The Ten Biggest Olympic Hockey Moments

Originally published in Rinkside in 2006

By Lucas Aykroyd

July 22, 2005 was a historic day for the future of international hockey. The new Collective Bargaining Agreement between the NHL and NHLPA was ratified then, and it included a clause stipulating that the League would make its players available to participate in both the 2006 Turin Olympics and the 2010 Games in Vancouver.

Of course, not every big moment in Olympic hockey history has involved NHL stars. But with the vast majority of the world’s best players now suiting up in North America, it only makes sense for them to showcase their talents in the highest-profile international winter sports event around.

As fans, media, and hockey people gear up for the third straight Games featuring full NHL participation, let’s look back at what constituted the ten biggest moments in Olympic hockey history in this writer’s opinion.

1. The Miracle on Ice

Some claim that what happened at the 1980 Olympics has been hyped to death. In fairness, the American gold medal victory at Lake Placid probably got more media attention than it would have if, say, the Swedes had knocked off the Soviets instead. But no matter how many Hollywood movies, books, magazine articles, or web sites are created about the famous USA-USSR game on February 22, 1980, you can’t diminish what coach Herb Brooks did with his group of young college players.

The Americans were up against a seemingly invincible Soviet squad that still had its great players of the 1970’s (Boris Mikhailov, Valeri Kharlamov, Vladislav Tretiak) and had added the budding stars of the 1980’s (Vladimir Krutov, Sergei Makarov, Viacheslav Fetisov). The Soviets were not only the reigning Olympic and world champions, but they’d also defeated the NHL All-Stars in the 1979 Challenge Cup. Comparatively speaking, the American players were nobodies.

Yet goalie Jim Craig put in a 36-save performance, forward Mark Johnson scored two clutch tying goals, and captain Mike Eruzione added the winner midway through the third period as the USA shocked the Soviets 4-3 in the biggest upset in hockey history. ABC commentator Al Michaels immortalized the moment with his “Do you believe in miracles?” call. After a final win over Finland, the gold was America’s. Numerous USA players went on to fine NHL careers, including Neal Broten, Dave Christian, Mike Ramsey, and Ken Morrow. Herb Brooks died tragically in a 2003 car accident, but will surely be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame sooner or later.

2. Canada Ends 50-Year Drought

Canadian hockey fans often say: “It’s our game.” But after the Edmonton Mercurys captured the gold medal at the 1952 Games in Oslo, there wouldn’t be another Olympic title in the 20th century for the birthplace of the coolest game on ice. Even though Canadians pointed out that their best players were battling in the NHL while the Soviets, Czechs and Swedes dominated the hockey medal standings, it was still a tough drought to endure. It became even tougher when the Czechs beat Canada in 1998, the first Olympics with full NHL participation.

But in 2002, Canada’s 5-2 triumph over the USA in the gold medal game in Salt Lake City touched off a wild celebration from Vancouver to Halifax. From Martin Brodeur’s fine goaltending to the offensive spark of Joe Sakic and Jarome Iginla, Team Canada gave its fans much to be proud of. It’s virtually certain Canada will never again go 50 years without an Olympic title.

3. The Dominator’s Defining Moment

Some critics argue that if you’re going to decide a hockey game by a shootout, you might as well just flip a coin. Oh yeah? Take a look at Dominik Hasek. This season with the Ottawa Senators, the legendary Czech netminder has consistently shown the ability to thwart opposition shooters both on penalty shots and clear-cut breakaways. It’s no fluke with this Pardubice native, still hyper-flexible and psychologically savvy in his 40’s.

Hasek’s most famous demonstration of his shootout expertise came in the semi-finals of the 1998 Olympic tournament in Nagano. When the Czech Republic and Canada remained deadlocked at 1-1 after a 10-minute overtime, he went head-to-head with Patrick Roy. The Colorado Avalanche goalie surrendered one goal to Robert Reichel, while Hasek foiled Theo Fleury, Ray Bourque, Joe Nieuwendyk, Eric Lindros, and Brendan Shanahan in succession.

Afterwards, people questioned Canadian coach Marc Crawford’s selection of shooters, but no one could question how great Hasek was, especially not after the Hart and Vezina winner posted a 1-0 shutout in the final game versus Russia to wrap up the gold medal. It was the first championship for the Czechs in Olympic competition.

