SafekipediaIce hockey at the 1988 Winter Olympics
Adapted from Wikipedia · Discoverer experience
The men's ice hockey tournament at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, marked the 16th time ice hockey was played as an Olympic Championship. This special event took place in three venues: the Olympic Saddledome, the Stampede Corral, and Father David Bauer Olympic Arena.
The Soviet Union won the gold medal for the seventh time in Olympic history. Finland earned its first Olympic ice hockey medal, taking home the silver, while Sweden won the bronze. This tournament is remembered because it was the only time the Olympics were held 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 compete in Calgary were invited to play in the final Thayer Tutt Trophy instead. This made the 1988 Winter Olympics a unique and exciting time for ice hockey fans around the world.
Background
The Canadian team had beaten the strong Soviet team twice before the Olympics, making them hopeful for a gold medal. One big win happened during a tournament in Moscow in 1987. However, the Soviets prepared well and beat Canada 5–0 in their first match at the Olympics.
This was the first Winter Olympics held in a city where professional hockey games were common, Calgary. The organizers wanted to change the tournament to include more games between top teams. They planned to let six teams advance instead of four, which would mean 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 its seventh gold medal. Finland won the silver medal, marking 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, and one more had to play a extra match to see if they could join. In that match, France played against Japan. Although the games had many goals, France did not win the extra match against Japan.
First round
Group A
Source: HockeyCanada.ca
The Polish team lost its win because one player had an unfair advantage. France was given a win but did not earn 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 once. Points from earlier games within their own group were carried forward, but only for teams that advanced to the medal round. The team that finished in first place won the gold medal, the second place team won silver, and the third place team 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 was the oldest, with players averaging 28 years and 1 month. Team USA was the youngest, with 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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