document_title: Gillette Stadium

question_text: what is the design on the patriots 50 yard line

text: Gillette Stadium

text: History[edit]

text: Foxboro Stadium[edit]

text: From the 1971 NFL season until the 2001 NFL season, the Patriots played all of their home games at Foxboro Stadium. The stadium was privately funded on an extremely small budget and featured few amenities. Its aluminum benches would freeze over during games with cold weather and it had an unorganized dirt parking lot.[18] Foxboro Stadium did not prove to bring in the profit that was needed to keep an NFL team in New England, as it was one of the smallest stadiums in the NFL, with just over 60,000 seats.[19][20] The team had fallen into debt after team executive Chuck Sullivan funded the Jackson Victory Tour, in an attempt to earn more profit for the team. Tickets sales failed, however, and the team's debt increased even further – to a final total of US$126 million.[21] After two unsuccessful owners bought the team and stadium, it was clear that a new stadium had to be built for the team to stay in New England. This is when other cities in the New England area, including Boston (which was previously home to the Patriots and already had a stadium they could, and for a time before Foxboro Stadium opened, did, play in), Hartford, and Providence became interested in building new stadiums to lure the Patriots away from Foxborough.[22]

text: Location discussions[edit]

text: The first major stadium proposal from another city came in September 1993. Lowell Weicker, the Governor of Connecticut, proposed to the Connecticut General Assembly that a new stadium should be built in Hartford to attract the Patriots to move there, stating that a stadium had "potentially great benefit" if it were built. The bill passed in the State Assembly on September 27, 1993.[23]

text: In Massachusetts, there was a proposal to build a "Megaplex" in Boston, which would be the site of the stadium, as well as a new Fenway Park (the home park of the Boston Red Sox) and a much needed convention center. The proposed sites for this hybrid convention center-stadium were along Summer Street in South Boston or at the so-called Crosstown site along Melnea Cass Boulevard in Roxbury, adjacent to Boston's South End. The administration of Massachusetts Governor William Weld pushed for construction of a full "Megaplex" at the crosstown site, with then-new Boston Mayor Thomas Menino favoring construction of a new, stand-alone convention center in South Boston. Ultimately, the residents of neither of these neighborhoods wanted a stadium, and as a result, Menino backed out, fearing that it would affect his chance at re-election.[24] The Fenway Park plan was cancelled after many "Save Fenway Park!" groups popped up to save the historic ballpark.

text: Kraft then began a plan to build a new stadium in South Boston. In that plan, Kraft was to pay for the stadium himself, hoping to win the support of Weld and Menino. He began to sketch designs, but the project was leaked to the press in December 1996. The residents of South Boston objected to a stadium being built in that location, causing Menino and Weld to become angry at Kraft. Kraft abandoned all plans for a Boston Stadium after the affair.[25] In January 1997, Kraft began talks with Providence mayor Vincent Cianci to relocate the team to Providence and build a new stadium there. The proposed 68,000-seat domed stadium would have cost $250 million, and would have been paid through income taxes, public bonds, surcharges on tickets, and private funds. Residents of the neighborhood of the proposed project were extremely opposed to the project because the surrounding area would have needed massive infrastructure improvements. The proposal fell through after a few weeks.[26]

text: During a news conference in September 1998, the team revealed plans to build a new stadium in Foxborough, keeping the team in Massachusetts. It was to be funded by the state as well as Kraft himself. This plan brought more competition from Connecticut, as a $1 billion plan to renovate an area of Hartford, including building a stadium.[27] Kraft then signed an agreement to move the team to Hartford on November 18, 1998. The proposed stadium included 68,000 seats, 60 luxury boxes, and had a projected cost of $375 million.[28] As before in Boston and Providence, construction of the stadium was challenged by the residents. Problems with the site were discovered, and an agreement could not be reached regarding the details of the stadium. The entire plan eventually fell through, enraging then Connecticut governor John G. Rowland, who lobbied hard for the stadium and spent weeks deliberating with Robert Kraft.[29] Rowland announced at a press conference that he was officially "a New York Jets fan, now and probably forever".[30] In 1999, the team officially announced that it would remain in Foxborough, which led to Gillette Stadium's construction.[31] After the Hartford proposal fell through, Robert Kraft paid for 100% of the construction costs, a rare instance of an NFL owner privately financing the construction of a stadium.

text: Design[edit]

text: On April 18, 2000, the team revealed plans for the new stadium in Foxborough.[32] It was announced as a 68,000-seat stadium at a cost of $325 million, with the entire cost privately funded. Boston is thus the only city in professional sports in which all facilities are privately owned and operated. The Patriots own Gillette Stadium, the Red Sox own Fenway Park, and TD Garden is owned by Delaware North (the owner of the Bruins) (the Celtics rent the TD Garden from Delaware North).

text: Concurrently announced was a new road to access the stadium from U.S. Route 1, and an additional 3,000 parking spaces to accommodate the increased number of fans.[32]

text: The stadium was designed by HOK Sport (now Populous). Kraft wanted it modeled on M&T Bank Stadium which had opened in Baltimore, Maryland in 1998. Kraft insisted on it having a "front door" with a Disneyland-like entrance. Populous went through 200 designs before coming up with one that Kraft liked.[33] The entrance includes a lighthouse (which was originally designed to shoot a light 2 miles (3.2 km) high) and a bridge modeled on Boston's Longfellow Bridge.[34] The lighthouse and bridge are now featured on the stadium's logo.

text: For the first eight years of its existence the stadium used a video display, with a smaller LED scoreboard just beneath it, at each end of the field. The south side also had a large LED scoreboard in addition to the smaller one. In 2010, the stadium installed two new high definition Daktronics video displays to replace the entire previous setup at both ends.[35] At the time of their construction, the larger screen, at 41.5 feet tall and 164 feet wide (12.6 m x 50.0 m), was the second-largest video monitor in any NFL stadium; only AT&T Stadium had a larger one.[36]

text: Gillette Stadium ranks first among all NFL venues in stadium food safety with a 0% critical violations.[37] The Gillette Stadium food service, instead of being outsourced like most NFL teams, is run in-house and is led by the Patriots executive director of foods and beverage David Wheeler.[38]

text: Events[edit]

text: NFL[edit]

text: The venue has hosted the NFL's nationally–televised primetime season–opening games in 2004, 2005, 2015, and 2017 (when the Patriots unveiled their championship banners from Super Bowl XXXVIII, XXXIX, XLIX and LI). The stadium also played host to the 2003 AFC Championship Game, in which the Patriots defeated the Indianapolis Colts 24–14. Eight days earlier the Patriots hosted the coldest game (4 °F, −12 °F wind chill) in New England Patriots history in the AFC Divisional Playoff game when the Patriots defeated the Tennessee Titans, 17–14.[39] Gillette Stadium also hosted the 2007 AFC Championship Game, with the Patriots defeating the San Diego Chargers, 21–12.

text: On January 10, 2010, the Baltimore Ravens beat the Patriots 33–14 here giving the Patriots their first home loss in the playoffs in Gillette Stadium. The Patriots suffered their second home playoff loss on January 16, 2011 in a 28–21 New York Jets victory. During the 2012 NFL playoffs, the Patriots defeated the Denver Broncos, 45–10, and again hosted the AFC Championship, where they won against the Baltimore Ravens, 23–20. The following year, they again hosted the AFC Championship game, where they lost 28–13 to the Baltimore Ravens. During the 2015 NFL playoffs, the Patriots avenged their previous defeat by the Baltimore Ravens by edging the Ravens 35-31. They then defeated the Indianapolis Colts, 45-7 in the AFC Championship. The stadium hosted its sixth AFC Championship game during the 2016 playoffs, as the Patriots defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 36–17. In all, the Patriots are 16–3 at Gillette Stadium in the playoffs.

text: College football[edit]

text: As part of the UMass football program's move to Division I FBS, the Minutemen played all of their home games at Gillette Stadium for the 2012 and 2013 seasons. The stadium is 95 miles away from the UMass campus in Amherst—the longest trip of any FBS member. The Minutemen's on-campus stadium, Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium, was not suitable for FBS football in its previous configuration. Its small size (17,000 seats) would have made it prohibitively difficult to meet FBS average attendance requirements, and its press box and replay facilities were well below Mid-American Conference standards. Additionally, several nonconference teams would not even consider playing games in Amherst. McGuirk Stadium was renovated to FBS standards for the 2014 season, but the Minutemen's current deal with the Kraft Group calls for the Minutemen to play four of their home games in Foxborough from 2014 to 2016 in exchange for keeping part of the revenue from ticket sales.[40][41] Moving forward, Gillette will continue to host UMass football with those games of anticipated larger attendance.

text: Hockey[edit]

text: Gillette Stadium also hosted the eighth edition of the NHL Winter Classic, between the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens, on January 1, 2016.[42]

text: Notable soccer games[edit]

text: Memorable Major League Soccer playoff victories include wins over the Chicago Fire in the 2005 and 2007 Eastern Conference Final, sending the Revs to the MLS Cup. Additionally, the venue hosted MLS Cup 2002, four games of the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup, and some Copa America Centenario matches in 2016.

text: International soccer matches[edit]

text:
Date
Winning Team
Result
Losing Team
Tournament
Spectators

September 27, 2003
 Norway
7–1
 South Korea
2003 FIFA Women's World Cup First Round
14,356

 Canada
3–1
 Japan

October 1, 2003
 United States
1–0
 Norway
2003 FIFA Women's World Cup Quarterfinals
25,103

 Sweden
2–1
 Brazil

June 10, 2016
 Chile
2–1
 Bolivia
Copa América Centenario Group D
19,392

June 12, 2016
 Peru
1–0
 Brazil
Copa América Centenario Group B
36,187

June 18, 2016
 Argentina
4–1
 Venezuela
Copa América Centenario Quarterfinal
59,183

text: Concerts[edit]

text:
Date
Artist
Opening act(s)
Tour / Concert name
Attendance
Gross
Notes

September 5, 2002
The Rolling Stones
The Pretenders
The Licks Tour
—
—

July 6, 2003
Metallica
Limp Bizkit
LINKIN PARK
Deftones
Mudvayne
The Summer Sanitarium Tour
42,898 / 48,600
$3,217,350

August 1, 2003
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
—
The Rising Tour
96,108 / 98,559
$7,107,215

August 2, 2003

July 24, 2004
Toby Keith
Montgomery Gentry
Jo Dee Messina
Gretchen Wilson
Scotty Emerick
Don Campbell Band
The Big Throwdown Tour
39,717 / 41,354
$2,850,279

July 23, 2005
Kenny Chesney
Keith Urban
Gretchen Wilson
Uncle Kracker
Pat Green
The Somewhere in the Sun Tour
50,860 / 50,860
$3,263,448

September 3, 2005
Green Day
Jimmy Eat World
Against Me!
The American Idiot Tour
26,781 / 43,615
$1,006,421

July 16, 2006
Kenny Chesney
Dierks Bentley
Big & Rich
Carrie Underwood
Gretchen Wilson
The Road and The Radio Tour
55,124 / 55,124
$4,136,945

July 27, 2006
Bon Jovi
Nickelback
The Have a Nice Day Tour
45,874 / 45,874
$3,384,804

September 20, 2006
The Rolling Stones
Kanye West
A Bigger Bang Tour
44,115 / 45,285
$4,042,193

July 28, 2007
Kenny Chesney
Brooks & Dunn
Sugarland
Sara Evans
Pat Green
The Flip-Flop Summer Tour
56,926 / 56,926
$4,496,363

July 26, 2008
Kenny Chesney
Keith Urban
LeAnn Rimes
Gary Allan
Sammy Hagar
The Poets and Pirates Tour
57,394 / 57,394
$5,274,364

