The stakes are high and the competition is fast when Olympic ice hockey takes center stage. From the first seven-a-side game played in 1920 Antwerp to the addition of women’s hockey at the 1998 Nagano Olympics, Olympic ice hockey is a showcase of speed, skill and international talent. And when a game reaches overtime, the atmosphere becomes even more electric. Just think back to Sidney Crosby’s golden goal in Vancouver 2010, a moment that still sends shivers down the spine of every NHL fan.
In the final game of the 1960 Olympic tournament, a crowd of more than 10,000 crammed into Blyth Arena for the Americans’ match-up with the Soviet team — a squad that an American team had never beaten. The Soviets scored the opening goal in the first period, but the Americans responded less than a minute later when winger Buzz Schneider used a defenseman as a screen to shoot past goalie Vladimir Krutov.
The teams remained tied through a 10-minute sudden death period, so the gold medal was decided by a shootout. Each team sent five players to rush the puck into the net, and each player had two attempts. After the first three rounds, Sweden, led by Peter Forsberg’s powerful stick work, was in front 3-0.
Since then, the U.S. has dominated the men’s Olympic hockey circuit, winning gold in 1960 and 1980, including the legendary “Miracle on Ice” victory over the Soviet Union. But the sport has seen a variety of other storylines, with Sweden and the Czech Republic (now called the Czech Republic) both claiming medals in 1994 and 1998, Canada resetting its record-setting streak in 2002, 2014 and 2018 and Russia (now competing as OAR) capturing a first gold in 2018.