May 19 with medal matches to follow May 20.

Under a revised format, quarterfinals will take place May 17 at both venues with all nations playing within their preliminary round group, unlike in years previous.

This year’s tournament has enhanced significance – both final seeding and the nine nations that automatically qualify for the 2014 Sochi Olympics will be determined here in Stockholm and Helsinki.

Finland, the defending world champions, held the top ranking in the international standings entering the tournament, followed by Sweden, Russia, Czech Republic, Canada and USA.

After nearly one week of play, the co-hosts both sit undefeated at 4-0. The last host nation to win the annual international tournament was the Soviet Union, who won gold in Moscow in 1986.

Led by Pittsburgh Penguins superstar and NHL MVP candidate Evgeny Malkin, Russia is also unbeaten at 4-0.

While games involving home nations Sweden and Finland are played to capacity crowds, contests among other nations are suffering sparse attendance at both the Ericsson Globe, which has a capacity of 13,850 and Hartwall Arena, which holds 13,350.

Finnish President, IIHF Boss Open Tournament

Standing together on the ice at Helsinki’s Hartwall Arena, the president of the Republic of Finland, Sauli Niinistö, Organizing Committee president Kalervo Kummola and IIHF President René Fasel all delivered welcome speeches prior to last Friday evening’s opening contest between Finland and Belarus.

Fasel impressed the Finnish crowd by citing parts of his speech in their native tongue while Niinistö, who took office in March, officially opened the 76th edition of the tournament.

Prior to the remarks, the opening ceremony featured an elaborate musical light show projected onto the Hartwall Arena ice. An opening piece was performed by the three-time world champion synchronized skating Rockettes, scored by songwriter Tuomas Holopainen of the popular Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish.

Rights Infringement Delays Video Streams

After illegal attempts to access coverage on the official tournament YouTube channel, Infront Sports & Media, the exclusive media and marketing partner of the IIHF, announced Wednesday the immediate discontinuation of live video streams of games.

However, all contests can still be seen free of charge on the exclusive channel, www.youtube.com/icehockey, but now with a 30-minute delay.

The measure was taken after savvy users managed to bypass the existing copyright and geo-blocking mechanisms, implemented in certain countries where live streams were blocked due to contractual agreements between the IIHF and Infront.

Skoda Still Title Sponsor

Czech carmaker Skoda continues its cooperation as the official main sponsor of the IIHF World Championship for its 20th consecutive year.

During the nearly three-week championship, 45 Skoda vehicles will help to transport tournament officials, media and guests throughout both host cities.

The Skoda logo is visible at center ice at the Ericsson Globe and Hartwell Arenas in addition to two vehicles being displayed on elevated platforms at opposite sides of the rink. There is also additional rinkside advertising, further marking the brand’s onsite presence.

National teams from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Norway, France and Kazakhstan are sporting the Skoda logo on their jerseys and helmets as well.

Notes and Numbers from Helsinki, Stockholm

With 3,000 hours of broadcast time from the 64 games, a cumulative global audience of more than 650,000,000 is projected to watch some part of the coverage.

Seventy broadcast partners will show competition to more than 100 countries around the world.

More than 20 cameras are capturing action from all angles of the rinks, including super slow-motion and in-goal cameras at each of the venues.

Over 6,000 minutes of coverage will also be available on the official YouTube channel for the first time in the form of a high-quality video stream.

Official sponsor Nike has provided approximately 800 jerseys worn by members of the 16 competing teams.

Four life-sized HockeyBird mascots will entertain fans and spectators at the two locations.

Written and reported in Helsinki and Stockholm by Brian Pinelli

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