July 18, 2009
Elton John
Billy Joel
—
Face to Face 2009
52,007 / 52,007
$6,209,342

July 28, 2009
AC/DC
Anvil
The Black Ice World Tour
—
—

August 15, 2009
Kenny Chesney
Sugarland
Montgomery Gentry
Miranda Lambert
Lady Antebellum
The Sun City Carnival Tour
57,890 / 57,890
$5,041,001

September 20, 2009
U2
Snow Patrol
The U2 360° Tour
138,805 / 138,805
$12,859,778

September 21, 2009

June 5, 2010
Taylor Swift
Kellie Pickler
Gloriana
Justin Bieber
The Fearless Tour
56,868 / 56,868
$3,726,157
Swift became the first woman to headline the stadium.[43]

June 13, 2010
Eagles
Dixie Chicks
Keith Urban
The Long Road Out of Eden Tour
26,433 / 41,582
$2,822,410

July 24, 2010
Bon Jovi
Kid Rock
The Circle Tour
51,138 / 51,138
$4,418,585

August 21, 2010
Brad Paisley
Jason Aldean
Darius Rucker
Sara Evans
Easton Corbin
The H2O Tour
51,107 / 51,107
$3,476,779

June 25, 2011
Taylor Swift
Needtobreathe
Randy Montana
James Wesley
The Speak Now World Tour
110,800 / 110,800
$8,026,350

June 26, 2011

August 26, 2011
Kenny Chesney
Zac Brown Band
Billy Currington
Uncle Kracker
The Goin' Coastal Tour
106,755 / 106,755
$9,228,920

August 27, 2011

August 18, 2012
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
—
The Wrecking Ball World Tour
49,621 / 50,000
$4,548,896

August 24, 2012
Kenny Chesney
Tim McGraw
Grace Potter and the Nocturnals
Jake Owen
The Brothers of the Sun Tour
111,209 / 111,209
$9,926,110

August 25, 2012

July 20, 2013
Bon Jovi
The J. Geils Band
The Because We Can Tour
45,912 / 45,912
$3,514,571

July 26, 2013
Taylor Swift
Ed Sheeran
Austin Mahone
Joel Crouse
The Red Tour
110,712 / 110,712
$9,464,063
At the first show, Carly Simon was the special guest.[44]

July 27, 2013

August 23, 2013
Kenny Chesney
Eric Church
Eli Young Band
Kacey Musgraves
The No Shoes Nation Tour
109,207 / 109,207
$9,465,256

August 24, 2013

May 31, 2014
George Strait
Tim McGraw
Faith Hill
Cassadee Pope
The Cowboy Rides Away Tour
55,863 / 55,863
$5,005,789

June 15, 2014
Iggy Azalea
—
The New Classic Tour
—
—
This concert was part of 103.3 AMP Radio Birthday Bash[45]

July 1, 2014
Beyoncé
Jay-Z
—
The On the Run Tour
52,802 / 52,802
$5,738,114
Jay-Z became the first rapper to headline the stadium.[46]

August 7, 2014
One Direction
5 Seconds of Summer
The Where We Are Tour
148,251 / 148,251
$13,475,239

August 8, 2014

August 9, 2014

August 10, 2014
Luke Bryan
Dierks Bentley
Lee Brice
Cole Swindell
The That's My Kind of Night Tour
56,048 / 56,048
$4,349,568

July 24, 2015
Taylor Swift
Vance Joy
Shawn Mendes
Haim
The 1989 World Tour
116,849 / 116,849
$12,533,166
Walk the Moon was the special guest.[47]

July 25, 2015
MKTO was the special guest.[48]

August 22, 2015
AC/DC
Vintage Trouble
Rock or Bust World Tour
48,000 / 50,000
—

August 28, 2015
Kenny Chesney
Jason Aldean
Brantley Gilbert
Cole Swindell
Old Dominion
The Big Revival Tour
The Burn It Down Tour
120,206 / 120,206
$11,624,917

August 29, 2015

September 12, 2015
One Direction
Icona Pop
The On the Road Again Tour
48,167 / 48,167
$4,493,993
Liam Payne and Niall Horan, respectively, made a cover of "22" by Taylor Swift, because of the 22nd birthday of both.

September 25, 2015
Ed Sheeran
Passenger
Christina Perri
The x Tour
51,996 / 54,000
$3,234,377

June 3, 2016
Beyoncé
DJ Khaled
The Formation World Tour
48,304 / 48,304
$6,008,698

July 15, 2016
Luke Bryan
Little Big Town
Chris Stapleton
Dustin Lynch
The Kill the Lights Tour
76,450 / 87,871
$7,511,536

July 16, 2016

July 19, 2016
Guns N' Roses
Lenny Kravitz
The Not In This Lifetime... Tour
65,472 / 71,099
$8,302,575

July 20, 2016

July 30, 2016
Coldplay
Alessia Cara
Foxes
A Head Full of Dreams Tour
54,952 / 54,952
$6,530,260

August 26, 2016
Kenny Chesney
Miranda Lambert
Sam Hunt
Old Dominion
The Spread the Love Tour
121,399 / 121,399
$11,455,368

August 27, 2016

September 14, 2016
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
—
The River Tour
48,324 / 51,664
$5,439,521

May 19, 2017
Metallica
Volbeat
Mix Master Mike
The WorldWired Tour
47,778 / 48,905
$6,095,723

June 25, 2017
U2
The Lumineers
The Joshua Tree Tour 2017
55,231 / 55,231
$6,881,340

August 4, 2017
Coldplay
AlunaGeorge
Izzy Bizu
A Head Full of Dreams Tour
52,188 / 52,188
$6,263,906

August 25, 2017
Kenny Chesney
Thomas Rhett
Old Dominion
Midland
The No Shoes Nation Tour 2017
121,642 / 121,642
$12,095,688

August 26, 2017

July 26, 2018
Taylor Swift
Camila Cabello
Charli XCX
Taylor Swift's Reputation Stadium Tour
TBA
TBA

July 27, 2018

July 28, 2018

August 5, 2018
Beyoncé & Jay-Z
—
On The Run II Tour
TBA
TBA

August 24, 2018
Kenny Chesney
Dierks Bentley
Brothers Osborne
Brandon Lay
The Trip Around The Sun Tour
TBA
TBA

August 25, 2018

September 15, 2018
Ed Sheeran
TBA
÷ Tour
TBA
TBA

text: Other events[edit]

text: Gillette Stadium hosted the NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championships in 2008, 2009, 2012, and 2017.

text: The AMA Supercross Championship has been racing at Gillette Stadium since 2016.[citation needed]

text: Monster Jam has been coming to the stadium since 2014.

text: Playing surface[edit]

text: On November 14, 2006, two days after a rainstorm contributed to the deterioration of the grass surface in a Patriots game against the Jets, team management decided to replace the natural grass surface with a synthetic surface, FieldTurf. The Patriots' first game on the surface was a victory over the previously 9–1 Chicago Bears on November 26. At the conclusion of the 2007 season, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady had a career record of 31–3 on artificial turf. The team lost a preseason matchup in August 2007 to the Tennessee Titans on the new FieldTurf but otherwise won its first eleven regular-season and playoff games on the surface covering the period of November 2006 until September 2008, when the Patriots lost to the Miami Dolphins.

text: In February 2010, the surface was pulled and upgraded to FieldTurf "Duraspine Pro", which was expected to meet FIFA standards that the previous turf did not, preventing the team from having to place sod on top of their turf to host international soccer matches.[49]

text: The surface was upgraded again in April 2014 to FieldTurf "Revolution" with "VersaTile" drainage system. The FieldTurf Revolution product is currently used at many venues across North America, including CenturyLink Field (home to the NFL's Seattle Seahawks and MLS's Seattle Sounders) and Providence Park, home of the MLS's Portland Timbers, where its installation was recently completed.[50]

text: Field logo[edit]

text: When the field is configured for American football, the Patriots have their "Flying Elvis" logo painted on the field at dead center of the 50-yard line. Off to both sides along the 50-yard line, the Gillette Stadium logo is also painted on the field. This is a gray-and-yellow stylized representation of the bridge and tower at the north entrance of the stadium.

text: Patriot Place[edit]

text: In 2006, the Patriots and Kraft announced plans to build a "super regional lifestyle and entertainment center" in the area around Gillette Stadium named Patriot Place.[51][52] The cost of the project was $350 million, more than the cost to build Gillette Stadium itself; Kraft had purchased much of the surrounding land, about 700 acres (280 ha), when he bought Foxboro Stadium in the late 1980s.[53]

text: The first phase of the project opened in fall of 2007,[54] and featured the first Bass Pro Shops in New England, as well as Circuit City (now closed), Bed Bath & Beyond, Five Guys Burgers, Christmas Tree Shops, and Staples.[53] In December 2007, the Patriots and CBS announced plans to build a themed restaurant and nightclub, named "CBS Scene", at the site, which would also include studios for CBS-owned WBZ-TV.[55] The restaurant was part of the second phase of the project, which included an open mall, a health center, a Cinema de Lux movie theater, a four-star Renaissance hotel, and "The Hall at Patriot Place." Attached to Gillette Stadium, the Hall includes a two-level interactive museum honoring the Patriots accomplishments and Super Bowl championships, plus the Patriots Pro Shop.[56] The first restaurants and stores in phase two began opening in July 2008, and were followed by the openings of the Hall at Patriot Place and the CBS Scene in time for the beginning of the 2008 New England Patriots season. More locations, including the health center and hotel, opened in 2009, along with additional sites in phase one.


document_title: Ice hockey at the Olympic Games

question_text: where was the first olympic hockey game held

question_tokens: where was the first olympic hockey game held

root

text: Ice hockey at the Olympic Games

text: Inception as an Olympic sport[edit]

text: The first Olympic ice hockey tournament took place at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium.[3] At the time, organized international ice hockey was still relatively new.[4] The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), the sport's governing body, was created on May 15, 1908, under the name Ligue Internationale de Hockey sur Glace.[5] At the 1914 Olympic Congress in Paris, ice hockey was added to the list of optional sports that Olympics organizers could include.[6] The decision to include ice hockey for the 1920 Summer Olympics was made in January, three months before the start of the Games.[7] Several occurrences led to the sport's inclusion in the programme. Five European nations had committed to participating in the tournament and the managers of Antwerp's Palais de Glace stadium refused to allow the building to be used for figure skating unless ice hockey was included.[7] The IIHF considers the 1920 tournament to be the first Ice Hockey World Championship. From then on, the two events occurred concurrently, and every Olympic tournament until 1968 is counted as the World Championship.[8] The Olympic Games were originally intended for amateur athletes, so the players of the National Hockey League (NHL) and other professional leagues were not allowed to play.[9]

tag: p

text: The first Winter Olympic Games were held in 1924 in Chamonix, France.[10] Chapter 1, article 6, of the 2007 edition of the Olympic Charter defines winter sports as "sports which are practised on snow or ice".[11] Ice hockey and figure skating were permanently integrated in the Winter Olympics programme.[12] The IOC made the Winter Games a permanent fixture and they were held the same year as the Summer Games until 1992. Following that, further Winter Games have been held on the third year of each Olympiad.[13]

text: Events[edit]

text: Men's tournament[edit]

text: 1920 Summer Olympics[edit]

text: The men's tournament held at the 1920 Summer Olympics was organized by a committee that included future IIHF president Paul Loicq. The tournament used the Bergvall System, in which three rounds were played.[14] The first round was an elimination tournament that determined the gold medal winner. The second round consisted of the teams that were defeated by the gold medal winner; the winner of that round was awarded the silver medal. The final round was played between teams that had lost to the gold or silver medal winners; the winner of that round received the bronze medal.[15]

