Ice hockey at the 1952 Winter Olympics

Ice hockey at the 1952 Winter Olympics
Tournament details
Host country  Norway
Dates 15–25 February
Teams 9
Venue(s) Jordal Amfi Arena, Dælenenga, Kadettangen, Marienlyst and Lillestrøm
Final positions
Champions   Canada (5th title)
Runner-up   United States
Third place   Sweden
Fourth place  Czechoslovakia
Tournament statistics
Matches played 37
Goals scored 335 (9.05 per match)
Scoring leader(s) Canada Billy Gibson 19 points

The Ice hockey tournament at the 1952 Winter Olympics in Oslo, Norway was mainly played at the Jordal Amfi Arena, as well as the stadiums at Dælenenga (Oslo), Kadettangen (Sandvika), Marienlyst (Drammen) and Lillestrøm (Lillestrøm). The Edmonton Mercurys represented Canada and won the gold medal. The tournament was nearly not played at all. In 1951 it was decided to drop hockey from the olympic program because of the controversies surrounding the 1948 games. However, at the IOC congress in Romania the same year, it was reinstated.[1][2]

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. Canada won their fifth Olympic title, and fifteenth World title. The USA tied their final game against Canada to finish one point ahead of both Sweden and Czechoslovakia, clinching the silver medal. Czechoslovakia and Sweden both finished with six wins and two losses, additionally, they had an equal goal differential of +29. The Czechs 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.[1][2]

The jersey of the Edmonton Mercurys, the gold medal winners.

This would be Canada's last gold medal in men's Olympic ice hockey until the 2002 Winter Olympics when they would again play the United States, 50 years to the day (also a Sunday).

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
Leonard 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

World Championships Group A (Norway)

PLAYOFF

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

Final round

Team Pld W L T GF GA Pts
 Canada 8701711415
 United States 8611432113
 Sweden 8620481912
 Czechoslovakia 8620471812
  Switzerland 844040408
 Poland 825121565
 Finland 826021604
 Germany 816121533
 Norway 808015460

World Championships 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, no Canadians.[1]

Date Matches B World Championships 1952 Result Period.
15 March  France -  Netherlands 7 - 3 1-0,3-1,3-2
16 March  Belgium -  Italy 1 - 3 1-0,0-0,0-3
16 March  Austria -  Netherlands 5 - 5 1-2,4-1,0-2
17 March  Belgium -  Great Britain 5 - 1 4-1,0-0,1-0
17 March  Austria -  Italy 5 - 1 1-1,0-0,4-0
18 March  Great Britain -  Netherlands 8 - 1 3-0,3-0,2-1
18 March  Belgium -  France 3 - 3 0-2,2-0,1-1
19 March  Italy -  Netherlands 5 - 3 1-2,1-0,3-1
20 March  Great Britain -  France 10 - 0 4-0,5-0,1-0
20 March  Belgium -  Austria 7 - 10 2-2,2-6,3-2
21 March  Italy -  France 14 - 5 4-1,5-1,5-3
21 March  Great Britain -  Austria 2 - 1 0-0,2-1,0-0
22 March  Austria -  France 11 - 4 3-0,0-4,8-0
22 March  Great Britain -  Italy 7 - 3 2-1,1-1,3-1
22 March  Belgium -  Netherlands 1 - 7 1-3,0-3,0-1

Table

Place Team Matches Won Drawn Lost Difference Points
10  Great Britain 5 4 0 1 28 - 10 8
11  Austria 5 3 1 1 32 - 19 7
12  Italy 5 3 0 2 26 - 21 6
13  Netherlands 5 1 1 3 19 - 26 3
14  Belgium 5 1 1 3 17 - 24 3
15  France 5 1 1 3 19 - 41 3

Top scorers

Team GP G A Pts
Canada Billy Gibson 812719

European Championship medal table

 Sweden
 Czechoslovakia
  Switzerland
4  Poland
5  Finland
6  West Germany
7  Norway

Citations

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Summary
  2. 2.0 2.1 Duplacey p. 503

References