Australia's ice hockey federation has pulled out of hosting a lower-tier men's world championship event featuring Israel's national team citing security concerns.

Australia's ice hockey federation said on Tuesday it had cancelled a planned international qualifying tournament due to safety concerns, with local media reporting the decision was linked to the participation of the Israeli national team.

The Melbourne leg of the International Ice Hockey Federation men's world championship has been cancelled over major security concerns caused by growing anti-Israel sentiment in Australia.

Gaudreau, who was killed in August along with brother by an alleged drunk driver, was honored by one of his former teams after he helped inspire their gold-medal run.

The defending champion United States overcome a 3-1 deficit to beat Finland and win back-to-back world junior hockey gold medals for the first time.