text: The tournament was played from April 23 to April 29 and seven teams participated: Canada, Czechoslovakia, the United States, Switzerland, Sweden, France and Belgium. Canada chose to send the Allan Cup-winning Winnipeg Falcons. The Americans began a tournament to determine their representative team but abandoned it, deciding instead to send an all-star team that included four Canadian-born players. The Swedish team consisted of mostly bandy players, many of whom had only started playing hockey in preparation for the tournament.[15] Canada won all three of the team's games in the first round and won the gold medal, defeating Sweden in the final and outscoring opponents 27–1.[16] In the two subsequent rounds, the United States and Czechoslovakia won the silver and bronze medals respectively.[17] The Bergvall System was criticized, especially in Sweden, because the Swedish team had to play six games (winning three) while the bronze medal winning Czech team only had to play three (winning one). Erik Bergvall, the creator of the system, stated that it was used incorrectly and that a tournament of all of the losing teams from the first round should have been played for the silver medal.[15] Because of these criticisms, the Bergvall System was not used again for ice hockey.[15]

text: In 1924, the tournament was played in a round-robin format, consisting of a preliminary round and a medal round. The medals were awarded based on win–loss records during the medal round.[18] This format was used until 1988, although the number of teams and games played varied slightly. The Toronto Granites, representing Canada, became one of the dominant hockey teams in Olympic history, outscoring opponents 110–3, led by Harry Watson, who scored 36 goals.[19] The United States won silver and Great Britain won bronze.[20] Watson's 36 goals remains the tournament record for career goals. He also set the record for career points with 36 (assists were not counted at the time), which stood until 2010.[21]

text: Eleven teams participated in the 1928 Winter Olympics in St. Moritz, Switzerland. The Canadian team was given a bye to the medal round and won all of its games by a combined score of 38–0.[22] The Swedish and Swiss teams won their first medals—silver and bronze respectively—and a German team participated for the first time, finishing ninth.[23] At the 1932 Winter Olympics, Canada won gold in a tournament that consisted of four teams that played each other twice.[24] Germany won bronze, the nation's first medal in the sport.[25]

text: Two days before the 1936 Winter Olympics in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, Canadian officials protested that two players on the British team—James Foster and Alex Archer—had played in Canada but transferred without permission to play for clubs in the English National League. The IIHF agreed with Canada, but Great Britain threatened to withdraw the team if the two were barred from competing. To avoid a conflict, Canada withdrew the protest shortly before the Games began. The tournament consisted of four groups and fifteen teams. Great Britain became the first non-Canadian team to win gold; Canada won silver and the United States bronze.[26] World War II forced the cancellation of the 1940 and 1944 Winter Olympics.[27]

text: During the run-up to the 1948 Winter Olympics in St. Moritz, Switzerland, a conflict broke out between two American ice hockey bodies, the American Hockey Association (AHA) and the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU). The AAU, which had run amateur hockey in the United States since 1930, was expelled by the IIHF in 1947 when it refused to support a team composed of players from the AHA. The AAU stated that the AHA players were "openly paid salaries"; at the time, the Olympics were strictly for amateur players.[28] The Swiss Olympic Organizing Committee (SOOC) had accepted the AHA's application, but Avery Brundage of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) threatened to withdraw the entire American team if the AHA participated in the Olympics. The IIHF countered by threatening to withdraw hockey from the Games if the AHA were banned. The IOC suggested that both American teams be banned but the SOOC rejected this proposal. The IOC decided to switch hockey to an unofficial event but relented when a compromise was reached. The AHA team was allowed to compete but would not be considered an official participant or allowed to win a medal. The AHA team finished fourth in the standings.[28][29][30] Both Czechoslovakia and Canada won seven games and tied when they played each other. The gold medal winner was determined by goal difference: Canada won the gold because it had an average of 13.8 goals per game compared to Czechoslovakia's average of 4.3.[31] Czechoslovakia's team was quickly improving; it won the 1947 and 1949 World Championships.[32]

text: At the 1952 Winter Olympics in Oslo, Norway, the gold medal was won by Canada's team for the second consecutive Games. It would be the last time that a Canadian team would win a gold medal in hockey for 50 years.[33] The United States won silver and Sweden won bronze. A team from Finland competed for the first time.[34]

text: The Soviet Union competed in its first World Championship in 1954, defeating Canada and winning the gold medal.[35] At the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, the Soviet team went undefeated and won its first gold medal. Canada's team lost to the Soviets and the United States in the medal round, winning the bronze.[35] The 1960 Winter Olympics, in Squaw Valley, United States, saw the first, and to date only, team from Australia compete in the tournament. Canada, the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia and Sweden were the top four teams heading into the Games, but were all defeated by the American team, which won all seven games en route to its first Olympic gold medal. Canada won the silver medal and the Soviet Union won the bronze.[36]

text: At the 1964 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria, the Soviet team won all seven of its games, earning the gold medal. Canada finished the tournament with five wins and two losses, putting the team in a three-way tie for second place with Sweden and Czechoslovakia. Before 1964, the tie-breaking procedure was based on goal difference in games against teams in the medal round; under that system, Canada would have placed third ahead of the Czechoslovakian team. During the tournament the procedure was changed to take all games into consideration, which meant that the Canadians finished fourth.[37] At the time, the Olympics counted as the World Championships; under their (unchanged) rules, Canada should have received bronze for the World Championships.[38][39][40]

text: The Soviet Union won its third gold medal with a 7-1 record in the 1968 Grenoble Olympics. Czechoslovakia and Canada won the silver and bronze medals.[41] It was the last time that the Olympics were counted as the World Championships. In 1970, Canada withdrew from international ice hockey competition protesting the use of full-time "amateurs" by the Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia,[42][43][44] and the team did not participate in the 1972 and 1976 Winter Olympics.[44] Led by goaltender Vladislav Tretiak and forwards Valeri Kharlamov, Alexander Yakushev, Vladimir Petrov and Boris Mikhailov, the Soviet team won gold at both the 1972 Games in Sapporo, Japan and 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria.[45] In 1971, the United States finished last at the World Championships and was relegated to Pool B. The team qualified for the 1972 Olympics and won silver, making it the first Pool B team to win an Olympic medal.[46] Czechoslovakia won the bronze medal in 1972.[47] In 1976, Czechoslovakia won the silver and West Germany won bronze.[48] Along with Canada, the Swedish team did not participate in the 1976 tournament joining the boycott.[49]

text: 1980: The "Miracle on Ice"[edit]

text: The Winter Olympics returned to Lake Placid, New York in 1980. Twelve teams participated in the tournament, including Canada for the first time since 1968. The Soviet Union entered the tournament as favourites and were considered natural rivals with the American team due to the Cold War.[51] The Americans, coached by Herb Brooks and consisting mainly of college students, tied Sweden and scored an upset win over Czechoslovakia in the preliminary round. They advanced to the medal round along with Sweden, Finland and the Soviet Union.[51]

text: The February 22 medal-round game between the Soviet Union and the United States became famously known as the "Miracle on Ice." The Soviets took a 2–1 lead, but the Americans tied the game with one second left in the first period.[52] In the second period, Soviet goaltender Vladislav Tretiak was replaced by Vladimir Myshkin.[51] The Soviets regained the lead early in the second period. However, the Americans kept the game close due to the goaltending of Jim Craig. In the third period, the Americans scored two goals, including the game winner by captain Mike Eruzione with exactly 10 minutes left to give the Americans a 4–3 lead.[52] Craig withstood another series of Soviet shots to preserve the win. In the final seconds of the game, American Broadcasting Company sportscaster Al Michaels delivered his famous line: "Do you believe in miracles? Yes!"[51][53]

text: The final rankings were based on points accumulated in matches against the other teams in the medal round. Despite the common misconception that the Americans won gold the night they beat the Soviets, this did not occur until February 24 when they defeated Finland 4–2 and finished the tournament undefeated.[54] The Soviets finished with silver; Sweden won the bronze. In 2008, the IIHF picked the Miracle on Ice as the top international hockey story of the past 100 years.[51]

text: At the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia, the Soviet Union won its sixth gold medal. Czechoslovakia and Sweden won the silver and bronze medals.[55] The 1988 Winter Olympics were held in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, where the Soviet team captured its seventh and final gold medal. The Soviets' last Olympic game was a loss to Finland. The Finnish team was not considered a serious medal contender—it had competed in the World Championships since 1939 and had not won a single medal. However, Finland upset the Soviets 2–1 and won silver.[56] The IIHF decided to change the tournament format because in several cases, the gold medal winner had been decided before the final day of play. During a congress in 1990, the IIHF introduced a playoff system.[57] The new system was used at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France. Preliminary round-robin games were held and followed by an eight-team cup-system style medal round that culminated in a gold medal game.[8]

text: Before 1989, players who lived in the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, and other nations behind the Iron Curtain were not allowed to leave and play in the NHL.[59] Soviet officials agreed to allow players to leave following the 1989 World Championships.[60] Many of the Soviet Union's top players left to play in the NHL, including the entire "Green Unit"—Igor Larionov, Viacheslav Fetisov, Vladimir Krutov, Sergei Makarov and Alexei Kasatonov.[61] The Soviet Union dissolved in December 1991. Nine former Soviet states became part of the IIHF and started competing internationally, including Belarus, Kazakhstan, Latvia and Ukraine.[62] At the 1992 Olympics, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia, Ukraine and Uzbekistan competed as one entity, known as the Unified Team.[63] In the final, the Unified Team defeated Canada to win gold while Czechoslovakia won the bronze.[63]

text: Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia in January 1993. The IIHF recognized the Czech Republic as the successor to Czechoslovakia, allowing the team to retain its position in the top World Championship division, while Slovakia started in the lowest division (Pool C) in 1994 and was forced to work its way up.[64] Both nations competed in the tournament at the 1994 Winter Olympics, as did Russia. Slovakia and Finland both finished the preliminary round undefeated. Slovakia lost their medal round quarter-final game to Russia 2–3 OT, who later lost to Sweden 3–4 in the semi-final and Finland (who was defeated by Canada in the another semi-final) 0–4 in the bronze medal game. In the gold medal game between Sweden and Canada, both teams finished regulation and overtime play with a 2–2 tie. In the resulting shootout, the first in Olympic competition,[65] both nations scored two goals, which resulted in a sudden death shootout. Peter Forsberg of Sweden scored one of the most famous goals in Olympic history by faking a forehand shot, then sliding a one-handed backhand shot past goaltender Corey Hirsch.[66][67][68] Canada's final shooter Paul Kariya's shot was saved by Tommy Salo and Sweden won the game and its first gold medal.[69]

text: In 1995, an agreement to allow NHL players to participate in Olympics was reached between the IOC, IIHF, NHL, and National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA).[70] The format of the 1998 tournament was adjusted to accommodate the NHL's schedule. Canada, considered a pre-tournament favourite, was upset in the semi-final round by the Czech Republic and then lost the bronze medal game to Finland.[71] Led by goaltender Dominik Hašek, the Czech team defeated Russia, winning its first gold medal in the sport.[9] Following the tournament, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman commented that it "was what we had predicted and hoped for from a pure hockey perspective, [it was] a wonderful tournament".[72]

text: The next tournament format was hosted at in Salt Lake City, United States. Finnish centre Raimo Helminen became the first ice hockey player to compete in six tournaments.[58] In the quarter-finals, Belarus defeated Sweden in one of the biggest upsets since the Miracle on Ice.[73][74] The team lost to Canada 7-1 in the semi-final and Russia 7-2 in the bronze medal game, respectively.[75] The Canadian team rebounded from a disappointing first round and defeated the American team (who eliminated Russia 3–2 in the semi-final) in the gold medal game, winning their first gold medal in 50 years and seventh in men's hockey overall.[76]

