Ice hockey at the 1956 Winter Olympics

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Ice hockey at the 1956 Winter Olympics
Ice hockey pictogram.svg
Tournament details
Host countryFlag of Italy.svg  Italy
Dates26 January – 4 February 1956
Teams10
Final positions
Champions  Gold medal blank.svg Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union (1st title)
Runner-up  Silver medal blank.svg Flag of the United States.svg  United States
Third place  Bronze medal blank.svg Canadian Red Ensign (1921-1957).svg  Canada
Fourth placeFlag of Sweden.svg  Sweden
Tournament statistics
Games played33
Goals scored262 (7.94 per game)
Attendance122,230 (3,704 per game)
Scoring leader(s) Canadian Red Ensign (1921-1957).svg James Logan (15 points)
Trophy awarded for the 1956 World Championships IIHFChampionshipTrophy19531959.jpg
Trophy awarded for the 1956 World Championships

The men's ice hockey tournament at the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, was the eighth Olympic Championship, also serving as the 23rd World Championships and the 34th European Championships. The tournament was held at the Olympic Ice Stadium and the Apollonio Stadium. [1]

Contents

East Germany and West Germany could not come to an agreement over how to formulate a combined team, so they played a qualification game against each other, which was won by West Germany. East Germany hosted a tournament for non-qualified teams, often referred to as World Championships Pool B, between GDR, Norway and Belgium in Berlin. [2]

The Soviets won all their games to claim their first Olympic title, their second World title, and their third European title. Canada, represented by the Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen, won its eighth consecutive Olympic ice hockey medal, and first bronze medal.

Medalists

GoldSilverBronze
Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union
Nikolai Puchkov
Grigory Mkrtychan
Nikolaï Sologubov
Dmitry Ukolov
Ivan Tregubov
Genrikh Sidorenkov
Alfred Kuchevsky
Yevgeny Babich
Viktor Shuvalov
Vsevolod Bobrov
Yuri Krylov
Aleksandr Uvarov
Valentin Kuzin
Yuri Pantjukhov
Aleksey Guryshev
Nikolay Khlystov
Viktor Nikiforov
US flag 48 stars.svg  United States
Willard Ikola
Don Rigazio
Richard Rodenheiser
Daniel McKinnon
Ed Sampson
John Matchefts
Richard Meredith
Dick Dougherty
Ken Purpur
John Mayasich
Bill Cleary
Wellington Burtnett
Wendell Anderson
Gene Campbell
Gordon Christian
Weldon Olson
John Petroske
Flag of Canada (1921-1957).svg  Canada
Denis Brodeur
Keith Woodall
Floyd Martin
Howie Lee
Art Hurst
Jack McKenzie
James Logan
Paul Knox
Donald Rope
Byrle Klinck
Bill Colvin
Gérard Théberge
Alfred Horne
Charlie Brooker
George Scholes
Bob White
Ken Laufman

Participating nations

World Championship Group A (Italy)

Qualification

First round

Top two teams (shaded ones) from each group earned a right to play for 1st-6th places.

Group A

PosTeamPldWLDGFGAGDPts
1Canadian Red Ensign (1921-1957).svg  Canada 3300301+296
2German Olympic flag (1959-1968).svg  Germany 311196+33
3Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 30125722
4Flag of Austria.svg  Austria 3021232301
Source: [ citation needed ]
  • January 26
    • Canada 4–0 Germany (UTG)
    • Italy 2–2 Austria
  • January 27
    • Italy 2–2 Germany (UTG)
    • Canada 23–0 Austria
  • January 28
    • Germany (UTG) 7–0 Austria
    • Italy 1–3 Canada

Group B

PosTeamPldWLDGFGAGDPts
1Flag of the Czech Republic.svg  Czechoslovakia 2200126+64
2Flag of the United States (1912-1959).svg  United States 211074+32
3Flag of Poland.svg  Poland 202031290
Source: [ citation needed ]
  • January 27
    • Czechoslovakia 4–3 USA
  • January 28
    • USA 4–0 Poland
  • January 29
    • Czechoslovakia 8–3 Poland

Group C

PosTeamPldWLDGFGAGDPts
1Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union 2200154+114
2Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 211071032
3Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg   Switzerland 202081680
Source: [ citation needed ]
  • January 27
    • USSR 5–1 Sweden
  • January 28
    • Sweden 6–5 Switzerland
  • January 29
    • USSR 10–3 Switzerland

Final round

Vsevolod Bobrov holding the championship trophy. Vsevolod bobrov.jpg
Vsevolod Bobrov holding the championship trophy.
The goalkeeper of the Soviet ice hockey team Grigory Mkrtychan waiting in front of the goal post during the VII Olympic Winter Games. Cortina d'Ampezzo, 1956 Grigory Mkrtychan 1956.jpg
The goalkeeper of the Soviet ice hockey team Grigory Mkrtychan waiting in front of the goal post during the VII Olympic Winter Games. Cortina d'Ampezzo, 1956

The first place team, the Soviet Union, won the gold medal; the silver medal was won by the United States, and the bronze medal was won by Canada.

