Olympic Ice Hockey

Olympic ice hockey

Unlike most other sports in the Olympics, ice hockey is played under a special set of rules called International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) that differ from those used in the NHL. Players wear helmets and goalie masks and are subject to random in-competition drug tests. Fighting is not allowed, and players who engage in a fight are penalized and can be ejected from the game.

Olympic ice hockey first appeared at the 1920 Winter Games in Antwerp, Belgium. The sport was added to the Olympic program again in 1924 in Lake Placid, NY, where it became a staple. It was not until 1956 that the Soviet Union joined the tournament, eventually overtaking Canada as the dominant international team and winning multiple gold medals from 1960 to 1980.

1998 Nagano: This was the first time that large numbers of NHL players were used on a men’s Olympic team. After sweeping all five of its division games, the U.S. was scheduled to face the Soviets in the first medal game on February 22. The Americans trailed early and were down 4-3 after two periods, but a third period explosion capped by an empty-netter from Dave Christian left the Soviets in disarray.

The American victory, known as the “Miracle on Ice,” was considered the greatest moment in Olympic history up to that point. The United States clinched its first Olympic gold since then in 2002 in Salt Lake City, and went on to win back-to-back golds in 2010 and 2014. Other recent champions include Sweden (four times) and the Czech Republic (three), as well as the Unified Team of former Soviet states in 1992 and Russia (as OAR) in 2018. The women’s tournament has been part of the Olympics since 1998.