text: The tournament format was adjusted for 2006. In the semi-finals, Sweden defeated the Czech Republic 7–3, and Finland ousted Russia 4–0. Sweden won the gold medal over Finland 3–2 and the Czech Republic won the bronze medal over Russia 3–0. Three months later, Sweden won the 2006 World Championships and became the first team to win the Olympic and World Championship gold in the same year.[77]

text: The 2010 Winter Olympics were held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, the first time since NHL players started competing that the Olympics were held in a city with an NHL team. Teemu Selänne of Finland scored his 37th point, breaking the record of 36 first set by Canadian Harry Watson in 1924 and later tied by Vlastimil Bubník of Czechoslovakia, and Valeri Kharlamov of the Soviet Union.[21] Slovakia made the final four for the first time, but lost the bronze medal game to Finland 3–5.[78] In the gold medal game, Canada and the United States ended regulation play with a 2–2 tie, making it only the second Olympic gold medal match to go into overtime. Canadian player Sidney Crosby scored the winning goal 7:40 into overtime play to give Canada its eighth gold medal in men's hockey.[79]

text: The 2014 Winter Olympics were held in Sochi, Russia, and retained the same game format used in Vancouver 2010, while returning to the larger international-sized ice rinks.[80] Slovenia participated for the first time, upsetting Slovakia in the round-robin before losing to Sweden in the quarterfinals 0–5, for its best finish in any international tournament.[81] Latvia upset Switzerland 3–1 in the qualification playoffs, also making it to the Olympic quarterfinals for the first time, where they were narrowly defeated by Canada 2–1.[82] Host nation Russia, considered a pre-tournament favourite, lost 3–1 in the quarterfinals to Finland and finished 5th.[83] Entering the semi-finals undefeated after outscoring opponents 20–6, the United States lost to Canada 0–1, then lost the bronze medal game against Finland 0–5. Teemu Selänne scored six more points in the tournament, was named tournament MVP and boosted his modern-era Olympic career record for points to 43 (24 goals, 19 assists). At the age of 43, he also set records as both the oldest Olympic goal-scorer and oldest Olympic ice hockey medal winner.[84] Canada defeated Sweden 3–0 to win its ninth Olympic gold medal. The team did not trail at any point over the course of the tournament, and became the first back-to-back gold medal winner since the start of NHL participation in 1998, as well as the first team to go undefeated since 1984.[85]

text: Women's tournament[edit]

text: Addition to the programme[edit]

text: At the 99th IOC Session in July 1992, the IOC voted to approve women's hockey as an Olympic event beginning with the 1998 Winter Olympics as part of their effort to increase the number of female athletes at the Olympics.[88] Women's ice hockey had not been in the programme when Nagano, Japan had won the right to host the Olympics in June 1991, and the decision required approval by the Nagano Winter Olympic Organizing Committee (NAOOC). The NAOOC was initially hesitant to include the event because of the additional costs of staging the tournament and because they felt their team, which had failed to qualify for that year's World Championships, could not be competitive.[89] According to Glynis Peters, the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association's (CAHA) head of female hockey, "the Japanese would have to finance an entirely new sports operation to bring their team up to Olympic standards in six years, which they were also really reluctant to do."[90] In November 1992, the NWOOC and IOC Coordination Committee reached an agreement to include a women's ice hockey tournament in the programme.[89] Part of the agreement was that the tournament would be limited to six teams, and no additional facilities would be built. The CAHA also agreed to help build and train the Japanese team so that it could be more competitive.[90] The IOC had agreed that if the NAOOC had not approved the event, it would be held at the 2002 Winter Olympics.[89] The format of the first tournament was similar to the men's: preliminary round-robin games followed by a medal round playoff.[91]

text: Before 1998, women's hockey had been dominated by Canada. Canadian teams had won every World Championship up to that point; however, by 1997, the American team had improved and was evenly matched with Canada. In thirteen games played between the two teams in 1997, Canada won seven and the United States won six. The 1998 Olympic tournament also included teams from Finland, Sweden, China and host Japan. Canada and the United States dominated the round-robin portion. In their head-to-head match, the United States overcame a 4–1 deficit to win 7–4.[92] The two teams met in the final, which the United States won 3–1 to become the third American ice hockey team to win Olympic gold. Finland defeated China 4–1 to win the bronze medal.[93]

text: For the 2002 Winter Olympics, the number of teams was increased to eight with Russia, Germany and Kazakhstan qualifying for the first time.[94] The Canadian and American teams went undefeated in the first round and semi-finals, setting up a gold medal rematch that the Canadian team won 3–2.[95] Following the game, members of the Canadian team accused the Americans of stomping on a Canadian flag in their dressing room, although an investigation later proved the rumour false.[96] The Swedish team won the bronze medal over Finland 2–1, the nation's first in women's ice hockey.[97]

text: In 2006, the American team was upset in the semi-final game, by Sweden 2–3 SO, marking the first time that it had lost to an opponent other than Canada.[98] The upset drew comparisons to the Miracle on Ice from 1980.[99][100] In the medal games, Canada defeated Sweden 4–1 to claim its second consecutive gold medal, while the Americans beat Finland 4–0 to win the bronze.[101][102]

text: In 2010, eight teams participated, including Slovakia for the first time.[103] In the gold medal game, Canada defeated the United States 2–0 to win their third consecutive gold. The Finnish team won the bronze medal over Sweden 3–2 OT, their first since 1998.[104]

text: At the 2014 Winter Olympics, Canada defeated the United States 3–2, as Marie-Philip Poulin scored at 8:10 of overtime to win their fourth consecutive gold, rebounding from a two-nothing deficit late in the game. With the win, Canadians Hayley Wickenheiser, Jayna Hefford and Caroline Ouellette became the first athletes to win four ice hockey gold medals. They also joined Soviet biathlete Alexander Tikhonov and German speedskater Claudia Pechstein as the only athletes to win gold medals in four straight Winter Olympics.[105] In the bronze medal game Switzerland beat Sweden 4–3 to win their first women's medal.[106]

text: Team USA beat Canada at the 2018 games in Pyeongchang in a shootout to win their first gold medal in 20 years.

text: Rules[edit]

text: Qualification[edit]

text: Since 1976, 12 teams have participated in the men's tournament, except in 1998 and 2002, when the number was raised to 14. The number of teams has ranged from 4 (in 1932) to 16 (in 1964). After the NHL allowed its players to compete at the 1998 Winter Olympics, the "Big Six" teams (Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland, Russia, Sweden and the United States) were given automatic qualification and byes to the final round.[107] The number of teams was increased to 14 so that a preliminary round-robin tournament consisting of eight teams could be held. The top two teams from the preliminary round (Belarus and Kazakhstan) joined the "Big Six" in the finals. A similar system was used in 2002.[108] For the following tournament, the number of teams was lowered to 12 so that all teams played fewer games.[109] Qualification for the men's tournament at the 2010 Winter Olympics was structured around the 2008 IIHF World Ranking. Twelve spots were made available for teams. The top nine teams in the World Ranking after the 2008 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships received automatic berths. Teams ranked 19th through 30th played in a first qualification round in November 2008. The top three teams from the round advanced to the second qualification round, joined by teams ranked 10th through 18th. The top three teams from this round advanced to the Olympic tournament.[110][111]

text: The women's tournament uses a similar qualification format. The top six teams in the IIHF Women's World Ranking after the 2008 Women's World Ice Hockey Championships received automatic berths. Teams ranked 13th and below were divided into two groups for a first qualification round in September 2008. The two group winners advanced to the second qualification round, where the teams ranked seventh through twelfth joined them.[112]

text: Players[edit]

text: Eligibility[edit]

text: The IIHF lists the following requirements for a player to be eligible to play in international tournaments:[113]

text:
"Each player must be under the jurisdiction of an IIHF member national association."
"Each player must be a citizen of the country he/she represents."

tag: ul

text: If a player who has never played in an IIHF competition changes their citizenship, they must participate in national competitions in their new country for at least two consecutive years and have an international transfer card (ITC).[113] If a player who has previously played in an IIHF tournament wishes to change their national team, they must have played in their new country for four years. A player can only do this once.[113] The original IOC rules stated that an athlete that had already played for one nation could not later change nations under any circumstances.[7]

text: Use of professional players[edit]

text: Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the IOC, was influenced by the ethos of the aristocracy as exemplified in the English public schools.[114] The public schools subscribed to the belief that sport formed an important part of education and there was a prevailing concept of fairness in which practicing or training was considered cheating.[114] As class structure evolved through the 20th century, the definition of the amateur athlete as an aristocratic gentleman became outdated.[114] The advent of the state-sponsored "full-time amateur athlete" of the Eastern Bloc countries further eroded the ideology of the pure amateur, as it put the self-financed amateurs of the Western countries at a disadvantage. The Soviet Union entered teams of athletes who were all nominally students, soldiers, or working in a profession, but many of whom were in reality paid by the state to train on a full-time basis.[1] Nevertheless, the IOC held to the traditional rules regarding amateurism until 1988.[115]

text: Near the end of the 1960s, the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) felt their amateur players could no longer be competitive against the Soviet team's full-time athletes and the other constantly improving European teams. They pushed for the ability to use players from professional leagues but met opposition from the IIHF and IOC. Avery Brundage, president of the IOC from 1952 to 1972, was opposed to the idea of amateur and professional players competing together. At the IIHF Congress in 1969, the IIHF decided to allow Canada to use nine non-NHL professional hockey players[44] at the 1970 World Championships in Montreal and Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.[116] The decision was reversed in January 1970 after Brundage said that ice hockey's status as an Olympic sport would be in jeopardy if the change was made.[44] In response, Canada withdrew from international ice hockey competition and officials stated that they would not return until "open competition" was instituted.[44][117] Günther Sabetzki became president of the IIHF in 1975 and helped to resolve the dispute with the CAHA. In 1976, the IIHF agreed to allow "open competition" between all players in the World Championships. However, NHL players were still not allowed to play in the Olympics, because of the unwillingness of the NHL to take a break mid-season and the IOC's amateur-only policy.[118]

text: Before the 1984 Winter Olympics, a dispute formed over what made a player a professional. The IOC had adopted a rule that made any player who had signed an NHL contract but played less than ten games in the league eligible. However, the United States Olympic Committee maintained that any player contracted with an NHL team was a professional and therefore not eligible to play. The IOC held an emergency meeting that ruled NHL-contracted players were eligible, as long as they had not played in any NHL games.[119] This made five players on Olympic rosters—one Austrian, two Italians and two Canadians—ineligible. Players who had played in other professional leagues—such as the World Hockey Association—were allowed to play.[119] Canadian hockey official Alan Eagleson stated that the rule was only applied to the NHL and that professionally contracted players in European leagues were still considered amateurs.[120] Murray Costello of the CAHA suggested that a Canadian withdrawal was possible.[121] In 1986, the IOC voted to allow all athletes to compete in the Olympic Games starting in 1988.[122][123]

text: NHL participation[edit]

text: The NHL decided not to allow all players to participate in 1988, 1992, 1994 and 2018 because the Winter Olympics typically occur in February, during the league's regular season. To allow participation, the NHL would have been forced to take a break in its schedule.[124]

text: In 1992, National Basketball Association (NBA) players participated in the 1992 Summer Olympics. The American "Dream Team" dominated the tournament, and NHL commissioner Gary Bettman (an NBA executive in 1992) commented that the "[NBA]'s worldwide awareness grew dramatically". He hoped that NHL participation would "get exposure like the world has never seen for hockey".[70] The typical NBA season is held in the winter and spring, so the Summer Olympics do not conflict with the regular season schedule. Bettman "floated a concept of moving hockey to the Summer Games", but this was rejected because of the Olympic Charter.[70] In March 1995, Bettman, René Fasel, IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch and NHLPA executive director Bob Goodenow met in Geneva, Switzerland. They reached an agreement that allowed NHL players to participate in the Olympics, starting with the 1998 Games in Nagano, Japan.[70] The deal was officially announced by the NHL on October 2, 1995. Bettman said: "We're doing this to build the game of hockey, pure and simple, we think whatever benefits are recouped, it will end up making this game bigger, stronger and healthier."[125]

