Ice hockey at the 1988 Winter Olympics

The men's ice hockey tournament at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, was the 16th Olympic Championship. The Soviet Union won its seventh gold medal. The silver medal was won by Finland, marking its first ever Olympic ice hockey medal. Sweden won the bronze medal. Games were held in the Olympic Saddledome, the Stampede Corral, and Father David Bauer Olympic Arena. This is so far the only Olympic tournament held on North American soil that was not won by either Canada or United States.[1]

1988 Winter Olympics
Ice Hockey
Soviet stamp for the Olympic ice hockey tournament
Tournament details
Host country Canada
Venue(s)Olympic Saddledome
Stampede Corral
Father David Bauer Olympic Arena (in 1 host city)
DatesFebruary 13–28, 1988
Teams12
Final positions
Champions  Soviet Union (7th title)
Runner-up  Finland
Third place  Sweden
Fourth place Canada
Tournament statistics
Games played42
Goals scored316 (7.52 per game)
Scoring leader(s)Soviet Union Vladimir Krutov (15 points)
← 1984
1992 →

The IIHF did not run a championship in Olympic years at this time. Nations that did not participate in the Calgary Olympics were invited to compete in the final Thayer Tutt Trophy.

Background

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The Canadian team had defeated the favoured Soviets twice in the run-up to the Olympics and was considered a gold medal contender for the first time since 1968. The first win over the Soviet squad was particularly significant as it happened in the annual Izvestia tournament which was held in 1987 in Moscow and was considered a final shot before the Olympics. Unfortunately for the Canadians, these victories backfired as the Soviets prepared better for the Olympic tournament and won in a head-to-head match 5–0.[2]

Tournament changes

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The Calgary Organizing Committee (OCO'88) sought a revamped ice hockey tournament for the Games, which included more games played between the more competitive teams.[3] In previous Olympic tournaments the top four teams advanced from the first round robin stage, Calgary intended to instead have six teams advance, which had the effect of increasing the total number of ice hockey games in the Olympics from 36 to 42.[3] While the International Olympic Committee (IOC) was able to convince the IIHF to allow OCO'88 to schedule games after the match draws had occurred to ensure premier matches were held in the higher capacity Olympic Saddledome, the IIHF remained reluctant to increase the number of games noting it would extend the break for European leagues with players participating.[3] Eventually the IIHF and IOC agreed to the increased number of games with some changes to financial payments to the IIHF.[3]

Doping

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Polish ice-hockey player Jarosław Morawiecki tested positive for the banned substance Testosterone during the Games.[4] The 23 year old centre, who was considered Poland's best player,[4] exceeded the allowable limit of testosterone in random testing after a match which saw Poland defeat France 6–2.[4] Polish coach Leszek Lejczyk claimed Morawiecki was deliberately drugged for political reasons.[5]

The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) banned Morawiecki from competition for 18 months and invalidated Poland's victory in the France match.[4][6] Poland finished 5th of 6th in the tournament Group A standings.[6]

Medalists

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Medal Country Team
Gold[7]   Soviet Union (URS)
Silver[8]   Finland (FIN)
Bronze[9]   Sweden (SWE)

Qualification

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The top eleven nations from the 1987 World Championships (eight from pool A, top three from pool B) qualified directly, while the twelfth ranked nation had to play off against the winner of that year's pool C. France beat Japan 8 goals to 6.[10]

  • April 6, 1987, West Germany
    • France 7–3 Japan
  • April 7, 1987, West Germany
    • France 1–3 Japan

First round

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Group A

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Team Pld W L D GF GA GD Pts
  Finland 5 3 1 1 22 8 +14 7
  Sweden 5 2 0 3 23 10 +13 7
  Canada 5 3 1 1 17 12 +5 7
   Switzerland 5 3 2 0 19 10 +9 6
  Poland 5 0 4 1 9 13 −4 1
  France 5 1 4 0 10 47 −37 2
14 February 1988Canada  1–0  Poland
14 February 1988Sweden  13–2  France
14 February 1988Switzerland  2–1  Finland

16 February 1988Canada  4–2   Switzerland
16 February 1988Sweden  1–1  Poland
16 February 1988Finland  10–1  France

18 February 1988Finland  3–1  Canada
18 February 1988Poland  *0–2  France
18 February 1988Sweden  4–2   Switzerland

20 February 1988Canada  9–5  France
20 February 1988Finland  3–3  Sweden
20 February 1988Switzerland  4–1  Poland

22 February 1988Canada  2–2  Sweden
22 February 1988Finland  5–1  Poland
22 February 1988Switzerland  9–0  France

* The Polish team was stripped of its victory after Jarosław Morawiecki tested positive for testosterone. France was recorded as having a 2-nil win, but received no points in the standings.

