Ice hockey was introduced to the Olympic Games at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp. The tournament also served as the first World Championships. The matches were played between April 23 and April 29, 1920. Canada, represented by the Winnipeg Falcons, won the gold medal. The silver went to the United States and Czechoslovakia took the bronze.
Summary
The organizing committee for the hockey matches included Paul Loicq, the captain of the Belgian team and a future president of the Ligue Internationale de Hockey sur Glace (LIHG). The games used the Canadian ice hockey rules, and the Bergvall system to determine medal winning teams.
The Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) chose the Winnipeg Falcons as the 1920 Allan Cup champions to represent the Canada men's national team, instead of forming a national all-star team on short notice. Canada's manager W. A. Hewitt, introduced the CAHA rules of play to the LIHG at the Olympics. Writer Andrew Podnieks described Hewitt's interpretation of the rules as "competitive yet gentlemanly", and that the rules of play were accepted for Olympic hockey. Hewitt refereed the first Olympic hockey game played, an 8–0 win by the Sweden men's national team versus the Belgium men's national team, on April 23, 1920.
All matches took place in the Palais de Glace d'Anvers (ice palace of Antwerp).
Scoring leaders
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
! Player !! !!
|-
|style="text-align:left;"| || 4 || 14
|-
|style="text-align:left;"| || 3 || 12
|-
|style="text-align:left;"| || 4 || 10
|-
|style="text-align:left;"| || 3 || 9
|-
|style="text-align:left;"| || 3 || 8
|-
|style="text-align:left;"| || 6 || 7
|-
|style="text-align:left;"| || 1 || 5
|-
|style="text-align:left;"| || 5 || 4
|-
|style="text-align:left;"| || 2 || 3
|-
|style="text-align:left;"| || 3 || 3
|}
<small>Source: olympedia.org</small>
Final ranking
thumb|Winnipeg Falcons team photo at the 1920 Summer Olympics|alt=Black and white photo of eight hockey players in equipment and uniforms standing on an ice rink, with four men in suits and ties
References
Sources
External links
- 1920 Olympic Games report (digitized copy online)
- International Olympic Committee results database
- Olympedia Olympic results database