text: The 2004–05 NHL season was locked out and eventually cancelled because of a labour dispute between the league and its players. In January 2005, Bettman commented that he was hesitant to allow league participation in the Olympics because he did not like the idea of stopping play mid-season after the cancellation of the previous season.[127] The lockout was resolved in July 2005 and the newly negotiated NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement allowed league participation in the 2006 and 2010 Winter Olympics.[128] Some NHL team owners were against their players participating in the tournament because of concerns about injury or exhaustion. Philadelphia Flyers owner Ed Snider commented that "I'm a believer in the Olympics and I think it's good for the NHL to participate, having said that, the people who participate should be the ones who are absolutely healthy."[129] Some NHL players used the break as an opportunity to rest and did not participate in the tournament,[130] and several players were injured during the Olympics and were forced to miss NHL games. Bettman said that several format changes were being discussed so that the tournament would be "a little easier for everybody".[131]

text: It was originally thought that for NHL participating in the 2014 Winter Olympics a deal would have to be negotiated between the NHL and NHLPA in the Collective Bargaining Agreement.[133] In January 2013, the NHL and NHLPA agreed on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement.[134] However, the decision on NHL participation at the Olympics was later announced on 19 July 2013. As part of the deal, the NHL will go on break for 17 days during the Olympics and will send 13 on-ice officials to help with the Games.[135] NHL management was hesitant to commit to the tournament; Bettman argued the Olympic break is a "strain on the players, on the schedule and on fans", adding that "the benefits we get tend to be greater when the Olympics are in North America than when they're in distant time zones."[136] According to Bettman, most of the NHL team owners agree with his position, and feel that the league does not receive enough benefits to justify the schedule break and risk of player injuries.[137] René Fasel wants NHL participation and vowed that he would "work day and night to have NHL players in Sochi".[138]

text: At an October 2008 press conference, then-NHLPA executive director Paul Kelly stated that the players want to return to the Olympics and would try to include the ability in the next agreement.[137] Russian NHL players Alexander Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin stated that they want to participate in the tournament and would do so without the permission of the NHL, if necessary.[132] Paul Kelly also believed that the NHL's strained relationship with the Ice Hockey Federation of Russia and the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) could affect participation.[133] In a 2009 interview, KHL president Alexander Medvedev claimed that the unwillingness of NHL officials to immediately commit to the Sochi Games was "an instrument of pressure" to force a transfer agreement between the two leagues.[139]

text: A major sticking point over NHL participation has been the insurance of players; for the 2014 Winter Olympics, the IOC paid around US$7 million to insure NHL players participating in the Games. In April 2016, the IOC announced that beginning in 2018, it would no longer cover accommodations, insurance, or travel for NHL players in the Olympics, prompting the IIHF to ask for support from national ice hockey associations and National Olympic Committees to help cover costs; Matti Nurminen of the Finnish Ice Hockey Association argued that it was the responsibility of the event's organizer to cover costs, and that "In our opinion, the same party should pay the bills, and that’s not us. All the countries replied to the IIHF that they are not willing to pay for the insurance or the travel or any of the other expenses that are related to having the NHL players participate in Pyeongchang." The New York Times felt that the removal of this financial support would put NHL participation at Pyeongchang in jeopardy, noting the already-strenuous relationship between the NHL and the IOC; Gary Bettman noted that the NHL does not profit from their presence, adding that "in fact, we kind of disappear for two weeks because historically the IOC hasn't even let us join in promoting our participation in the Olympics."[140]

text: On 3 April 2017, the NHL announced that it would not participate in the 2018 Winter Olympics. In that statement, the NHL said that it had been open to hearing from the IOC, the IIHF, and the players' association on ways to make Olympic participation more attractive to team owners, but no meaningful dialogue on that matter had materialized. As to reasons the Board of Governors might be interested in re-evaluating their strongly held views on the subject, the NHLPA "confirmed that it has no interest or intention of engaging in any discussion that might make Olympic participation more attractive to the Clubs", and that it would not schedule a break for the Olympics in the 2017–18 season.[141]

text: Game rules[edit]

text: At the first tournament in 1920, there were many differences from the modern game: games were played outdoors on natural ice, forward passes were not allowed,[15] the rink (which had been intended to be used only for figure skating) was 56 m × 18 m (165 ft × 58.5 ft)[7] and two 20-minute periods were played.[14] Each team had seven players on the ice, the extra position being the rover.[8] Following the tournament, the IIHF held a congress and decided to adopt the Canadian rules—six men per side and three periods of play.[15]

text: The tournaments follow the rules used by the IIHF. At the 1969 IIHF Congress, officials voted to allow body-checking in all three zones in a rink similar to the NHL. Before that, body-checking was only allowed in the defending zone in international hockey.[142] Several other rule changes were implemented in the early 1970s: players were required to wear helmets starting in 1970, and goaltender masks became mandatory in 1972.[8] In 1992, the IIHF switched to using a playoff system to determine medalists and decided that tie games in the medal round would be decided in a shootout.[143] In 1998, the IIHF passed a rule that allowed two-line passes. Before then, the neutral zone trap had slowed the game down and reduced scoring.[144]

text: The current IIHF rules differ slightly from the rules used in the NHL.[145] One difference between NHL and IIHF rules is standard rink dimensions: the NHL rink is narrower, measuring 61 m × 26 m (200 ft × 85 ft), instead of the international size of 61 m × 30.5 m (200 ft × 100 ft)[146] The larger international size allows for a faster and less physical style of play.[147][148] Another rule difference between the NHL and the IIHF rules concerns how icing is called. In the NHL, a linesman stops play due to icing if a defending player (other than the goaltender) is not behind an attacking player in the race to the end-zone faceoff dots in his defensive zone,[149] in contrast to the IIHF rules in which play is stopped the moment the puck crosses the goal line.[149] The NHL and IIHF also differ in penalty rules. The NHL calls five-minute major penalties for more dangerous infractions of the rules, such as fighting, in addition to the minor and double minor penalties called in IIHF games.[150] This is in contrast to the IIHF rule, by which players who fight are ejected from the game.[151] Beginning with the 2005–06 season, the NHL instituted several new rules. Some were already used by the IIHF, such as the shootout and the two-line pass.[152] Others were not picked up by the IIHF, such as those requiring smaller goaltender equipment and the addition of the goaltender trapezoid to the rink.[153] However, the IIHF did agree to follow the NHL's zero-tolerance policy on obstruction and required referees to call more hooking, holding, and interference penalties.[154][155]

text: Each team is allowed to have between 15 and 20 skaters (forwards and defencemen) and two or three goaltenders, all of whom must be citizens of the nation they play for.[156][157]

text: One of the conditions of the NHL's participation in the Olympics is to include regular NHL referees and linesmen in the tournament, despite the fact that they are American or Canadian, and thus gives the perception of American or Canadian bias in the officiating.[158][159][160]

text: Banned substances[edit]

text: The IIHF follows the World Anti-Doping Agency's (WADA) regulations on performance-enhancing drugs. The IIHF maintains a Registered Testing Pool, a list of top players who are subjected to random in-competition and out-of-competition drug tests.[161] According to the WADA, a positive in-competition test results in disqualification of the player and a suspension that varies based on the number of offences. When a player tests positive, the rest of their team is subjected to testing; another positive test can result in a disqualification of the entire team.[162] In 2001, the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) pushed for American NHL players who were potential Olympians to be subject to random drug tests. The USOC requires all Olympic-bound athletes to be randomly tested by the United States Anti-Doping Agency, but had exempted NHL players in 1998. The NHL preferred a more uniform method, in which all players would undergo the same number of tests from the WADA.[163][164] An agreement was reached that the WADA would start testing players after the NHL playoffs were finished.[165]

text:
Players who have tested positive for banned substances

Athlete
Nation
Olympics
Substance
Punishment
Notes

Alois Schloder
 West Germany
1972
Ephedrine
Six month suspension from IIHF
The first Winter Olympics athlete to test positive for a banned substance,[166] Schloder was banned from the rest of the Games but his team was allowed to continue playing.[47]

František Pospíšil
 Czechoslovakia
1976
Codeine
None
Team doctor Otto Trefny, who prescribed Pospíšil the drug as treatment for the flu, received a lifetime ban. The team was forced to forfeit a game against Poland but went on to win the silver medal, which Pospíšil also received.[167][168]

Jarosław Morawiecki
 Poland
1988
Testosterone
18-month suspension from IIHF
The Polish team was allowed to continue playing without Morawiecki, but were stripped of two points they earned in a victory over France.[169]

Mattias Öhlund
 Sweden
2002
Acetazolamide
None
Öhlund had inadvertently ingested the substance in medication he was taking after undergoing eye surgery and was not suspended.[170]

Vasily Pankov
 Belarus
2002
19-Norandrosterone
Retroactively disqualified
Pankov was also forced to return his Olympic diploma. Evgeni Lositski, the team doctor, was banned from the following two Olympics.[171]

Ľubomír Višňovský
 Slovakia
2010
Pseudoephedrine
Issued a reprimand
Višňovský took Advil Cold & Sinus to combat a cold, unaware that it contained a WADA prohibited substance. He had consulted with the Slovak national team doctor and declared that he was taking the medication. Levels on samples two and three were well below WADA limits.[172]

Vitalijs Pavlovs
 Latvia
2014
Methylhexaneamine (dimethylpentylamine)
Disqualified from quarter-final game
Pavlovs was disqualified from the Canada-Latvia quarter-final game and was forced to return his Olympic diploma. According to Pavlovs, he had "been taking food supplements upon the recommendation of the doctor of his club team and that he did not understand how this substance entered his body."[173]

Nicklas Bäckström
 Sweden
2014
Pseudoephedrine
Pulled from gold medal game
Bäckström was taking an over-the-counter medication to treat a sinus condition. He consulted with the team doctor and was informed that there would not be a problem. Bäckström's medal was initially withheld but was returned the following month. The IOC determined that "there was no indication of any intent of the athlete to improve his performance by taking a prohibited substance."[174][175]
[176]

Ralfs Freibergs
 Latvia
2014
Anabolic androgenic steroid
Disqualified from quarter-final game
Freibergs was disqualified from the Canada-Latvia quarter-final game and was forced to return his Olympic diploma.

Inna Dyubanok
 Russia
Ice hockey
Women's tournament
Disappearing Sample
Retroactively disqualified
IOC sanction imposed in 2017[177]

Yekaterina Lebedeva
 Russia
Ice hockey
Women's tournament
Disappearing Sample
Retroactively disqualified
IOC sanction imposed in 2017[178]

Yekaterina Pashkevich
 Russia
Ice hockey
Women's tournament
Disappearing Sample
Retroactively disqualified
IOC sanction imposed in 2017[179]

Anna Shibanova
 Russia
Ice hockey
Women's tournament
Disappearing Sample
Retroactively disqualified
IOC sanction imposed in 2017[180]

Yekaterina Smolentseva
 Russia
Ice hockey
Women's tournament
Disappearing Sample
Retroactively disqualified
IOC sanction imposed in 2017[181]

Galina Skiba
 Russia
Ice hockey
Women's tournament
Disappearing Sample
Retroactively disqualified
IOC sanction imposed in 2017[182]

Tatiana Burina
 Russia
Ice hockey
Women's tournament
Disappearing Sample
Retroactively disqualified
IOC sanction imposed in 2017[183]

Anna Shukina
 Russia
Ice hockey
Women's tournament
Disappearing Sample
Retroactively disqualified
IOC sanction imposed in 2017[184]

tag: table

text: In late 2005, two NHL players who had been listed as potential Olympians failed drug tests administered by the WADA. American Bryan Berard, who had competed in the 1998 Winter Olympics, tested positive for 19-Norandrosterone.[185] Canadian José Théodore failed a drug test because he was taking Propecia, a hair loss medication that contains the non-performance-enhancing drug Finasteride.[186] Both players received two-year bans from international competition, although neither had made their team's final roster.[187] On December 6, 2017 six Russian ice hockey players were disqualified for doping violations. Results of the Russian women's team at the 2014 Winter Olympics were made void.[188] Two other Russian players, Tatiana Burina and Anna Shukina, were also disqualified ten days later.[189]

text: Statistics[edit]

text: Participating nations[edit]

text:
#
The final rank of the team.