Group B

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Team Pld W L D GF GA GD Pts
  Soviet Union 5 5 0 0 32 10 +22 10
  West Germany 5 4 1 0 19 12 +7 8
  Czechoslovakia 5 3 2 0 23 14 +9 6
  United States 5 2 3 0 27 27 0 4
  Austria 5 0 4 1 12 29 −17 1
  Norway 5 0 4 1 11 32 −21 1
13 February 1988West Germany  2–1  Czechoslovakia
13 February 1988Soviet Union  5–1  Norway
13 February 1988United States  10–6  Austria

15 February 1988West Germany  7–3  Norway
15 February 1988Soviet Union  8–1  Austria
15 February 1988Czechoslovakia  7–5  United States

17 February 1988Austria  1–3  West Germany
17 February 1988Czechoslovakia  10–1  Norway
17 February 1988Soviet Union  7–5  United States

19 February 1988Austria  0–4  Czechoslovakia
19 February 1988West Germany  3–6  Soviet Union
19 February 1988United States  6–3  Norway

21 February 1988Soviet Union  6–1  Czechoslovakia
21 February 1988Austria  4–4  Norway
21 February 1988West Germany  4–1  United States

Final round

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The top three teams from each group play the top three teams from the other group once. Points from previous games against their own group carry over, excluding teams who failed to make the medal round. First place team wins gold, second silver and third bronze.

Team Pld W L D GF GA GD Pts
  Soviet Union 5 4 1 0 25 7 +18 8
  Finland 5 3 1 1 18 10 +8 7
  Sweden 5 2 1 2 15 16 −1 6
  Canada 5 2 2 1 17 14 +3 5
  West Germany 5 1 4 0 8 26 −18 2
  Czechoslovakia 5 1 4 0 12 22 −10 2


24 February 1988Soviet Union  5–0  Canada
24 February 1988Sweden  6–2  Czechoslovakia
24 February 1988Finland  8–0  West Germany

26 February 1988Canada  8–1  West Germany
26 February 1988Czechoslovakia  5–2  Finland
26 February 1988Soviet Union  7–1  Sweden

27 February 1988Canada  6–3  Czechoslovakia

28 February 1988Sweden  3–2  West Germany
28 February 1988Finland  2–1  Soviet Union

11th place game

23 February 1988France  7–6 SO  Norway

9th place game

23 February 1988Austria  3–2  Poland

7th place game

25 February 1988United States  8–4   Switzerland

Statistics

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Average age

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Team Germany was the oldest team in the tournament, averaging 28 years and 1 months. Team USA was the youngest team in the tournament, averaging 22 years and 4 months. Gold medalists team USSR averaged 26 years. Tournament average was 26 years and 1 months.[11]

Leading scorers

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Rk Player GP G A Pts PIM
1   Vladimir Krutov 8 6 9 15 0
2   Igor Larionov 8 4 9 13 4
3   Vyacheslav Fetisov 8 4 9 13 6
4   Corey Millen 8 6 5 11 4
5   Dusan Pasek 8 6 5 11 8
6   Sergei Makarov 8 3 8 11 10
7   Erkki Lehtonen 8 4 6 10 2
8   Anders Eldebrink 8 4 6 10 4
9   Igor Liba 8 4 6 10 8
10   Gerd Truntschka 8 3 7 10 10

Final ranking

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Rank Team
    Soviet Union
    Finland
    Sweden
4   Canada
5   West Germany
6   Czechoslovakia
7   United States
8    Switzerland
9   Austria
10   Poland
11   France
12   Norway

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Ice Hockey at the 1988 Calgary Winter Games". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
  2. ^ Shitik, Ivan (16 December 2017). ""В московском отеле нас атаковали тараканы". Как состоялось канадское "Чудо на льду"" ["We were attacked by cockroaches in a Moscow hotel." How did the Canadian "Miracle on Ice"]. Sport-Express (in Russian).
  3. ^ a b c d OCO'88 1988, p. 421.
  4. ^ a b c d "Player banned, Poland stripped of win in drug scandal". Toronto Star. The Canadian Press. February 22, 1988. p. B3. ProQuest 435721155.
  5. ^ "Player drugged, Polish coach says". Vancouver Sun. February 22, 1988. p. C1. ProQuest 243683610.
  6. ^ a b OCO'88 1988, p. 587
  7. ^ "Team members Soviet Union". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 2009-07-29.
  8. ^ "Team members FINLAND". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 2009-07-29.
  9. ^ "Team members SWEDEN". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 2009-07-29.
  10. ^ "Qualifications pour les Jeux Olympiques 1988 - Hockey sur glace".
  11. ^ "Team Canada - Olympics - Calgary 1988 - Player Stats".
Works cited
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