The original Ahearne Cup
The original Ahearne Cup was held in Sweden annually from 1952 to 1977 (no tournament played in 1957), with the finals at Johanneshovs Isstadion in Stockholm, and co-arranged by newspaper Dagens Nyheter. It was held in December and open to both club teams and national teams, although national teams seldom competed. While most teams were from Sweden, many teams from the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, Canada and Finland also competed. The record for most tournaments attended is shared between Swedish teams Södertälje SK and Djurgårdens IF, both with 20 entries, followed by Leksands IF and AIK with 12 each. Djurgården also has the record for most wins, four, while Harringay Racers and Spartak Moscow won the tournament three times each.
For many Swedes, this tournament was the first meeting with North American playing style, represented by Canadian amateur teams and British teams filled with Canadians. However, as professional hockey evolved in North America, the transatlantic amateur teams became both less competitive and less interested in joining European tournaments of this kind. The resulting downturn in public interest, together with tougher playing schedules in the European leagues, led to the cancellation of the tournament.
Ice hockey is a contact team sport played on ice, usually in a rink, in which two teams of skaters use their sticks to shoot a vulcanized rubber puck into their opponent's net to score points. The sport is known to be fast-paced and physical, with teams usually consisting of six players each: one goaltender, and five players who skate up and down the ice trying to take the puck and score a goal against the opposing team.
The Swedish Hockey League is a professional ice hockey league, and the highest division in the Swedish ice hockey system. The league currently consists of 14 teams. The league was founded in 1975, and while Swedish ice hockey champions have been crowned through various formats since 1922, the title, as well as the Le Mat Trophy, have been awarded to the winner of the SHL playoffs since the league's inaugural 1975–76 season.
The Canada Cup was an invitational international ice hockey tournament held on five occasions between 1976 and 1991. The tournament was created to meet demand for a true world championship that allowed the best players from participating nations to compete regardless of their status as professional or amateur. It was sanctioned by the International Ice Hockey Federation, Hockey Canada and the National Hockey League. Canada won the tournament four times, while the Soviet Union captured the championship once. It was succeeded by the World Cup of Hockey in 1996.
Hockey Canada, which merged with the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association in 1994, is the national governing body of ice hockey and ice sledge hockey in Canada and is a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation. Hockey Canada controls a majority of ice hockey in Canada. There are some notable exceptions, such as the Canadian Hockey League and U Sports who are partnered with Hockey Canada, but are not members, as well as any of Canada's professional hockey clubs. Hockey Canada is based in Calgary, Alberta with a secondary office in Ottawa, Ontario and regional centres in Toronto, Ontario and Montreal, Quebec.
Djurgårdens IF Ishockeyförening – commonly known as Djurgårdens IF, Djurgården Hockey, Djurgården – is a professional ice hockey team based in Stockholm, Sweden, affiliated with the Djurgårdens IF umbrella organization. Djurgården is currently playing in the Swedish premier ice hockey league, the Swedish Hockey League. Djurgården is the most successful Swedish hockey team of all time, as 16-time Swedish champions, 12-time runners-up, and leaders of the marathon table for the top flight of Swedish hockey. The ice hockey department was first established in 1922 and has since been playing in the Swedish league system, with the exception of four years in the 1930s when the hockey department was temporarily dissolved.
The Triple Gold Club is the group of ice hockey players and coaches who have won an Olympic Games gold medal, a World Championship gold medal, and the Stanley Cup, the championship trophy of the National Hockey League (NHL). The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) considers them to be "the three most important championships available to the sport".
John Francis "Bunny" Ahearne was an international ice hockey administrator and business executive. He served rotating terms as president and vice-president of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) from 1951 to 1975, and was the secretary of the British Ice Hockey Association from 1934 to 1971, and later its president until 1982. He began in hockey by managing the last Great Britain team to win a gold medal at the Winter Olympic Games, before moving to the international stage. He implemented business reforms at the IIHF, oversaw the growth of ice hockey to new countries, and expanded the Ice Hockey World Championships. He was inducted into both the Hockey Hall of Fame and the British Ice Hockey Hall of Fame during his lifetime and was posthumously inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame.
Allmänna Idrottsklubben Ishockeyförening, is the ice hockey department of sports club Allmänna Idrottsklubben based in Stockholm, Sweden. Since 2014 AIK's men's team compete in HockeyAllsvenskan, the second tier of ice hockey in Sweden, following a four-year spell in the top flight, the SHL. The women's team competes in Riksserien, the highest division of women's ice hockey. AIK's home games are mainly played at Hovet, which seats 8,050 spectators, though some high-profile games may be played at the Ericsson Globe which has a larger capacity of 13,850.
Kvalserien, also known as Kvalserien till SHL, was the Swedish round-robin ice hockey tournament to qualify for play in the next season of the Swedish Hockey League, Sweden's top-level ice hockey league for men. It was replaced by a playoff round in the 2014–15 season.
Skellefteå AIK is a Swedish professional ice hockey (SHL) club from Skellefteå, Sweden. The SHL is the highest level of ice hockey in Sweden. They play their games in Skellefteå Kraft Arena, which seats 6,001 spectators. The team has won the Swedish Championship three times – in 1978, 2013, and 2014.
Sven Tumba was one of the most prominent Swedish ice hockey players of the 1950s and 1960s. He also represented Sweden in football as well as golf and became Swedish champion in waterskiing.
Frederick Page was a Canadian ice hockey administrator, ice hockey referee, and businessman.
The 2001–02 Ice Hockey Superleague season was the sixth season of the Ice Hockey Superleague (ISL).
The 2002–03 Ice Hockey Superleague season was the seventh and final season of the Ice Hockey Superleague (ISL).
The Alexander Cup was the Canadian national major senior ice hockey championship trophy from 1950 to 1954.
Tvillingderbyt is a football fixture in Stockholm, Sweden, between cross-town rivals AIK and Djurgårdens IF. Both clubs were founded in Stockholm in 1891, just three weeks apart, but they started playing football in 1896 and 1899 respectively.
Jimmie Sven Ericsson is a Swedish professional ice hockey Left Wing for Skellefteå AIK of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL).
There are several derbies in the Allsvenskan and in the lower divisions of the Swedish football pyramid.
The 1977 Ahearne Cup was the 25th and final edition of the Ahearne Cup ice hockey tournament. Five teams participated in the tournament, which was won by Stockholm-based AIK. It was held from December 26-30, 1976, in Stockholm, Sweden.