Coming into the final game of the tournament (Soviet Union vs Canada), the Soviets and Americans both had eight points while Canada had six points. A Canadian win would have created a three-way tie at eight points, to be broken by goal ratio. Canada (23/9=2.556) needed a victory by three or more to pass the Soviets (23/5=4.600). The Soviets would remain ahead of Canada with a win, a draw, or a loss by one or two.

The Americans (26/12=2.167) still had a chance at all three medal places due to the possibility of the goal ratios of Canada and/or the Soviets being sufficiently reduced according to the score of the final game. [3] [4]

PosTeamPldWLDGFGAGDPts
1Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union 5500255+2010
2Flag of the United States (1912-1959).svg  United States 54102612+148
3Canadian Red Ensign (1921-1957).svg  Canada 53202311+126
4Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 5131101773
5Flag of the Czech Republic.svg  Czechoslovakia 51402030102
6German Olympic flag (1959-1968).svg  Germany 5041635291
Source: [ citation needed ]

Consolation round

PosTeamPldWLDGFGAGDPts
7Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 3300217+146
8Flag of Poland.svg  Poland 32101210+24
9Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg   Switzerland 3120121862
10Flag of Austria.svg  Austria 3030919100
Source: [ citation needed ]

World Championship Group B (East Germany)

Final Round

PosTeamPldWLDGFGAGDPts
11Flag of East Germany.svg  East Germany 2200188+104
12Flag of Norway.svg  Norway 21108912
13Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium 2020122190
Source: [ citation needed ]

Statistics

Average age

Gold medalists team USSR was the oldest team in the tournament, averaging 29 years and 11 months. Team USA was the youngest team in the tournament, averaging 22 years and 5 months. Tournament average was 26 years and 7 months. [5]

Leading scorers

RkTeamGPGAPts
1 Canadian Red Ensign (1921-1957).svg James Logan 87815
2 Canadian Red Ensign (1921-1957).svg Paul Knox 87714
3 Flag of the Soviet Union.svg Vsevolod Bobrov 79312
4 Canadian Red Ensign (1921-1957).svg Jack McKenzie 87512
5 Canadian Red Ensign (1921-1957).svg Gerry Theberge 89211
6 Flag of the Soviet Union.svg Alexei Guryshev 78311
7 Flag of the United States (1912-1959).svg John Mayasich 76410
8 Canadian Red Ensign (1921-1957).svg George Scholes 85510
9 Canadian Red Ensign (1921-1957).svg Ken Laufman 8189
10 Flag of the United States (1912-1959).svg Gordon Christian 6538

Tournament awards

Final ranking

  1. Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union
  2. Flag of the United States (1912-1959).svg  United States
  3. Canadian Red Ensign (1921-1957).svg  Canada
  4. Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden
  5. Flag of the Czech Republic.svg  Czechoslovakia
  6. German Olympic flag (1959-1968).svg  Germany
  7. Flag of Italy.svg  Italy
  8. Flag of Poland.svg  Poland
  9. Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg   Switzerland
  10. Flag of Austria.svg  Austria

European Championship final ranking

  1. Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union
  2. Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden
  3. Flag of the Czech Republic.svg  Czechoslovakia
  4. Flag of Germany.svg  West Germany
  5. Flag of Italy.svg  Italy
  6. Flag of Poland.svg  Poland
  7. Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg   Switzerland
  8. Flag of Austria.svg  Austria

Citations

  1. "Ice Hockey at the 1956 Cortina d'Ampezzo Winter Games". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
  2. World 'B'
  3. "Jeux Olympiques de Cortina d'Ampezzo 1956 - Hockey sur Glace".
  4. Official Report p.676
  5. "Team Canada - Olympics - Cortina d'Ampezzo 1956 - Player Stats". QuantHockey. Retrieved 23 April 2020.

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Czechoslovakia competed at the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy.

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References