=#
Indicates that two or more teams shared the same final rank.

–
The team did not participate that year.

Q
The team has qualified for the tournament.

DSQ
The team was disqualified during the tournament.

The nation did not exist with that designation at that time.

References:[190][191]

text:
Nation
1920
24
28
32
36
48
52
56
60
64
68
72
76
80
84
88
92
94
98
02
06
10
14
18
Total

 Australia (AUS)
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
09 !9
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
1

 Austria (AUT)
98 !–
98 !–
05 !5
98 !–
07 !7
07 !7
98 !–
10
98 !–
13
13
98 !–
08 !8
98 !–
10
09 !9
98 !–
12
14
12
98 !–
98 !–
10
98 !–
13

 Belarus (BLR)
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
98 !–
07 !7
04 !4
98 !–
09 !9
98 !–
98 !–
3

 Belgium (BEL)
06 !6
07 !7
08 !8
98 !–
09 !9
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
4

 Bulgaria (BUL)
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
12
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
1

 Canada (CAN)
01 !1
01 !1
01 !1
01 !1
02 !2
01 !1
01 !1
03 !3
02 !2
04 !4
03 !3
98 !–
98 !–
06 !6
04 !4
04 !4
02 !2
02 !2
04 !4
01 !1
07 !7
01 !1
01 !1
03 !3
22

 Czech Republic (CZE)
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
05 !5
01 !1
07 !7
03 !3
07 !7
06 !6
04 !4
7

 Czechoslovakia (TCH)
03 !3
05 !5
05 !5
98 !–
04 !4
02 !2
04 !4
05 !5
04 !4
03 !3
02 !2
03 !3
02 !2
05 !5
02 !2
06 !6
03 !3
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
16

 Finland (FIN)
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
07 !7
98 !–
07 !7
06 !6
05 !5
05 !5
04 !4
04 !4
06 !6
02 !2
07 !7
03 !3
03 !3
06 !6
02 !2
03 !3
03 !3
06 !6
17

 France (FRA)
06 !6
05 !5
05 !5
98 !–
09 !9
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
14
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
11
08 !8
10
11
14
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
10

 Germany (GER)
98 !–
98 !–
08 !8
03 !3
05 !5
98 !–
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
06 !6
07 !7
09 !9
08 !8
10
11
98 !–
02 !2
10

 West Germany (FRG)
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
08 !8
06 !6
06 !6
07 !7
07 !7
07 !7
03 !3
10
05 !5
05 !5
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
10

 East Germany (GDR)
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
08 !8
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
1

 Great Britain (GBR)
98 !–
03 !3
04 !4
98 !–
01 !1
05 !5
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
4

 Hungary (HUN)
98 !–
98 !–
11
98 !–
07 !7
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
16
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
3

 Italy (ITA)
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
09 !9
08 !8
98 !–
07 !7
98 !–
15
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
09 !9
98 !–
12
09 !9
12
98 !–
11
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
9

 Japan (JPN)
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
09 !9
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
08 !8
11
10
09 !9
09 !9
12
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
13
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
8

 Kazakhstan (KAZ)
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
98 !–
08 !8
98 !–
09 !9
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
2

 Latvia (LAT)
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
09 !9
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
09 !9
12
12
08 !8
98 !–
5

 Netherlands (NED)
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
08 !8
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
1

 Norway (NOR)
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
09 !9
98 !–
98 !–
10
11
08 !8
98 !–
11
12
12
09 !9
11
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
10
12 !12
08 !8
12

 Olympic Athletes from Russia (OAR)
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
01 !1
1

 Poland (POL)
98 !–
98 !–
08 !8
04 !4
09 !9
06 !6
06 !6
08 !8
98 !–
09 !9
98 !–
06 !6
06 !6
07 !7
08 !8
10
11
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
13

 Romania (ROU)
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
12
12
98 !–
07 !7
09 !9
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
4

 Russia (RUS)
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
04 !4
02 !2
03 !3
04 !4
06 !6
05 !5
98 !DSQ[192]
6

 Slovakia (SVK)
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
06 !6
10
13
05 !5
04 !4
11 !11
11
7

 Slovenia (SLO)
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
07 !7
09 !9
2

 South Korea (KOR)
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
12
1

 Soviet Union (URS)
99 !
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
01 !1
03 !3
01 !1
01 !1
01 !1
01 !1
02 !2
01 !1
01 !1
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
9

 Sweden (SWE)
04 !4
04 !4
02 !2
98 !–
05 !5
04 !4
03 !3
04 !4
05 !5
02 !2
04 !4
04 !4
98 !–
03 !3
03 !3
03 !3
05 !5
01 !1
05 !5
05 !5
01 !1
05 !5
02 !2
05 !5
22

 Switzerland (SUI)
05 !5
07 !7
03 !3
98 !–
09 !9
03 !3
05 !5
09 !9
98 !–
08 !8
98 !–
10
11
98 !–
98 !–
08 !8
10
98 !–
98 !–
11
06 !6
08 !8
09 !9
10
17

 Ukraine (UKR)
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
98 !–
98 !–
10
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
1

 Unified Team (EUN)
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
01 !1
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
1

 United States (USA)
02 !2
02 !2
98 !–
02 !2
03 !3
04 !DSQ
02 !2
02 !2
01 !1
05 !5
06 !6
02 !2
05 !5
01 !1
07 !7
07 !7
04 !4
08 !8
06 !6
02 !2
08 !8
02 !2
04 !4
07 !7
23

 Yugoslavia (YUG)
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
14
09 !9
11
10
98 !–
11
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
5

Total teams
7
8
11
4
15
9
9
10
9
16
14
11
12
12
12
12
12
12
14
14
12
12
12
12
262

text:
Nation
98
02
06
10
14
18
Total

 Canada (CAN)
02 !2
01 !1
01 !1
01 !1
01 !1
02 !2
6

 China (CHN)
04 !4
07 !7
98 !–
7
98 !–
98 !–
3

 Finland (FIN)
03 !3
04 !4
04 !4
03 !3
05 !5
03 !3
6

 Germany (GER)
98 !–
06 !6
05 !5
98 !–
07 !7
98 !–
3

 Italy (ITA)
98 !–
98 !–
08 !8
98 !–
02 !–
98 !–
1

 Japan (JPN)
06 !6
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
08 !8
6
3

 Kazakhstan (KAZ)
98 !–
08 !8
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
1

 Korea (COR)
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
8
1

 Olympic Athletes from Russia (OAR)
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
99 !
4
1

 Russia (RUS)
98 !–
05 !5
06 !6
6
06 !DSQ[193]
98 !DSQ[194]
4

 Slovakia (SVK)
98 !–
98 !–
98 !–
8
98 !–
98 !–
1

 Sweden (SWE)
05 !5
03 !3
02 !2
04 !4
04 !4
7
6

 Switzerland (SUI)
98 !–
98 !–
07 !7
5
03 !3
5
4

 United States (USA)
01 !1
02 !2
03 !3
02 !2
02 !2
01 !1
6

Total teams
6
8
8
8
8
8
32

text: Medal winners[edit]

text: Men[edit]

text:
Games
Gold
Silver
Bronze

1920 Antwerp
 Canada (CAN)
 United States (USA)
 Czechoslovakia (TCH)

1924 Chamonix
 Canada (CAN)
 United States (USA)
 Great Britain (GBR)

1928 St. Moritz
 Canada (CAN)
 Sweden (SWE)
 Switzerland (SUI)

1932 Lake Placid
 Canada (CAN)
 United States (USA)
 Germany (GER)

1936 Garmisch-Partenkirchen
 Great Britain (GBR)
 Canada (CAN)
 United States (USA)

1948 St. Moritz
 Canada (CAN)
 Czechoslovakia (TCH)
 Switzerland (SUI)

1952 Oslo
 Canada (CAN)
 United States (USA)
 Sweden (SWE)

1956 Cortina d'Ampezzo
 Soviet Union (URS)
 United States (USA)
 Canada (CAN)

1960 Squaw Valley
 United States (USA)
 Canada (CAN)
 Soviet Union (URS)

1964 Innsbruck
 Soviet Union (URS)
 Sweden (SWE)
 Czechoslovakia (TCH)

1968 Grenoble
 Soviet Union (URS)
 Czechoslovakia (TCH)
 Canada (CAN)

1972 Sapporo
 Soviet Union (URS)
 United States (USA)
 Czechoslovakia (TCH)

1976 Innsbruck
 Soviet Union (URS)
 Czechoslovakia (TCH)
 West Germany (FRG)

1980 Lake Placid
 United States (USA)
 Soviet Union (URS)
 Sweden (SWE)

1984 Sarajevo
 Soviet Union (URS)
 Czechoslovakia (TCH)
 Sweden (SWE)

1988 Calgary
 Soviet Union (URS)
 Finland (FIN)
 Sweden (SWE)

1992 Albertville
 Unified Team (EUN)
 Canada (CAN)
 Czechoslovakia (TCH)

1994 Lillehammer
 Sweden (SWE)
 Canada (CAN)
 Finland (FIN)

1998 Nagano
 Czech Republic (CZE)
 Russia (RUS)
 Finland (FIN)

2002 Salt Lake City
 Canada (CAN)
 United States (USA)
 Russia (RUS)

2006 Turin
 Sweden (SWE)
 Finland (FIN)
 Czech Republic (CZE)

2010 Vancouver
 Canada (CAN)
 United States (USA)
 Finland (FIN)

2014 Sochi
 Canada (CAN)
 Sweden (SWE)
 Finland (FIN)

2018 Pyeongchang
 Olympic Athletes from Russia (OAR)
 Germany (GER)
 Canada (CAN)

text: Women[edit]

text:
Games
Gold
Silver
Bronze

1998 Nagano
 United States (USA)
 Canada (CAN)
 Finland (FIN)

2002 Salt Lake City
 Canada (CAN)
 United States (USA)
 Sweden (SWE)

2006 Turin
 Canada (CAN)
 Sweden (SWE)
 United States (USA)

2010 Vancouver
 Canada (CAN)
 United States (USA)
 Finland (FIN)

2014 Sochi
 Canada (CAN)
 United States (USA)
 Switzerland (SUI)

2018 Pyeongchang
 United States (USA)
 Canada (CAN)
 Finland (FIN)

text: Medal table[edit]

text: Men[edit]

text:
Rank
Nation
Gold
Silver
Bronze
Total

1
 Canada (CAN)
9
4
3
16

2
 Soviet Union (URS)
7
1
1
9

3
 United States (USA)
2
8
1
11

4
 Sweden (SWE)
2
3
4
9

5
 Czech Republic (CZE)
1
0
1
2

 Great Britain (GBR)
1
0
1
2

7
 Olympic Athletes from Russia (OAR)
1
0
0
1

 Unified Team (EUN)
1
0
0
1

9
 Czechoslovakia (TCH)
0
4
4
8

10
 Finland (FIN)
0
2
4
6

11
 Germany (GER)
0
1
1
2

 Russia (RUS)
0
1
1
2

13
 Switzerland (SUI)
0
0
2
2

14
 West Germany (FRG)
0
0
1
1

text: Women[edit]

text:
Rank
Nation
Gold
Silver
Bronze
Total

1
 Canada (CAN)
4
2
0
6

2
 United States (USA)
2
3
1
6

3
 Sweden (SWE)
0
1
1
2

4
 Finland (FIN)
0
0
3
3

5
 Switzerland (SUI)
0
0
1
1

text: Overall[edit]

text:
Rank
Nation
Gold
Silver
Bronze
Total

1
 Canada (CAN)
13
6
3
22

2
 Soviet Union (URS)
7
1
1
9

3
 United States (USA)
4
11
2
17

4
 Sweden (SWE)
2
4
5
11

5
 Czech Republic (CZE)
1
0
1
2

 Great Britain (GBR)
1
0
1
2

7
 Olympic Athletes from Russia (OAR)
1
0
0
1

 Unified Team (EUN)
1
0
0
1

9
 Czechoslovakia (TCH)
0
4
4
8

10
 Finland (FIN)
0
2
7
9

11
 Germany (GER)
0
1
1
2

 Russia (RUS)
0
1
1
2

13
 Switzerland (SUI)
0
0
3
3

14
 West Germany (FRG)
0
0
1
1

text: Officials[edit]

text: The following is a list of the officials for the Men's Gold Medal Game beginning in 1998. The Olympics in which National Hockey League players participated--from 1998 to 2014--were primarily officiated by NHL Officials.

