1998 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships
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| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country |
 Finland
|
| Dates | December 25 – January 3 |
| Teams | 10 |
| Venue(s) | 2 (in 2 host cities) |
| Final positions | |
Champions 
|
Finland (2nd title)
|
Runner-up 
|
 Russia
|
Third place 
|
 Switzerland
|
| Fourth place |
 Czech Republic
|
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 34 |
| Goals scored | 219 (6.44 per match) |
| Attendance | 139,680 (4,108 per match) |
| Scoring leader(s) |
 Jeff Farkas Olli Jokinen(10 points) |
|
← 1997
1999 →
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The 1998 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships (1998 WJHC) were held in Helsinki and Hämeenlinna, Finland. The championships began on December 25, 1997, and finished on January 3, 1998. Home team Finland was the winner, defeating Russia 2-1 in the gold medal game, thanks to the goaltending of Mika Noronen and the overtime heroics of Niklas Hagman. Switzerland defeated the Czech Republic 4-3 to capture the bronze medal, their first and only medal in the World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.
Canada had its five-year title streak broken with its worst placing to date (8th). Canada would miss out on gold seven years in a row before beginning their 2005-2009 streak of five straight championships. It was the only tournament from 1993 to 2012 in which Canada failed to medal.
This tournament attracted 139,680 fans to 34 games for an average of 4,108 per game. This set a record for the highest-attended World Junior tournament in Europe until the 2016 tournament, which was also held in Finland, had 215,225 spectators.
The playoff round was expanded to eight teams, with group leaders not getting a bye to the semifinals.
Germany lost the two game total goal series 17-3 and was relegated for the 1999 World Juniors
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