4. Peter the Great Brings Sweden Gold

In 1994, Sweden was looking for its first-ever Olympic hockey championship, and Peter Forsberg delivered. Canada was leading Sweden 2-1 late in the gold medal game, but defenseman Magnus Svensson scored with less than two minutes left to tie it up. On that play, Forsberg earned his second assist of the game. When overtime settled nothing, the 21-year-old “Foppa” stepped up in the shootout. The Ornskoldsvik-born center fooled Canadian goalie Corey Hirsch with a one-handed deke that was later commemorated on a Swedish postage stamp (Hirsch insisted that his jersey number be removed in the picture so that he couldn’t be identified). After Tommy Salo denied Paul Kariya on the final, game-deciding shot, the 8 million citizens of Scandinavia’s largest nation went wild.

Interestingly, Forsberg wasn’t the first to use the deke that he made famous. He originally saw Kent Nilsson beat USA goalie John Vanbiesbrouck with that move in a game at the 1989 World Championship in Stockholm.

5. The Big Red Machine Rolls

Tumultuous events hit the world in 1956. In politics, the Soviets invaded Hungary and the Suez Crisis pitted Britain, France, and Israel against Egypt. In music, the emergence of rock and roll with Elvis Presley changed the face of popular culture. In international sports, the story of the year was the dominance of the USSR hockey team at the 1956 Olympics in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy.

To hockey observers, this didn’t come as a total surprise, as the Soviets had already won the 1954 World Championship by defeating Canada’s East York Lyndhursts. But the rest of the world was stunned. As a New York Times reporter put it: “There is one area where the Russians have shown results bordering on the impossible, and that is hockey.” The Soviets went undefeated en route to the gold, scoring 40 goals and allowing just nine. Captain Vsevolod Bobrov led the way with nine tallies and two helpers.

After 1956, the Soviets became the favorites heading into virtually every Olympic tournament of the 1960’s, 1970’s, and 1980’s. Their only two failures would come on American ice.

6. America’s First Taste of Gold

In 1960, most observers figured the race for Olympic gold in Squaw Valley would come down to Canada, represented by the Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen, and the USSR national team. Nobody gave the USA a chance to win it all, but coach Jack Riley’s squad thrived on its underdog status. After earning four straight high-scoring wins against Czechoslovakia, Australia, Switzerland, and West Germany, the Americans edged Canada 2-1 thanks to a 39-save outing by goalie Jack McCartan. They came from behind against the USSR, winning 3-2 with Roger Christian setting up his brother Bill twice for the key goals.

Finally, in the championship match versus Czechoslovakia, the Americans found themselves trailing 4-3 after two periods. But in an unexpected friendly gesture, Soviet captain Nikolai Solugubov came into the USA dressing room during the intermission and mimed taking oxygen, indicating that it would help the host team cope a little better with the high altitude in Squaw Valley. (Of course, an American victory would also enable the Soviets to move up in the medal standings.) Some of the USA players took Solugubov’s advice, and it seemed to work. They erupted for six goals in the final stanza, triumphing 9-4 for the USA’s first Olympic hockey title. Even though American heroes like the Christian brothers and Bill and Bob Cleary slipped into quiet anonymity after the Games, they deserve recognition today.

7. Great Britain? Good Gracious!

Tea and crumpets. The Beatles. The Queen. There are plenty of things people associate with Great Britain, but hockey isn’t usually one of them. In fact, the British haven’t appeared in a top-level IIHF tournament since the 1994 World Championship in Italy, where they finished dead last. But 1936 was a different story.

For the Olympics in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, Britain assembled a hockey team made up entirely of Canadians with British roots, with one exception: defenseman Carl Erhardt, who was born in Beckenham, Kent, learned his hockey in England, and captained the team. The British coach and future IIHF president, John “Bunny Ahearne,” was angrily criticized by the “real” Canadians. They claimed Britain should be disqualified for not using native-trained players. They filed the same charge against the French team, but it was all in vain.

Entering the tournament, Canada had won 20 straight Olympic matches and fully expected to emerge as champions. But the British battled their way to the finals, where goalie Jimmy Foster killed off Canada’s streak in a 2-1 win that gave the Union Jack its first and only Olympic hockey gold. In total, Foster surrendered just three tallies in seven games. Edgar Brenchley was another hero with his winning goal. This was widely considered the biggest upset in Olympic history until the 1980 “Miracle on Ice.”

