The 2001 Men's Ice Hockey World Championships were the 65th such event organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation. 40 teams representing their countries participated in several levels of competition. The competition also served as qualifications for division placements in the 2002 competition.
Group B was played in Ljubljana, Slovenia between April 15 and April 21, 2001. The final day was a controversial one, with the British and Slovene teams having to decide promotion based on overall goal differential. The British beat the Kazakhs by an improbable nine goals. When coach Chris McSorley was asked how much he paid the Kazakhs, he responded, "zero, you have not much confidence in your team, I think Slovenia can beat Estonia by at least 12 goals."[1] The medal presentation was marred by Slovenian fans throwing debris on the ice when the Brits received their silver medals, the Kazakh team did not even attend to receive their bronze.