SafekipediaIce hockey at the 1988 Winter Olympics
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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 time ice hockey was played as an Olympic Championship. The games happened in three places: the Olympic Saddledome, the Stampede Corral, and Father David Bauer Olympic Arena.
The Soviet Union won the gold medal for the seventh time. Finland got the silver medal, and Sweden won the bronze. This tournament is special because it was the only time the Olympics were in North America without Canada or the United States winning the top prize.
Because there was no main ice hockey championship that year, countries that did not play in Calgary were invited to the final Thayer Tutt Trophy. This made the 1988 Winter Olympics an exciting time for ice hockey fans everywhere.
Background
The Canadian team had beaten the strong Soviet team twice before the Olympics, making them hopeful for a gold medal. This included a big win in Moscow in 1987. But the Soviets prepared well and beat Canada 5–0 in their first match at the Olympics.
This was the first Winter Olympics held in Calgary, a city where professional hockey games were common. The organizers wanted to change the tournament to include more games between top teams. They planned to let six teams advance instead of four, meaning more games overall. After some discussion, they agreed to increase the number of games from 36 to 42.
One player from Poland, Jarosław Morawiecki, was found to have a banned substance in his body. Because of this, he was not allowed to play for a while, and Poland’s win against France was removed from the records. Poland finished fifth in their group.
Medalists
The men's ice hockey tournament at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, was the 16th Olympic Championship. The Soviet Union won the gold medal. Finland won the silver medal, its first ever Olympic ice hockey medal.
| Medal | Country | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Gold |  Soviet Union | |
| Silver |  Finland | |
| Bronze |  Sweden |
Qualification
Some teams got to play in the ice hockey tournament at the 1988 Winter Olympics by doing well in the 1987 World Championships. Eleven teams qualified right away. One more team had to play an extra match to see if they could join. In that match, France played against Japan. France did not win the extra match against Japan.
First round
Group A
Source: HockeyCanada.ca
The Polish team lost a game because one player had an unfair advantage. France was given a win but did not get any extra points.
Group B
Source: HockeyCanada.ca
| 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 |
Final round
In the final round of the ice hockey tournament, the top three teams from each group played against the top three teams from the other group. Points from earlier games were carried forward for teams that moved to the medal round. The team that finished first won the gold medal, the team that came second won silver, and the team that came third won bronze.
11th place game
9th place game
7th place game
| 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 |
Statistics
The teams in the 1988 Winter Olympics ice hockey had different ages. Team Germany had the oldest players, averaging 28 years and 1 month. Team USA had the youngest players, averaging 22 years and 4 months. The gold medal-winning team from the Soviet Union averaged 26 years. The overall average age for all teams was 26 years and 1 month.
| Rk | Player | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vladimir Krutov | 8 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 0 |
| 2 | Igor Larionov | 8 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 4 |
| 3 | Vyacheslav Fetisov | 8 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 6 |
| 4 | Corey Millen | 8 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 4 |
| 5 | Dusan Pasek | 8 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 8 |
| 6 | Sergei Makarov | 8 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 10 |
| 7 | Erkki Lehtonen | 8 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 2 |
| 8 | Anders Eldebrink | 8 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 4 |
| 9 | Igor Liba | 8 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 8 |
| 10 | Gerd Truntschka | 8 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 10 |
Final ranking
| Rank | Team |
|---|---|
 | Soviet Union |
 | Finland |
 | Sweden |
| 4 | Canada |
| 5 | West Germany |
| 6 | Czechoslovakia |
| 7 | United States |
| 8 |  Switzerland |
| 9 | Austria |
| 10 |  Poland |
| 11 |  France |
| 12 | Norway |
Related articles
This article is a child-friendly adaptation of the Wikipedia article on Ice hockey at the 1988 Winter Olympics, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
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