Ice hockey at the 1952 Winter Olympics

The men's ice hockey tournament at the 1952 Winter Olympics in Oslo, Norway, was the 7th Olympic Championship, also serving as the 19th World Championships and the 30th European Championships. The tournament was mainly played at the Jordal Amfi Arena, as well as the stadiums at Dælenenga (in Oslo), Kadettangen (Sandvika), Marienlyst (Drammen) and Lillestrøm (Lillestrøm). Canada, represented by the Edmonton Mercurys, won its sixth Olympic gold medal and 15th World Championship. Highest finishing European team Sweden won the bronze medal and its sixth European Championship.[1]

Ice hockey at the 1952 Winter Olympics
Jersey of Canada's 1952 Olympic Gold Medal team, the Edmonton Mercurys
Tournament details
Host country Norway
Dates15–25 February
Teams9
Venue(s)Jordal Amfi Arena, Dælenenga, Kadettangen, Marienlyst and Lillestrøm
Final positions
Champions  Canada (6th title)
Runner-up  United States
Third place  Sweden
Fourth place Czechoslovakia
Tournament statistics
Matches played37
Goals scored335 (9.05 per match)
Scoring leader(s) Billy Gibson (19 points)

The tournament was nearly not played at all. Discussions began in 1950, whether or not ice hockey would be included in the 1952 Winter Olympics. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) sought assurance that participating teams would adhere to its amateur code rather than the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) code, and also wanted to exclude IIHF president Fritz Kraatz from negotiations. IIHF past-president W. G. Hardy, and secretary George Dudley agreed there would be no negotiations on those terms, nor would they repudiate Kraatz. Dudley expected the IIHF to discuss having its own 1952 Ice Hockey World Championships instead, and stated that the Olympics would be a financial failure without the inclusion of hockey.[2] In 1951 it was decided to drop hockey from the Olympic programme because of the controversies surrounding the 1948 Games. However, at the IOC congress in Romania the same year, it was reinstated.[3][4] W. G. Hardy advocated for the inclusion of the Soviet Union national ice hockey team, provided there is no political interference.[5] Despite his advocacy the Soviet authorities did not apply in time to be included in the tournament.[6][7]

Teams from Germany and Czechoslovakia rejoined the top level of international hockey this year. Nine nations played a round-robin with the top three nations receiving medals at the end.[3][4] Swiss newspapers criticized the rough play by Canada and the United States team, and questioned whether hockey should be part of the Olympics. Canadian Amateur Hockey Association president Doug Grimston felt the games were tame compared to North American standards and that the Olympics would suffer without hockey which was its biggest attraction.[8]

After Canada and the United States played to a draw in the final game of the round-robin, which placed the teams first and second respectively in the standings for the gold and silver medals. Had Canada won, the United States would have placed fourth. A newspaper in Moscow charged that a deal had been made to predetermine the outcome and assure the United States of a silver medal and to exclude the Czechoslovakia team from a medal.[9][10] Canada won their sixth Olympic title, and fifteenth World title. The USA finished one point ahead of both Sweden and Czechoslovakia who both finished with six wins and two losses, additionally, they had an equal goal differential of +29. The Czechoslovaks had defeated the Swedes four to nothing on the final day, and believed that they had won the Olympic bronze, and the European Championship. However, organizers decided that they should play a final tie-breaking game, in which the Swedes overcame a three-goal deficit to win five to three.[3][4]

Medalists

Gold: Silver: Bronze:
 Canada
Eric Paterson
Ralph Hansch
John Davies
Don Gauf
Robert Meyers
Thomas Pollock
Al Purvis
Billy Gibson
David Miller
George Abel
Billy Dawe
Robert Dickson
Gordon Robertson
Louis Secco
Francis Sullivan
Robert Watt
 United States
Alfred Van Allen
André Gambucci
Arnold Oss
Clifford Harrison
Donald Whiston
Gerald Kilmartin
James Sedin
John Mulhern
John Noah
Joseph Czarnota
Kenneth Yackel
Len Ceglarski
Richard Desmond
Robert Rompre
Ruben Bjorkman
 Sweden
Göte Almqvist
Hans Andersson-Tvilling
Stig Andersson-Tvilling
Åke Andersson
Lars Björn
Göte Blomqvist
Thord Flodqvist
Erik Johansson
Gösta Johansson
Rune Johansson
Sven "Tumba" Johansson
Åke Lassas
Holger Nurmela
Lars Pettersson
Lars Svensson
Sven Thunman
Hans Öberg

Participating nations

World Championships Group A (Norway)

