 From 1996 to 2001 , the Czech Republic won six consecutive World Championship medals , including World Championship gold from 1999 to 2001 , as well as gold at the 1998 Winter Olympics . In 2002 , the Czechs were favoured to win , but were upset in the quarter final by Russia . In the gold medal game between Russia and Slovakia , Slovakian Peter Bondra scored in the final two minutes of the game and the nation won its first ever World Championship . At the 2003 World Championships , Sweden made one of the biggest comebacks in tournament history , rallying from a 5 – 1 deficit in their quarterfinal game against Finland to win 6 – 5 . The gold medal game between Canada and Sweden went into overtime . Canada 's Anson Carter scored the winning goal 13 minutes into play , but the goal had to be reviewed for ten minutes to determine if the puck had crossed the line . In a rematch between the two nations the following year , Canada won and repeated as champions . 
