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
DatesFebruary 13–28, 1988
Teams12
Venue(s)Olympic Saddledome
Stampede Corral
Father David Bauer Olympic Arena (in 1 host city)
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)

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

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

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

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
Main article: Ice hockey at the 1988 Winter Olympics – Rosters
Medal Country Team
Gold[7]  Soviet Union (URS)
Silver[8]  Finland (FIN)
Bronze[9]  Sweden (SWE)

Qualification

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

Group A

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
Source:
  • February 14
    • Canada 1–0 Poland
    • Sweden 13–2 France
    • Switzerland 2–1 Finland
  • February 16
    • Canada 4–2 Switzerland
    • Sweden 1–1 Poland
    • Finland 10–1 France
  • February 18
    • Finland 3–1 Canada
    • Poland 6–2 France*
    • Sweden 4–2 Switzerland
  • February 20
    • Canada 9–5 France
    • Finland 3–3 Sweden
    • Switzerland 4–1 Poland
  • February 22
    • Canada 2–2 Sweden
    • Finland 5–1 Poland
    • Switzerland 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

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
Source:
  • February 13
    • West Germany 2–1 Czechoslovakia
    • Soviet Union 5–0 Norway
    • USA 10–6 Austria
  • February 15
    • West Germany 7–3 Norway
    • Soviet Union 8–1 Austria
    • Czechoslovakia 7–5 USA
  • February 17
    • Austria 1–3 West Germany
    • Czechoslovakia 10–1 Norway
    • Soviet Union 7–5 USA
  • February 19
    • Austria 0–4 Czechoslovakia
    • West Germany 3–6 Soviet Union
    • USA 6–3 Norway
  • February 21
    • Soviet Union 6–1 Czechoslovakia
    • Austria 4–4 Norway
    • West Germany 4–1 USA

Final round

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
Source:
  • February 24
    • Soviet Union 5–0 Canada
    • Sweden 6–2 Czechoslovakia
    • Finland 8–0 West Germany
  • February 26
    • Canada 8–1 West Germany
    • Czechoslovakia 5–2 Finland
    • Soviet Union 7–1 Sweden
  • February 27
    • Canada 6–3 Czechoslovakia
  • February 28
    • Sweden 3–2 West Germany
    • Finland 2–1 Soviet Union

11th place game

  • February 23
    • France 7–6(SO) Norway

9th place game

  • February 23
    • Austria 3–2 Poland

7th place game

  • February 25
    • United States 8–4 Switzerland

Statistics

Average age

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
Rk Player GP G A Pts PIM
1 Soviet Union Vladimir Krutov 869150
2 Soviet Union Igor Larionov 849134
3 Soviet Union Vyacheslav Fetisov 849136
4 United States Corey Millen 865114
5 Czechoslovakia Dusan Pasek 865118
6 Soviet Union Sergei Makarov 8381110
7 Finland Erkki Lehtonen 846102
8 Sweden Anders Eldebrink 846104
9 Czech Republic Igor Liba 846108
10 West Germany Gerd Truntschka 8371010

Final ranking
RankTeam
1st place, gold medalist(s) Soviet Union
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Finland
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Sweden
4 Canada
5 West Germany
6 Czechoslovakia
7 United States
8  Switzerland
9 Austria
10 Poland
11 France
12 Norway

See also

References
  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. OCO'88 1988, p. 421.
  4. "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. 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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