Ice hockey at the 1956 Winter Olympics
Soviet Union won first Olympic gold; Canada earned bronze.
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The 1956 Winter Olympics men's ice hockey tournament in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, doubled as the 23rd World Championships and the 34th European Championships. Games were played at the Olympic Ice Stadium and the Apollonio Stadium. The Soviet Union went undefeated, securing their first Olympic gold medal, their second world title, and their third European championship.
Canada, represented by the Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen, won its eighth consecutive Olympic ice hockey medal, and first bronze medal. Unable to agree on a combined team, East and West Germany played a qualification match, which West Germany won 7–3. East Germany then hosted a separate tournament in Berlin for non-qualified teams—often called World Championship Pool B—featuring the GDR, Norway, and Belgium.
Background
The tournament featured a qualification game between East Germany and West Germany, as they could not agree on a combined team; West Germany won 7–3 on November 16, 1955. East Germany then hosted a separate tournament for non-qualified teams in Berlin, often referred to as World Championships Pool B, involving the GDR, Norway, and Belgium. The first round was divided into three groups (A, B, C), with the top two teams from each advancing to the final round for 1st–6th places. The final round saw the Soviet Union, United States, and Canada compete for medals, with the Soviet Union ultimately winning gold by defeating Canada 2–0 in the final game.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Ice hockey at the 1956 Winter Olympics (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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