text:
Olympics
Referee
Referee
Linesman
Linesman

2018
 Mark Lemelin
 Aleksi Rantala
 Jimmy Dahmen
 Sakari Suominen

2014
 Kelly Sutherland
 Brad Meier
 Derek Amell
 Greg Devorski

2010
 Bill McCreary
 Dan O'Halloran
 Jean Morin
 Stefan Fonselius

2006
 Paul Devorski

 Thor Nelson
 Milan Mášik

2002
 Bill McCreary

 Mike Cvik
 Antti Hämäläinen

1998
 Bill McCreary

 Ray Scapinello
 Ulf Rönnmark


document_title: Mahjong tiles

question_text: how many tiles in a mah jongg set

question_tokens: how many tiles in a mah jongg set

text: Mahjong tiles

text: Development[edit]

text: The earliest surviving mahjong sets date to the 1870s when the game was largely confined to Zhejiang, Shanghai, and Jiangsu.[1] They already exhibited various traits found in modern sets. The core of the set is the 108 suited tiles which were inherited from Chinese money-suited playing cards. The Wind honor tiles and the Four Seasons tiles were also found in the earliest sets. The honor tiles known as Arrows (Dragons in English) developed to their current form by 1890 concurrent with a new style of play called Zhōngfā (中發).[2] Flower tiles, once known as Outer Flowers (Chinese: 外花; pinyin: wàihuā), were not universally accepted until the 1920s. In contrast, many early sets contained wild cards with specific powers known as Inner Flowers (裏花; lǐhuā) which disappeared from most of China but are still found in Vietnam and Thailand.[3][4]

text: Contents[edit]

text:
Numbers

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

Suits
Dots

Bamboo

Characters

Honors/Bonus
Winds
Arrows
Bonus

East
South
West
North
Center
Fortune
Blank
Seasons
Flowers

text: A set of Mahjong tiles will usually differ from place to place. It usually has at least 136 tiles, most commonly 144, although sets originating from the United States or Southeast Asia will have more usually in the form of flowers or jokers. Some sets also contain blank tiles which owners can use to replace damaged or missing tiles.

text: Mahjong tiles can be organized into several categories:

text: Suited tiles[edit]

text: Suited tiles (序數牌; xùshùpái; "ordinal number tiles") have a suit and a rank. There are three money-based suits with ranks ranging from one to nine. There are four tiles of each rank and suit combination, thus there are 36 tiles in a suit, and 108 suited tiles in total. To refer to a suited tile, the rank is named, followed by the suit. The ones and nines of each suit (幺九; yāo jiǔ) are collectively referred to as the terminal tiles. The objective of the game is to form melds with them.

text: The circle suit (Chinese: 筒子; pinyin: tǒngzi; "barrel"; also Chinese: 餅; pinyin: bǐng; Japanese: 餅子; rōmaji: pinzu; "flatbread") is represented by a series of circles.

text: The 1 Circle is generally a large circle of multiple colors, while the rest of the circle tiles consist of smaller circles, each circle being of one color. The 2 Circle consists of a green and a blue circle, the 3 consisting of one green, one red, and one blue circle arranged diagonally (the order the circles appear in, as well as the orientation, differs between sets). The 4 Circle has two blue circles and two green circles, arranged in a rectangle with circles of like color in opposite corners. The 5 Circle is similar to the 4 Circle, with another circle (its color depending on the set) in the middle. The 6 Circle consists of two green circles at the top and four red circles in the bottom (with a space between the green and red circles). The 7 Circle is similar to the 6 Circle, but has 3 green circles arranged diagonally from top-left to bottom-right. The 8 Circle has eight blue circles arranged in a 2x4 rectangle. The 9 Circle has three each of green, red, and blue circles, with each color occupying a row. There is some space between each row, and the middle row is always of the red circles (the blue and green, of course, depends on the orientation of the tile).

text: Because of the large size of the circle in the 1 Circle, it is commonly nicknamed da bing (大餅 pinyin dàbǐng, literally: "big pancake").

text: From the monetary origin of this suit, the circles represent the copper coins known in English as "cash". (1銅=one copper coin).

text: The bamboo suit (索子, pinyin suǒzi (woven thread); also 條/条, pinyin tiáo (strip); Japanese romaji sōzu), with the exception of the 1 Bamboo, which is commonly represented by a bird, is represented by outlines of sticks.

text: The 2, 3, 4, 6, and 8 Bamboo are represented entirely out of blue and green sticks, while the middle stick in the 5 Bamboo, the top stick of the 7 Bamboo, and the sticks along the center column of the 9 Bamboo are red. Some sets may also have the sticks along the bottom row or center column of the 7 Bamboo in blue. The 8 Bamboo has its sticks forming an M-shape and its mirror image.

text: From the monetary origin of this suit, the sticks are actually rope strings (索) that tie 100 Chinese copper coins together by the square holes in the middle. (1索=100銅) The repeated bumps in the sticks depict the individual coins in the strings, but they were mistaken[by whom?] as the knots on the bamboo plants, hence the English name of the suit. The 1 Bamboo, as it commonly depicts a bird, is often referred as the sparrow (麻雀 - má què). In early sets, there was no bird but a single bent string of cash capped with a red knot.[1]

text: The character suit (萬子/万子, pinyin wànzi (myriad), Japanese romaji wanzu or manzu) is represented by Chinese characters.

text: Although some sets use Simplified Chinese characters, many use traditional Chinese characters as they are more complex and considered[by whom?] more aesthetically pleasing. The rank of the tile is represented at the top, in blue, with Chinese numerals, while the character below (萬 wàn, meaning myriad) is in red. Older sets used the simplified character 万 when tiles were still hand-carved. Some sets use the character 伍 for five instead of 五.

text: From the monetary origin of this suit, the myriads (10,000) are actually 100 strings of coins described in the bamboo suit section above. One myriad equals ten thousand coins or 100 strings of 100 coins. (1萬=100索×100銅)

text: Red tiles (赤牌, Japanese akapai) are unique to the Japanese set. They appear as a red version of tiles from each suit and are not quadruplicated. They first appeared in the 1970s with the Red 5 Circle which were followed with red 5 tiles for the other suits.[5] Red 3s and 7s later appeared and were followed by red 1s and 9s although they are much less commonly found in sets than red 5s.[6] There is also a rare red white dragon (白ポッチ, shiro pocchi) which can act as a joker if tsumo conditions are met.

text: These tiles are entirely optional. When inserted into play, one copy of its regular non-red counterpart is removed. They increase the score when melded. Japanese sets typically do not include the Four Gentlemen flower tiles to make room for the red tiles as flower tiles are rarely used in Japanese Mahjong anyway. Some mahjong parlours will have their own house tiles which may be red tiles for even ranks, even higher-scoring green or gold tiles, or colored wind tiles.

text: Honor tiles[edit]

text: Honor tiles (字牌, pinyin zìpái, lit. word tiles) have neither rank nor suit but like suited tiles they are also formed into melds. They are divided into two categories: four Wind tiles (風牌/风牌, pinyin fēngpái, Japanese romaji fompai or kazehai) and three Dragon tiles (三元牌, pinyin sānyuánpái, Japanese romaji sangempai), each of which is quadruplicated. Thus, there are 16 wind tiles and 12 Dragon tiles for 28 honor tiles.

text: The four types of Wind tiles are: East (東, dōng, Japanese romaji ton), South (南, nán, Japanese romaji nan), West (西, xī, Japanese romaji shā), and North (北, běi, Japanese romaji pei or pē).

text: Each type of Wind tiles corresponds to a point along the compass, written in blue traditional Chinese characters (even for sets where the Character tiles are written in simplified Chinese). Bonus points are scored if melds match the seat wind or prevailing wind or both. They are also known as the Four Happiness Tiles (四喜牌, sìxǐpái).

text: The three types of Dragon tiles are:

text:
Red (紅中/红中, pinyin hóng zhōng, Japanese 中 romaji chun) - a tile with a red traditional Chinese character (中) meaning center or middle. Some sets may also have a black letter C in a corner of the tile, denoting the first letter of the Wade-Giles romanization of 中 (chung).
Green (青發/青发, pinyin qīng fā, Japanese 發 romaji hatsu) - a tile with a green traditional Chinese character (發), even for sets where the Character tiles are written in simplified Chinese. Often the variant character U+24F35 𤼵 (癶 over 弓矢 instead of 弓殳) is used. It is a contraction of 發財/发财 (pinyin fā cái) which loosely means "to strike it rich") Some sets, notably American, use a green dragon in place of the character. Some sets may also have a black letter F in a corner of the tile, denoting the first letter of the Wade-Giles romanization of 發 (fa), despite the fact that many believe that the F is taken from a form of Cantonese romanization (fat). This tile was absent in the earliest sets.[7]
White (白板, pinyin bái bǎn, Japanese 白 romaji haku or shiro) - a tile which can be without any markings (白), although most modern sets employ tiles with a blue border to distinguish them from replacement tiles. Some sets may also have a black letter B in the center of the tile, denoting the first letter of the Wade-Giles romanization of 白 (bai). Japanese tiles of this kind have no mark on them, and are occasionally dubbed tofu (bean curd) in some Japanese mahjong clubs.

text: The Chinese name for the Dragon tiles means "three elemental tiles" (三元牌). They are also known as the arrow tiles (箭牌).

text: Flower tiles[edit]

text: Flower tiles (花牌 pinyin huāpái, Japanese hanahai or fapai) are not used in melds. When drawn, they are set aside and the player gets to draw again but from the dead wall. Winners can double their score if the number on their flowers matches their seat number. There are also bonuses from collecting an entire quartet and in some variations, immediately winning from collecting all flowers. As they reward points for pure luck, many games do not include them or are considered optional. In American Mahjong, flowers are treated as honor tiles but from the 1930s to 1960 they were considered jokers.[8][9] Some Japanese players treat flowers as higher scoring honors that cannot be used to form pairs.

