their results in the preliminary round. The four winning quarterfinalists advanced to the semifinals while the losing teams moved on to the placement round. Austria was relegated to Division I for 2009 after losing the seventh place game against Slovenia, while the Czech Republic finished fifth after defeating Finland in the fifth place game. In the semifinals the Slovakia defeated Germany and Sweden beat the United States, both advancing to the gold medal game. After losing the semifinals the United States and Germany played off for the bronze medal with Germany winning 8–7. Sweden defeated Slovakia 7–3 in the gold medal game, earning their second straight World Championship title and fourth overall. Draw Quarterfinals Placement round 5th place game 7th place game Semifinals Bronze medal game Gold medal game Ranking and statistics Tournament awards Best players selected by the directorate: Best Goalkeeper: Sasu Hovi Best Defenseman: Lee Sweatt Best Forward: Linus Klasen Most Valuable Player: Dick Axelsson Final standings The final standings of the tournament according to IIHF: Scoring leaders List shows the top 10 skaters sorted by points, then goals. If the list exceeds 10 skaters because of a tie in points, all of the tied skaters are left out. Games from the qualifying round do not count towards the Division I statistics. Leading goaltenders Only the top five goaltenders, based on save percentage, who have played at least 40% of their team's minutes are included in this list. Games from the qualifying round do not count towards the Division I statistics. References External links World Championship at IIHF.com 2008 in Slovak sport Iihf Inline Hockey World Championship, 2008 IIHF InLine Hockey World Championship Inline hockey in Slovakia I June 2008 sports events in Europe Sports competitions in Bratislava