1996 World Cup of Hockey

1996 World Cup of Hockey
Tournament details
Host countries  Canada
 Czech Republic
 Finland
 Germany
 Sweden
 United States
Dates August 26 – September 14, 1996
Teams 8
Venue(s) 9 (in 9 host cities)
Final positions
Champions   United States (1st title)
Tournament statistics
Matches played 19
Goals scored 140 (7.37 per match)
Scoring leader(s) United States Brett Hull (11 pts)
MVP United States Mike Richter
← 1991
2004 →

The first World Cup of Hockey (WCH), or 1996 World Cup of Hockey, replaced the Canada Cup as one of the premier championships for professional ice hockey.

Inaugural World Cup of Hockey

The first edition of the Cup featured eight teams divided into two groups. The European Group, whose games were all played in Europe, included the Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, and Sweden. The North American Group played in North American cities and included Canada, Russia, Slovakia, and the United States. Some of the best players in the world were missing in the tournament, some either declined invitation, such as Dominik Hašek stating "I would love to play in (the competition), but the timing is bad",[1] or because of injuries, as Pavel Bure was injured during a Russia-USA exhibition game in Detroit.

After the teams played a three-game group stage, the top team in each group advanced to the semi-finals, while the second and third place teams played cross-over quarter-finals. The quarter-finals and semi-finals were single elimination games. The championship final was a best-of-three. All playoff games were played in North America.

In the biggest surprise of the tournament, Germany defeated Czech Republic 7-1 in the European Group, which eliminated the Czechs and sent the Germans into the quarter-finals. In the biggest game of the North American Group, USA defeated Canada 5-3 to finish first and get a bye to the semi-finals. In the semis, they defeated Russia 5-2, while Canada beat Sweden 3-2 on Theoren Fleury's goal at 19:47 of the second overtime period, ending the longest game in international hockey history.

The tournament did see some controversy after the Canada-Russia game in Vancouver was played when Sweden's coach Kent Forsberg said he believed "Canada cheated its way to victory" through help of Canadian NHL referees that saw two goals disallowed and several controversial penalties for Russia.[2][3] The Russian's coach Boris Mikhailov echoed a similar sentiment after the game saying "It was the referees' victory", as Team Russia had felt there was "biased officiating".[3][4]

In the best-of-three final, Canada won the first game, in Philadelphia, 4-3 in overtime. Then the USA recorded a memorable pair of 5-2 victories in Montreal to win the series. In the third and decisive game, the US received spectacular goaltending from tournament MVP Mike Richter[5] and rallied from a 2-1 deficit in the third period by scoring four goals in the final 3:18 of the game. Tony Amonte scored the game-winning goal.

Rosters

Venues

North American pool and playoffs
European pool

Results

Exhibition Games

North American pool

Team GP W L T GF GA Dif Pts
 United States 3300198+116
 Canada 32101110+14
 Russia 31201214–22
 Slovakia 3030919–100

Scores

European pool

Team GP W L T GF GA Dif Pts
 Sweden 3300143+116
 Finland 32101711+64
 Germany 31201115–42
 Czech Republic 3030417–130

Scores

Knock-Out Bracket

  Quarterfinals     Semifinals     Finals (Best of 3)
                           
      NA3  Russia 2  
  NA3  Russia 5     NA1  United States 5    
  E2  Finland 0         NA1  United States 3,5,5
      NA2  Canada 4*,2,2
      NA2  Canada 3**    
  E3  Germany 1     E1  Sweden 2  
  NA2  Canada 4  

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Finals

Top scorers

Rk Player GP G A Pts PIM
1 United States Brett Hull 774114
2 United States John LeClair 764106
3 Sweden Mats Sundin 44374
4 United States Doug Weight 734712
5 Canada Wayne Gretzky 83472
6 United States Brian Leetch 70774
7 Canada Paul Coffey 707712
8 Russia Sergei Fedorov 53362
9 Russia Alexander Mogilny 52460
10 United States Keith Tkachuk 751644
11 Canada Theoren Fleury 84268

All-star team

See also

References

  1. ↑ "CNN/SI - Nagano Olympics - Athlete profile: Dominik Hasek - February 3, 1998". Sports Illustrated. 1998-02-03. Retrieved 2013-08-15.
  2. ↑ "Swedish Coach Accuses Canada Of Winning Unfairly". Apnewsarchive.com. 1996-08-31. Retrieved 2013-08-15.
  3. 1 2 "15th Anniversary Memories: 1996 World Cup of Hockey - Philadelphia Flyers - News". Flyers.nhl.com. Retrieved 2013-08-15.
  4. ↑ "Cup Runneth Over For Canada Disallowed Goals Wreck Russians" NY Daily News by Frank Brown, August 30, 1996
  5. ↑ Fleury, Theo; Kirstie McLellan Day (2009). Playing With Fire. HarperCollins. pp. 133–139. ISBN 978-1-55468-239-3.
  6. 1 2 "Ľ189/14/Sports". Friends-partners.org. Retrieved 2013-08-15.
  7. ↑ Joe Lapointe (1996-08-18). "Superpowers Lace Up To Take On the World". New York Times. Retrieved 2013-08-15.
  8. ↑ Joe Lapointe (1996-08-29). "Matchup of Power Players". New York Times. Retrieved 2013-08-15.
  9. ↑ Joe Lapointe (1996-08-25). "Russians Mix and Match for World Cup". New York Times. Retrieved 2013-08-15.
  10. ↑ "Canada beats U.S. in World Cup of Hockey competition". Deseret News. August 21, 1996. p. D5. Retrieved June 13, 2014.
  11. ↑ "Spirited Victory for U.S. High Intensity: The Hits Just Keep on Coming in World Cup of Hockey Exhibition". San Jose Mercury News. August 22, 1996. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
  12. 1 2 "Team USA routs Slovakia in last tuneup for new tournament". The Washington Times. August 26, 1996. Retrieved June 13, 2014.
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