8. Canada’s Old-Time Offensive Outburst

Scoring in the NHL peaked in 1981-82, when teams averaged 8.03 goals per game. In the revitalized League of 2005-06, we’ve seen some run-and-gun affairs that point to an offensive renaissance (Ottawa over Buffalo 10-4, Atlanta over Carolina 9-0, and so on).

But all this is small potatoes compared to the mashings Canada used to lay on other nations in international hockey. The single biggest margin of victory the Canadians ever put up in senior-level competition was a 47-0 win over Denmark at the 1949 World Championship. Still, when it comes to the Olympics, you have to rewind to 1924 to really make your eyes bug out.

At the Games in Antwerp, the Toronto Granites represented Canada proudly by outscoring their opposition 110-3 in five games. Included in that total was a 33-0 whupping of Switzerland where Canada jumped out to an 18-0 lead in the first period. The Americans, whose goal differential was 73-6, provided the Canadians with their only real opposition. In the gold medal game, the final score was Canada 6, USA 1.

It’s far more likely that someone will break all of Wayne Gretzky’s scoring records than that any team will rack up 110 goals at the Olympics again.

9. Tre Kronor’s Tragedy Versus Belarus

Entering the 2002 Olympics, Swedish hockey fans and journalists were full of anticipation. Their country hadn’t won a major tournament since the 1998 World Championship in Switzerland. Would Salt Lake City put the shine back on the Three Crowns?

Alas, the answer was emphatically no. It all started so well for the Swedes. They dumped Canada 5-2 in the tournament opener, with Mats Sundin outwitting his then-Toronto teammate Curtis Joseph for two goals. In the next game, Sundin pumped in the 2-1 winner versus the Czechs. Sweden closed out the round-robin with an easy 7-1 win over the Germans, as Markus Naslund led the way with a pair.

At this point, Swedish goalie Tommy Salo was looking superb between the pipes, similar to his workhorse performances for the Edmonton Oilers. “I don’t think he’s gotten enough recognition,” said Naslund. “I really think he’s a great goalie and he’s got a history of playing well for his country.” Yet when Tre Kronor faced Belarus in the quarter-finals, Salo made a gaffe that will never be forgotten.

The Swedes fired 47 shots on Belorussian netminder Andrei Mezin and should have won the game based on territorial play. But they could never build a big enough lead to kill off the former Soviet republic’s hopes, and the score was tied 3-3 late in the third period. With 2:24 remaining, defenseman Vladimir Kopat fired a shot from the neutral zone that bounced off Salo’s head and over his back, trickling into the net to give Belarus the win.

The Swedes couldn’t believe it, and neither could the head coach of Belarus, Vladimir Krikunov, who told the media he’d lost a bottle of cognac betting against his own team in this game. The magic ended for the spunky Belorussians in the semi-finals versus Canada, where they lost 7-1. But their fourth-place finish was still unbelievably good.

10. A Silver Lining for Finland

For longtime hockey powers like Canada, Russia, and the USA, winning silver isn’t usually a cause for great celebration. But when the Finns finished second at the 1988 Olympics, it was a major step, because they’d never won a hockey medal at the Games before. Doing so in front of knowledgeable Canadian audiences at the Calgary Saddledome just made it a little sweeter.

A few past and future Finnish NHLers suited up at forward, including Raimo Helminen, Janne Ojanen, and Iiro Jarvi. The Finnish defense was stacked with notable names like Jyrki Lumme, Teppo Numminen, and Reijo Ruotsalainen. Also, both Finnish goalies stepped up in key situations. First, Jarmo Myllys (who later played with Minnesota and San Jose) stoned Canada repeatedly in a 3-1 win. Then Jukka Tammi shone against the Soviets, who fired 31 shots on him but lost 2-1 in the tournament-closing game that clinched second place for Finland.

At long last, Finland’s place among the Big Six hockey nations was secure. The confidence they acquired from this achievement has carried them forward.

In 1991, Finland cracked the semi-finals at the Canada Cup. In 1995, they won the World Championship for the first time, in addition to claiming silver on five other occasions from 1992 to 2001. In 2004, they lost by one goal to Canada in the final of the World Cup. Now, the Finns believe that if they can get another tremendous tournament out of goalie Miikka Kiprusoff and star forwards Saku Koivu and Teemu Selanne, their chances of claiming gold in the Turin Olympics are as good as anyone’s.