World Cup of Hockey
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- This article is about Ice Hockey. For other hockey World Cups, see World Cup (hockey) for disambiguation.
The World Cup of Hockey is an international ice hockey tournament. Until 1996, the tournament was called the Canada Cup.[citation needed] There is currently no upcoming instalment of this tournament scheduled.
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[edit] History
Alan Eagleson came up with the idea of the Canada Cup in 1966 while painting his home in Parry Sound, Ontario and listening to the FIFA World Cup final on the radio. He said to himself, "if they can do a World Cup for soccer then why not a World Cup for hockey as well?"[citation needed] Following the exciting 1972 Summit Series between Canada and the Soviet Union, interest in a world professional ice hockey championship increased substantially. The Canada Cup would bring together the top hockey-playing countries in the world.
It was held in 1976, 1981, 1984, 1987 and 1991. It featured competition between teams representing Canada, Czechoslovakia, Finland, the Soviet Union, Sweden, the United States, and (in 1984 only, taking the place of Finland) West Germany. All the tournaments were won by Canada except the 1981 tournament, which was won by the Soviet Union. The 1987 event is often called one of the most spectacular in hockey history as #99 Wayne Gretzky and #66 Mario Lemieux combined forces to capture the Canada Cup at Copps Coliseum as Team Canada defeated the Soviets. Canada won that series 2 games to one and all three games ended in 6-to-5 scores, with two games ending in overtime. [1] The 1987 and 1991 finals were both held in Hamilton, Ontario. [1]
In 1996, The Canada Cup officially changed its name to the World Cup of Hockey. The national team of the United States defeated Canada to win the championship. The other competitors were the national teams of the Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Russia, Slovakia, and Sweden. In the 2004 World Cup of Hockey tournament Canada won the championship, after it defeated Finland in the final match and the Czech Republic in the semifinals.
The World Cup of Hockey is not to be confused with the Ice Hockey World Championships, an annual tournament played since 1930 . In particular, the World Cup of Hockey is organized by the National Hockey League and not the International Ice Hockey Federation, with its games played under NHL rules and not those of the IIHF. As well, the World Championships overlap with the NHL playoffs (the second round and beyond of the NHL postseason), so most of the best players are tied to their professional clubs, whereas the World Cup is always during the NHL offseason.
[edit] Results
| Year | Champion | Runner-up | Semi-finalists |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 |  Canada |
 Czechoslovakia |
N/A |
| 1981 |  Soviet Union |
Canada |
Czechoslovakia and  United States |
| 1984 | Canada |
 Sweden |
Soviet Union and United States |
| 1987 | Canada |
Soviet Union |
Czechoslovakia and Sweden |
| 1991 | Canada |
United States |
Sweden and  Finland |
In 1996, the Canada Cup became officially known as the World Cup of Hockey. There was no tournament held in 2000, none schedualed for 2008, and the tournament's future is uncertain.
| Year | Champion | Runner-up | Semi-finalists |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | United States |
Canada |
 Russia and Sweden |
| 2004 | Canada |
Finland |
 Czech Republic and United States |
[edit] Trophy
In 2004, award-winning Canadian architect Frank Gehry designed a new trophy for the tournament. It is made from a composite alloy of copper and nickel as well as solid cast urethane plastic.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Müller, Stephan : International Ice Hockey Encyclopedia 1904-2005 / BoD GmbH Norderstedt, 2005 ISBN 3-8334-4189-5
- Official site of World Cup of Hockey 2004
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