text: The earliest known sets contained twelve flowers but no Four Gentlemen tiles and the Four Seasons were unadorned. Sets with large numbers of flowers were once popular in Northern China to play the game of "Flower Mahjong" (花麻雀). They typically had 20 or more flowers with some described as having up to 44.[3]

text: Flowers are grouped into quartets with each containing four unique tiles, which are numbered from 1 to 4 or otherwise distinctly labelled. Each number matches a seat (1=East, 2=South, 3=West, 4=North). These tiles usually depict stylized representations of flowers in many colors (hence the name). Nevertheless, other non-floral themes also exist, which vary from set to set. The average set, if it contains flower tiles, will have two quartets of flower tiles, differentiating the color and/or style of the labels. Common Chinese sets will have one quartet with blue Arabic numerals and the other group having red Chinese numerals, numbered one to four.

text: In mahjong solitaire, the two groups are often called Flower tiles (not to be confused with the blanket term for all groups of flower tiles) and Season Tiles (季牌 jì pái, Japanese 季節牌 kisetsuhai).

text: The four tiles in the Four Seasons (四季, sìjì) quartet are:

text:
Spring 春 chūn
Summer 夏 xià
Autumn 秋 qiū
Winter 冬 dōng

tag: ol

text: The four tiles in the Four Gentlemen (四君子, sìjūnzi) quartet are:

text:
plum 梅 méi
orchid 蘭 lán
chrysanthemum 菊 jú
bamboo 竹 zhú

text: Thai, Vietnamese, and Malaysian mahjong sets contain two more quartets of flower tiles in addition to the Four Seasons and Four Gentlemen.[10][11] These are the usual subjects:

text:
Four arts (四藝, siyi): 1. Guqin (琴), 2. Go (棋), 3. Calligraphy (書), 4. Painting (画)
Four Noble Professions: 1. Fisherman (漁), 2. Woodcutter (樵), 3. Farmer (耕), 4. Scholar (讀)

text: While some Vietnamese sets use the Four Arts or the Four Noble Professions, most of them use emperors (皇, Hoàng) and empresses (后, Hậu). They are not decorated with pictures but just the number and character (e.g. Third Emperor 三皇, Fourth Empress 四后).

text: Animal tiles (动物牌, pinyin dòngwùpái) are unnumbered flowers that automatically match the player's seat. These tiles are found in pairs with their subjects usually based on popular Chinese fables. Immediate payment occurs if both tiles in a pair or all the animals are collected. Singaporean sets contain two pairs of animal tiles while Thai and four-player Malaysian sets have four pairs. Some examples of tile pairs include:

text:
Cat (猫 māo) & Mouse (老鼠 láoshŭ)
Rooster (公鸡 gōngjī) & Centipede (蜈蚣 wúgōng)
Caishen & Sycee
Jiang Ziya & Fish (魚)
Liu Haichan & Jin Chan
Dragon & Flaming pearl

text: Three-player Malaysian sets have two pairs of animals accompanied with a quartet of identical animal tiles decorated with a face.

text: Joker tiles[edit]

text: Joker tiles (百搭 pinyin bǎidā, 'a hundred uses' or 聽用 tīngyòng, 'many uses' or 飛 fēi, 'to fly') can be used to replace any suited or honor tile in putting together a hand subject to local restrictions. Four Jokers are sometimes used in certain variants of Southeast Asian and Chinese mahjong, including Shanghainese mahjong. American mahjong uses eight jokers.

text: Vietnamese and Thai mahjong are related to extinct Chinese variants which used specialized jokers such as "King Mahjong" (王麻雀).[3] Vietnamese mahjong sets commonly contain eight unique jokers:

text:
Blue/green jokers (Khung Xanh):

Circle joker (筒, Thùng)
Bamboo joker (索, Soọc)
Character joker (萬, Màn)
Universal joker (縂, Tổng or 皇 or 百搭): In King Mahjong it is a Suit and Honors joker, in Vietnamese mahjong it can also be used like an animal tile

Red jokers (Khung Đỏ):

Flower joker (花, Hoa): Like an animal tile; it replaced the King Mahjong joker that functioned as a second Suit and Honors joker (陞王)
Suit joker (合, Hợp)
Dragon joker (元, Nguyên)
Wind joker (喜, Hỷ)

text: Honors joker (番 or 字 or 元喜, Nhị khẩu): Exclusive to Vietnamese mahjong, it is an optional tile used as an alternative to the dragon, wind, or flower joker

text: The first four jokers have a long lineage. They are found in the earliest sets and were inspired by the suit-restricted jokers in older Chinese card games. Modern Vietnamese sets triplicate or quadruplicate all eight jokers but each copy will have a different frame (rectangle, circle, lozenge, and hexagon) which allows them to be melded with each other.

text: Vietnamese style sets made in Hong Kong may also contain two other unique jokers, either as alternatives to the flower joker, or in addition to the usual eight, taking the total number of jokers up to ten.

text:
258 joker (將): Replaces two, five or eight of any suit
Terminal joker (么): Replaces one or nine of any suit

text: Some modern Vietnamese style sets may have suit, dragon, wind and 258 jokers adorned with multiple characters representing the tiles they can replace, instead of a single Chinese character.

text: Construction[edit]

text: Traditionally, Mahjong tiles were made of bone, often backed with bamboo. Bone tiles are still available but most modern sets are constructed from various plastics such as bakelite, celluloid, and more recently nylon. There are a small number of sets that have been made with ivory or jade, but these are exceedingly rare: most sets sold as ivory are in fact made from bone. Regardless of the material used to construct the tiles, the symbols on them are almost always engraved or pressed into the material. Some expert players can determine the face value of their tiles without actually looking at them by feeling these engravings with their fingers.

text: There are generally two size categories available, the larger mainland-China size and the smaller Taiwanese/Japanese/American size. However, within the former category (Mainland Chinese), 4 sizes have been roughly standardized:

text:
Size 8 ~ 39 × 30 × 23 mm
Size 7.5 ~ 38 × 28 × 22 mm
Size 7 ~ 36 × 26 × 21 mm
Size 6 ~ 34 × 25 × 19 mm

text: The length/thickness ratio in all of these must be above 1: 1.5, so that the tiles can steadily stand upright, since Chinese players use no racks to support their tiles in hand during play.

text: The sizes within the second category (Taiwanese/Japanese/American tiles) have lengths that vary roughly between 3 cm (1-5/32") and 2.5 cm (1"). However, the Japanese tiles set themselves apart within this class by virtue of their thickness, which allows them to stand upright—despite their diminutive overall size. This enables Japanese mahjong players also to dispense with the use of racks (these are pervasive in the American game, in combination with slimmer tiles.)

text: Unicode[edit]

text: Mahjong tiles were added to the Unicode Standard in April, 2008 with the release of version 5.1.

text: The Unicode block for mahjong tiles is U+1F000–U+1F02B:

text:
Mahjong Tiles[1][2]
Official Unicode Consortium code chart (PDF)

0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
A
B
C
D
E
F

U+1F00x
🀀
🀁
🀂
🀃
🀄
🀅
🀆
🀇
🀈
🀉
🀊
🀋
🀌
🀍
🀎
🀏

U+1F01x
🀐
🀑
🀒
🀓
🀔
🀕
🀖
🀗
🀘
🀙
🀚
🀛
🀜
🀝
🀞
🀟

U+1F02x
🀠
🀡
🀢
🀣
🀤
🀥
🀦
🀧
🀨
🀩
🀪
🀫

Notes

1.^ As of Unicode version 11.0
2.^ Grey areas indicate non-assigned code points


document_title: Category:Towns in Rhode Island

question_text: towns in rhode island that begin with p

question_tokens: towns in rhode island that begin with p

text: Category:Towns in Rhode Island

text: Wikimedia Commons has media related to Towns in Rhode Island.

text: Towns in Rhode Island — part of the incorporated municipalities of Rhode Island.

text: For convenience, all Towns in Rhode Island should be included in this category. This includes all the towns that can also be found in the subcategories.

text: Subcategories

text: This category has the following 33 subcategories, out of 33 total.

text:
►  People by town in Rhode Island (26 C)
►  Towns in Rhode Island by county (5 C)

text: B

text:
►  Barrington, Rhode Island (2 C, 13 P)
►  Bristol, Rhode Island (4 C, 11 P, 1 F)
►  Burrillville, Rhode Island (1 C, 21 P)

text: C

text:
►  Charlestown, Rhode Island (1 C, 20 P)
►  Coventry, Rhode Island (2 C, 32 P)
►  Cumberland, Rhode Island (2 C, 25 P)

text: E

text:
►  East Greenwich, Rhode Island (2 C, 17 P)
►  Exeter, Rhode Island (25 P)

text: F

text: ►  Foster, Rhode Island (1 C, 13 P)

text: G

text: ►  Glocester, Rhode Island (2 C, 15 P, 4 F)

text: H

text: ►  Hopkinton, Rhode Island (1 C, 18 P)

text: J

text:
►  Jamestown, Rhode Island (1 C, 16 P)
►  Johnston, Rhode Island (2 C, 8 P)

text: L

text:
►  Lincoln, Rhode Island (1 C, 15 P)
►  Little Compton, Rhode Island (2 C, 7 P)

text: M

text: ►  Middletown, Rhode Island (2 C, 12 P)

text: N

text:
►  Narragansett, Rhode Island (2 C, 21 P)
►  New Shoreham, Rhode Island (1 C, 20 P)
►  North Kingstown, Rhode Island (2 C, 37 P)
►  North Providence, Rhode Island (2 C, 5 P)
►  North Smithfield, Rhode Island (1 C, 19 P, 1 F)

text: P

text: ►  Portsmouth, Rhode Island (2 C, 12 P)

text: R

text: ►  Richmond, Rhode Island (16 P)

text: S

text:
►  Scituate, Rhode Island (2 C, 20 P)
►  Smithfield, Rhode Island (2 C, 9 P, 1 F)
►  South Kingstown, Rhode Island (2 C, 36 P)

text: T

text: ►  Tiverton, Rhode Island (2 C, 10 P)

text: W

text:
►  Warren, Rhode Island (1 C, 10 P)
►  West Greenwich, Rhode Island (1 C, 17 P)
►  West Warwick, Rhode Island (3 C, 17 P)
►  Westerly, Rhode Island (1 C, 40 P)

text: Pages in category "Towns in Rhode Island"

text: The following 33 pages are in this category, out of  33 total. This list may not reflect recent changes (learn more).

text: List of towns in Rhode Island

text: List of municipalities in Rhode Island

text: B

text:
Barrington, Rhode Island
Bristol, Rhode Island
Burrillville, Rhode Island

text: C

text:
Charlestown, Rhode Island
Coventry, Rhode Island
Cumberland, Rhode Island

text: E

text:
East Greenwich, Rhode Island
Exeter, Rhode Island

text: F

text: Foster, Rhode Island

text: G

text: Glocester, Rhode Island

text: H

text: Hopkinton, Rhode Island

text: J

text:
Jamestown, Rhode Island
Johnston, Rhode Island

text: L

text:
Lincoln, Rhode Island
Little Compton, Rhode Island

text: M

text: Middletown, Rhode Island

text: N

text:
Narragansett, Rhode Island
New Shoreham, Rhode Island
North Kingstown, Rhode Island
North Providence, Rhode Island
North Smithfield, Rhode Island

text: P

text: Portsmouth, Rhode Island

text: R

text: Richmond, Rhode Island

text: S

text:
Scituate, Rhode Island
Smithfield, Rhode Island
South Kingstown, Rhode Island

text: T

text: Tiverton, Rhode Island

text: W

text:
Warren, Rhode Island
West Greenwich, Rhode Island
West Warwick, Rhode Island
Westerly, Rhode Island

text: Municipalities in Rhode IslandNew England townsTowns in the United States by state