where was hockey world cup 2010 held?
The Cup
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 The 2010 tournament took place in Germany . The first game , between Germany and the United States , was played at Veltins @-@ Arena in Gelsenkirchen and was attended by 77 @,@ 803 people , setting a new record for the most attended game in hockey history . The tournament was noted for having several surprising preliminary round results , including : Switzerland beating Canada for the first time in World Championship play ; Norway defeating eventual champions the Czech Republic ; and Denmark upsetting Finland and the United States en route to their first ever quarterfinal appearance . The German team , which had finished 15th in 2009 and only avoided relegation to Division I because they were set to host the 2010 tournament , advanced to the semi @-@ finals for the first time since the new playoff format was adapted . They finished fourth , losing to Sweden in the bronze medal game . In the gold medal game , the Czech Republic upset the Russian team , winning gold and ending the defending champions ' 27 @-@ game winning streak . 

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 The 2011 tournament was held in independent Slovakia for the first time . Finland won its second world championship with a 6 @-@ 1 victory over Sweden . The Czech Republic won the bronze medal over Russia . 

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 The Championship division comprises the top sixteen hockey nations in the world . The 80th championship was held from May 6 – 22 , in Moscow and Saint Petersburg , Russia . 

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 The 2010 Winter Olympics were held in Vancouver , Canada , the first time since NHL players were allowed to compete that the Olympics were held in a city with an NHL team . For the first time , Olympic games were played on a narrower NHL @-@ sized ice rink , measuring 61 metres × 26 metres ( 200 ft × 85 ft ) , instead of the international size of 61 m × 30 @.@ 5 m ( 200 ft × 100 ft ) . This change saved an expected $ 10 million ( CAD ) in construction costs and allowed more spectators to attend games . Games were played at the UBC Winter Sports Centre and Rogers Arena ( then GM Place at the time ) , which was renamed Canada Hockey Place during the event because corporate sponsorship is not allowed for an Olympic venue . Twelve teams qualified for the men 's event and were split into three groups of four teams . At the NHL 's request , the number of preliminary games was lowered to three . Following the completion of the preliminary round , all teams were ranked 1 through 12 based on points . The top four ranked teams received byes to the quarter @-@ finals , and the other eight teams played for the remaining four positions . Following that , the final eight teams competed in a playoff . 

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 Intending to promote the game worldwide , the league sent the San Jose Sharks and Calgary Flames to begin the 1998 – 99 season with two games in Tokyo , Japan . Since 2007 , the NHL has been sending teams to Europe to start each season . The Los Angeles Kings met the Ducks at the O2 Arena in London , England to start the 2007 – 08 season . A year later , four teams were sent to Prague , Czech Republic and Stockholm , Sweden . One of those teams , the Rangers , also participated in the inaugural Victoria Cup , defeating the Kontinental Hockey League 's Metallurg Magnitogorsk 4 – 3 in a single game . Another four teams opened the 2009 – 10 season in Stockholm and Helsinki , Finland . In 2010 , Vancouver hosted the Winter Olympics , the first time an NHL city has hosted the event since the league began participating . The NHL 's participation in future games remains in doubt , as it had expressed a desire not to participate in the 2014 games in Sochi , Russia . However , the NHL players did ultimately participate in those games . The players strongly favour continued participation in the Olympics . The third World Cup of Hockey is expected to take place in 2011 , seven years after the 2004 tournament . 
