Ice hockey at the 1956 Winter Olympics

Ice hockey at the 1956 Winter Olympics

Tournament details
Host country	Italy
Dates	26 January – 4 February
Teams	10
Final positions
Champions	Soviet Union (1st title)
Runner-up	United States
Third place	Canada
Fourth place	Sweden
Tournament statistics
Matches played	33
Goals scored	262 (7.94 per match)
Attendance	122,230 (3,704 per match)
Scoring leader(s)	James Logan (15 points)
← 1955 or 1952 Olympics 1957 or 1960 Olympics →

The men's ice hockey tournament at the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, was the 8th 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]

East 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 the west won. The east 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[]

Gold:	Silver:	Bronze:
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	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	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[]

•  Canada (17)
•  Soviet Union (17)
•  Sweden (17)
•  United States (16)

World Championship Group A (Italy)[]

Qualification[]

• November 16, 1955
  • East Germany 3-7 West Germany

First round[]

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

Group A[]

Rank	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	Canada	3	3	0	0	30	1	6
2	Germany	3	1	1	1	9	6	3
3	Italy	3	0	1	2	5	7	2
4	Austria	3	0	2	1	2	32	1

• 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[]

Rank	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	Czechoslovakia	2	2	0	0	12	6	4
2	United States	2	1	1	0	7	4	2
3	Poland	2	0	2	0	3	12	0

• January 27
  • Czechoslovakia 4–3 USA
• January 28
  • USA 4–0 Poland
• January 29
  • Czechoslovakia 8–3 Poland

Group C[]

Rank	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	Soviet Union	2	2	0	0	15	4	4
2	Sweden	2	1	1	0	7	10	2
3	Switzerland	2	0	2	0	8	16	0

• January 27
  • USSR 5–1 Sweden
• January 28
  • Sweden 6–5 Switzerland
• January 29
  • USSR 10–3 Switzerland

Final round[]

First place team wins gold, second silver and third bronze.

Rank	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	Soviet Union	5	5	0	0	25	5	10
2	United States	5	4	1	0	26	12	8
3	Canada	5	3	2	0	23	11	6
4	Sweden	5	1	3	1	10	17	3
5	Czechoslovakia	5	1	4	0	20	30	2
6	Germany	5	0	4	1	6	35	1

• January 30
  • USA 7–2 Germany (UTG)
  • Canada 6–3 Czechoslovakia
  • USSR 4–1 Sweden
• January 31
  • USSR 8–0 Germany (UTG)
  • Sweden 5–0 Czechoslovakia
  • USA 4–1 Canada
• February 1
  • USA 6–1 Sweden
• February 2
  • Canada 10–0 Germany (UTG)
  • USSR 7–4 Czechoslovakia
• February 3
  • Czechoslovakia 9–3 Germany (UTG)
  • Canada 6–2 Sweden
  • USSR 4–0 USA
• February 4
  • USSR 2–0 Canada
  • Germany (UTG) 1–1 Sweden
  • USA 9–4 Czechoslovakia

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Consolation round[]

Rank	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
7	Italy	3	3	0	0	21	7	6
8	Poland	3	2	1	0	12	10	4
9	Switzerland	3	1	2	0	12	18	2
10	Austria	3	0	3	0	9	19	0

• January 31
  • Switzerland 7–4 Austria
• February 1
  • Poland 6–2 Switzerland
  • Italy 8–2 Austria
• February 2
  • Italy 8–3 Switzerland
  • Poland 4–3 Austria
• February 3
  • Italy 5–2 Poland

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World Championship Group B (East Germany)[]

Final Round[]

Rank	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
11	East Germany	2	2	0	0	18	8	4
12	Norway	2	1	1	0	8	9	2
13	Belgium	2	0	2	0	12	21	0

• March 8
  • East Germany 4–1 Norway
• March 9
  • East Germany 14–7 Belgium
• March 10
  • Norway 7–5 Belgium

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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.^[3]

Leading scorers[]

Rk	Team	GP	G	A	Pts
1	James Logan	8	7	8	15
2	Paul Knox	8	7	7	14
3	Vsevolod Bobrov	7	9	3	12
4	Jack McKenzie	8	7	5	12
5	Gerry Theberge	8	9	2	11
6	Alexei Guryshev	7	8	3	11
7	John Mayasich	7	6	4	10
8	George Scholes	8	5	5	10
9	Ken Laufman	8	1	8	9
10	Gordon Christian	6	5	3	8

Tournament awards[]

• Best players selected by the directorate:
  • Best Goaltender: Willard Ikola
  • Best Defenceman: Nikolai Sologubov
  • Best Forward: Jack McKenzie

Final ranking[]

1.  Soviet Union
2.  United States
3.  Canada
4.  Sweden
5.  Czechoslovakia
6.  Germany
7.  Italy
8.  Poland
9.   Switzerland
10.  Austria

European Championship final ranking[]

1.  Soviet Union
2.  Sweden
3.  Czechoslovakia
4.  West Germany
5.  Italy
6.  Poland
7.   Switzerland
8.  Austria

Citations[]

References[]

• Duplacey, James (1998). Total Hockey: The official encyclopedia of the National Hockey League. Total Sports. pp. 498–528. ISBN 0-8362-7114-9.
• Podnieks, Andrew (2010). IIHF Media Guide & Record Book 2011. Moydart Press. pp. 25–6, 30, 107–8.
• Jeux Olympiques d'Cortina d'Ampezzo 1956