HELSINKI – The 2012 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship is the first one co-hosted by two countries, but in 1930 the IIHF’s prime event took place in three nations, although the setup was not originally scheduled as such.

It was on 27th January 1930 when the event was supposed to start at an open-air ice stadium in Chamonix in the French Alps, but due to exceptionally mild weather conditions with up to +9°C, the first games were played only when frost came back four days later.

The conditions at the natural ice rink were simply too poor and quality deemed risky to let the teams play. Few fans in the world knew what was going on in Chamonix in an epoch without internet and Twitter. Journalists from Germany complained it took them three hours to get a phone connection to Frankfurt.

The LIHG – as the IIHF was called in those days – planned to move the tournament to Davos, Switzerland. On 30th January the vote was 6-5 for the relocation. But while the busses didn’t arrive in time, the frost did in order make the natural ice rink ready.

After losing game days, the organizers had to improvise. There was no preliminary-round. The teams had to battle for European glory in a knock-out tournament and the winner would face perennial favourite Canada for the world title.

On 31st January the event began in Chamonix with a knockout preliminary round that was won by France, Germany and Hungary while for Belgium, Great Britain and Italy the tournament was over after just one game.

The tournament continued the day after with five more teams joining in for the second round that was virtually a quarter-finals. The playoff brackets included Japan, which joined the IIHF just before the tournament. With its selection consisting of medical students there were teams from three continents at the World Championship.

Germany (4-1 vs. Hungary), Poland (5-0 vs. Japan), Austria (2-1 vs. France) and Switzerland (3-1 vs. Czechoslovakia) advanced to the next round on 1st February.

Again, there was not much of a break for the teams as the tournament went on the day after. Germany defeated Poland 4-1 and Switzerland edged Austria 2-1 to set up a German-Swiss clash for the title of the best European team, and a placement game between Austria and Poland.

But despite all art of improvisation, no more games could be played in Chamonix when thaw came back. It was decided to continue at other venues.

Austria and Poland drove to the Austrian capital of Vienna to play for third place in Europe (and fourth worldwide) three days later after being ousted from the semi-finals. The Austrians made use of their home-ice advantage and won 2-0.

One week after the semi-finals, on 9th February, Germany and Switzerland played it out for the European title at Berlin’s Sports Palace where artificial ice was produced. It was more than 1,100 kilometres away to drive, compared to the 400 km air distance two teams will fly between Stockholm and Helsinki for this year’s semi-finals later this month.

Albert Geromini opened the scoring for Switzerland, but Gustav Jaenecke equalized in the second period and Erich Römer netted the game winner for Germany in the third.

One day later it was time for Toronto CCM, which represented Canada, to end their European tour with the World Championship’s gold-medal game against Germany.

The format might sound strange by today’s standards, but it was actually the first time an ice hockey world champion was determined outside of the Olympics. Before the 1930 Worlds there were just three world titles – at the Olympics in 1920, 1924 and 1928 – in addition to European Championships dating back to 1910.

Canada came to Berlin after suffering its first ever loss against a European team on 7th February in Vienna in an exhibition game against Austria, 1-0.

In the beginning it didn’t look good either for the Canadians in Berlin. Der Eissport, the official magazine of the various German ice sports organizations, reported about the beginning: “In great style the Germans began the competition and after less than a minute, Rudi Ball put the disc – exemplarily passed by Jaenecke – into the Canadian net.”

Some 8,000 enthusiastic fans at the crowded arena went wild after the goal. But the Canadians responded, and the game got tougher. Alexander Park hit Jaenecke, who had scored nine goals in the tournament. Germany’s best player fell unluckily onto the ice and didn’t return.

Canada turned the game to lead 2-1 after one period en route to a 6-1 victory. Gordon Grant and Park scored two goals apiece, Howard Armstrong and Joseph Griffin added the other markers for the team from Toronto.

It was the fourth gold medal for Canada in four world finals while the silver medal was the highest placement for Germany in international ice hockey, repeated only once, in 1953.

Paul Loicq, the IIHF’s President at that time, was the referee in the two final games in Berlin before the Belgian moved over to his presidential role when the medal ceremony was held at the arena’s ballroom.

It was definitely a different era of hockey compared to today’s sophisticatedly and deeply planned World Championships. And it was one of the last IIHF events played on natural ice.

MARTIN MERK