With 255 days left to the opening game, the IIHF and the Host Organizing Committee of Slovakia 2011 have announced the schedule for the 75th IIHF World Championship in Slovakia (Bratislava and Košice, April 29 – May 15, 2011).

Click here for the 56-game schedule and the four groups in Slovakia 2011. The Gold Medal game will be played in Bratislava on May 15.

The reigning World Champion Czech Republic will open their quest to defend the title vs. Latvia on the second day of the championship vs. Latvia in Bratislava. The other two teams in Group D are Finland and Denmark.

The opening game at the main venue in Bratislava will be played on April 29 between Germany and the 2010 finalist Russia, the teams who played in the thrilling semi-final of the 2010 World Championship in Cologne. Host nation Slovakia plays their first game the same evening vs. Slovenia.

The opener in Košice features Switzerland vs. France. Olympic champion Canada plays their first game on April 29 vs. Belarus, as part of Group B which also includes Switzerland and France.

Slovakia will become the 21st country to host the IIHF’s flagship event. Bratislava was a World Championship venue in 1959 and 1992, then as part of former Czechoslovakia.

Click here for the home page of the 2011 IIHF World Championship, which is also available in Slovak. Ticket sales start in September.