  • February 15
    • Norway 2–3 USA
    • Sweden 9–2 Finland
    • Czechoslovakia 8–2 Poland
    • Canada 15–1 Germany
  • February 16
    • Switzerland 12–0 Finland
    • USA 8–2 Germany
    • Norway 0–6 Czechoslovakia
    • Sweden 17–1 Poland
  • February 17
    • Norway 2–4 Sweden
    • Czechoslovakia 6–1 Germany
    • Canada 13–3 Finland
    • Switzerland 6–3 Poland
  • February 18
    • USA 8–2 Finland
    • Sweden 7–3 Germany
    • Canada 11–0 Poland
    • Norway 2–7 Switzerland
  • February 19
    • USA 8–2 Switzerland
    • Canada 4–1 Czechoslovakia
  • February 20
    • Norway 2–5 Finland
    • Poland 4–4 Germany
  • February 21
    • Sweden 4–2 USA
    • Norway 2–6 Germany
    • Canada 11–2 Switzerland
    • Czechoslovakia 11–2 Finland
  • February 22
    • USA 5–3 Poland
    • Finland 5–1 Germany
    • Canada 3–2 Sweden
    • Czechoslovakia 8–3 Switzerland
  • February 23
    • USA 6–3 Czechoslovakia
    • Poland 4–2 Finland
    • Norway 2–11 Canada
    • Sweden 5–2 Switzerland
  • February 24
    • Czechoslovakia 4–0 Sweden
    • Canada 3–3 USA
    • Norway 3–4 Poland
    • Switzerland 6–3 Germany

PLAYOFF

  • February 25 *
    • Sweden 5–3 Czechoslovakia

* Sweden and Czechoslovakia were tied with identical record and goal differentials, so a tie breaker game was played.

Final round

Team GP W L T GF GA Pts
 Canada 870171–1415
 United States 861143–2113
 Sweden 862048–1912
 Czechoslovakia 862047–1812
  Switzerland 844040–408
 Poland 825121–565
 Finland 826021–604
 Germany 816121–533
 Norway 808015–460

World Championship Group B (Belgium)

Played in Liege 15–22 March 1952. British manager Johnny Murray won with a roster composed entirely with English players; no Scots or Canadians.[3]

Date Game Result Periods
15 March  France vs.  Netherlands 7–3 1–0, 3–1, 3–2
16 March  Belgium vs.  Italy 1–3 1–0, 0–0, 0–3
16 March  Austria vs.  Netherlands 5–5 1–2, 4–1, 0–2
17 March  Belgium vs.  Great Britain 5–1 4–1, 0–0, 1–0
17 March  Austria vs.  Italy 5–1 1–1, 0–0, 4–0
18 March  Great Britain vs.  Netherlands 8–1 3–0, 3–0, 2–1
18 March  Belgium vs.  France 3–3 0–2, 2–0, 1–1
19 March  Italy vs.  Netherlands 5–3 1–2, 1–0, 3–1
20 March  Great Britain vs.  France 10–0 4–0, 5–0, 1–0
20 March  Belgium vs.  Austria 7–10 2–2, 2–6, 3–2
21 March  Italy vs.  France 14–5 4–1, 5–1, 5–3
21 March  Great Britain vs.  Austria 2–1 0–0, 2–1, 0–0
22 March  Austria vs.  France 11–4 3–0, 0–4, 8–0
22 March  Great Britain vs.  Italy 7–3 2–1, 1–1, 3–1
22 March  Belgium vs.  Netherlands 1–7 1–3, 0–3, 0–1

Table

Place Team GP W T L GF GA Pts
10 Great Britain540128–108
11 Austria531132–197
12 Italy530226–216
13 Netherlands511319–263
14 Belgium511317–243
15 France511319–413

Statistics

Average age

Team Germany was the oldest team in the tournament, averaging 27 years and 10 months. Team Norway was the youngest team in the tournament, averaging 23 years and 9 months. Gold medalists Canada averaged 26 years and 5 months. Tournament average was 25 years and 8 months.[11]

Top scorers

Team GP G A Pts
Billy Gibson 812719

European Championship medal table

 Sweden
 Czechoslovakia
  Switzerland
4 Poland
5 Finland
6 Germany
7 Norway

Citations

  1. "Ice Hockey at the 1952 Oslo Winter Games". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
  2. "International Puck Bodies Widely Split". Winnipeg Free Press. Winnipeg, Manitoba. May 18, 1950. p. 17.
  3. Summary
  4. Duplacey p. 503
  5. "News Bulletins". Lethbridge Herald. Lethbridge, Alberta. January 15, 1952. p. 1.
  6. Findling and Pelle (1996), pp. 254–255
  7. US War Department (1952), pp. 11
  8. "No Rowdyism Says I.I.H.F. Chief Kraatz". Lethbridge Herald. Lethbridge, Alberta. February 22, 1952. p. 18.
  9. "U.S.-Canada Tie Rapped In Russia". Charleston Gazette. Charleston, West Virginia. February 28, 1952. p. 15.; "Reds Suggest Fix Was On". Winnipeg Free Press. Winnipeg, Manitoba. February 28, 1952. p. 23.
  10. "Canuck Pucksters May Not Enter Olympics Again". Fairbanks Daily News Miner. Fairbanks, Alaska. March 6, 1952. p. 2.
  11. "Team Canada - Olympics - Oslo 1952 - Player Stats". QuantHockey. Retrieved 23 April 2020.

References

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