The sport of ice hockey has been played at the Winter Olympics since its debut in 1998. The men’s tournament is the oldest Olympic ice hockey event, and Canada is the dominant power in the competition. The nation has claimed 23 medals in the men’s and women’s tournaments, including 14 golds.
The Miracle on Ice
During the 1980 Games in Lake Placid, American players led by coach Herb Brooks staged what has become known as the “Miracle on Ice.” After trailing in the third period during their semifinal game against the Soviet Union, a tied the game with ten minutes remaining. With the game on the line, Mike Eruzione picked up a loose puck in the Soviet zone, used a defenseman for a screen, and sent a wrist shot past goalie Vladislav Tretiak to win the game 4-3.
A decade later, the U.S.S.R. disbanded, but players from the communist country continued to compete in the Olympic tournament under the name of the Unified Team. In the 1992 Games in Albertville, the Soviet/Unified Team won its final Olympic gold medal – the last time that a former URST won the men’s title at the Winter Olympics.
In the years that followed, new stories opened up – Sweden won its first Olympic gold in 1994, the Czech Republic (now Czechia) rose under Dominik Hasek’s imperious goaltending to win in 1998, and Canada reset its own story, winning in 2002, 2010 and 2014. Since the 1990s, men’s and women’s Olympic ice hockey has featured a full roster of 82 member nations of the International Ice Hockey Federation.