Ice hockey at the 1960 Winter Olympics

The 1960 men's ice hockey tournament at the Squaw Valley Winter Olympics was the ninth Olympic championship, also counting as the 27th World Championships and the 38th European Championships. The United States claimed its first Olympic gold medal and second World Championship title. Canada, represented by the Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen for the second time, took the silver medal, extending its streak of Olympic ice hockey medals to nine consecutive Games—a record not matched until the Soviet Union achieved the same feat in 1988. The Soviet Union, as the highest-finishing European team, earned the bronze medal and its sixth European Championship.

All games were played at Blyth Arena, with George Dudley overseeing the tournament for the International Ice Hockey Federation. Going into the Games, Canada, the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, and Sweden were considered the top four teams. The American team defeated all four, winning every one of its seven games. A documentary titled Forgotten Miracle, produced by Northland Films on the 50th anniversary of these Games, referenced the more famous 1980 gold medal known as the Miracle on Ice; these were the only two Olympic gold medals won by the U.S. men's ice hockey team before 2026.

Qualification

Herb Brooks, who coached the 1980 U.S. team, was the last player cut from the 1960 squad by coach Jack Riley. This tournament marked the first and, so far, only time Australia has participated in an Olympic men's ice hockey tournament. The two German teams played a qualification round to decide which would compete in the Olympics.

West Germany won both games. The top two teams from each group (shaded) advanced to the final round to play for 1st through 6th places; the remaining teams entered the consolation round. Teams that did not qualify for the final round played here. Sources disagree on which Finland-Japan game took place on the 23rd and which on the 26th.

Average age

The first-place team won gold, second-place silver, and third-place bronze. Team Australia was the oldest in the tournament, averaging 28 years and 5 months. Team Finland was the youngest, averaging 23 years and 11 months. Gold medalist Team USA averaged 24 years and 6 months.