Ice hockey at the 1952 Winter Olympics

The men's ice hockey tournament at the 1952 Winter Olympics in Oslo, Norway, was the 7th Olympic Championship, also serving as the 19th World Championships and the 30th European Championships. The tournament was mainly played at the Jordal Amfi Arena, as well as the stadiums at Dælenenga (in Oslo), Kadettangen (Sandvika), Marienlyst (Drammen) and Lillestrøm (Lillestrøm). Canada, represented by the Edmonton Mercurys, won its sixth Olympic gold medal and 15th World Championship. Highest finishing European team Sweden won the bronze medal and its sixth European Championship.[1]

Ice hockey at the 1952 Winter Olympics

Jersey of Canada's 1952 Olympic Gold Medal team, the Edmonton Mercurys
Tournament details
Host country	Norway
Dates	15–25 February
Teams	9
Venue(s)	Jordal Amfi Arena, Dælenenga, Kadettangen, Marienlyst and Lillestrøm
Final positions
Champions	Canada (6th title)
Runner-up	United States
Third place	Sweden
Fourth place	Czechoslovakia
Tournament statistics
Matches played	37
Goals scored	335 (9.05 per match)
Scoring leader(s)	Billy Gibson (19 points)
← 1951 or 1948 Olympics 1953 or 1956 Olympics →

The tournament was nearly not played at all. Discussions began in 1950, whether or not ice hockey would be included in the 1952 Winter Olympics. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) sought assurance that participating teams would adhere to its amateur code rather than the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) code, and also wanted to exclude IIHF president Fritz Kraatz from negotiations. IIHF past-president W. G. Hardy, and secretary George Dudley agreed there would be no negotiations on those terms, nor would they repudiate Kraatz. Dudley expected the IIHF to discuss having its own 1952 Ice Hockey World Championships instead, and stated that the Olympics would be a financial failure without the inclusion of hockey.[2] In 1951 it was decided to drop hockey from the Olympic programme because of the controversies surrounding the 1948 Games. However, at the IOC congress in Romania the same year, it was reinstated.[3][4] W. G. Hardy advocated for the inclusion of the Soviet Union national ice hockey team, provided there is no political interference.[5] Despite his advocacy the Soviet authorities did not apply in time to be included in the tournament.[6][7]

Teams from Germany and Czechoslovakia rejoined the top level of international hockey this year. Nine nations played a round-robin with the top three nations receiving medals at the end. Canada won their sixth Olympic title, and fifteenth World title. The USA tied their final game against Canada to finish one point ahead of both Sweden and Czechoslovakia, clinching the silver medal. Czechoslovakia and Sweden both finished with six wins and two losses, additionally, they had an equal goal differential of +29. The Czechoslovaks had defeated the Swedes four to nothing on the final day, and believed that they had won the Olympic bronze, and the European Championship. However, organizers decided that they should play a final tie-breaking game, in which the Swedes overcame a three-goal deficit to win five to three.[3][4]

Medalists

Gold:	Silver:	Bronze:
Canada Eric Paterson Ralph Hansch John Davies Don Gauf Robert Meyers Thomas Pollock Al Purvis Billy Gibson David Miller George Abel Billy Dawe Robert Dickson Gordon Robertson Louis Secco Francis Sullivan Robert Watt	United States Alfred Van Allen André Gambucci Arnold Oss Clifford Harrison Donald Whiston Gerald Kilmartin James Sedin John Mulhern John Noah Joseph Czarnota Kenneth Yackel Len Ceglarski Richard Desmond Robert Rompre Ruben Bjorkman	Sweden Göte Almqvist Hans Andersson-Tvilling Stig Andersson-Tvilling Åke Andersson Lars Björn Göte Blomqvist Thord Flodqvist Erik Johansson Gösta Johansson Rune Johansson Sven "Tumba" Johansson Åke Lassas Holger Nurmela Lars Pettersson Lars Svensson Sven Thunman Hans Öberg

Participating nations

See also: Ice hockey at the 1952 Winter Olympics – Rosters

•  Canada (16)
•  United States (15)
•  Sweden (17)

World Championships Group A (Norway)

• February 15
  • Norway 2–3 USA
  • Sweden 9–2 Finland
  • Czechoslovakia 8–2 Poland
  • Canada 15–1 Germany
• February 16
  • Switzerland 12–0 Finland
  • USA 8–2 Germany
  • Norway 0–6 Czechoslovakia
  • Sweden 17–1 Poland
• February 17
  • Norway 2–4 Sweden
  • Czechoslovakia 6–1 Germany
  • Canada 13–3 Finland
  • Switzerland 6–3 Poland
• February 18
  • USA 8–2 Finland
  • Sweden 7–3 Germany
  • Canada 11–0 Poland
  • Norway 2–7 Switzerland
• February 19
  • USA 8–2 Switzerland
  • Canada 4–1 Czechoslovakia
• February 20
  • Norway 2–5 Finland
  • Poland 4–4 Germany
• February 21
  • Sweden 4–2 USA
  • Norway 2–6 Germany
  • Canada 11–2 Switzerland
  • Czechoslovakia 11–2 Finland
• February 22
  • USA 5–3 Poland
  • Finland 5–1 Germany
  • Canada 3–2 Sweden
  • Czechoslovakia 8–3 Switzerland
• February 23
  • USA 6–3 Czechoslovakia
  • Poland 4–2 Finland
  • Norway 2–11 Canada
  • Sweden 5–2 Switzerland
• February 24
  • Czechoslovakia 4–0 Sweden
  • Canada 3–3 USA
  • Norway 3–4 Poland
  • Switzerland 6–3 Germany

PLAYOFF

• February 25 *
  • Sweden 5–3 Czechoslovakia

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

Final round

Team	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
Canada	8	7	0	1	71	–14	15
United States	8	6	1	1	43	–21	13
Sweden	8	6	2	0	48	–19	12
Czechoslovakia	8	6	2	0	47	–18	12
Switzerland	8	4	4	0	40	–40	8
Poland	8	2	5	1	21	–56	5
Finland	8	2	6	0	21	–60	4
Germany	8	1	6	1	21	–53	3
Norway	8	0	8	0	15	–46	0

World Championship Group B (Belgium)

Played in Liege 15–22 March 1952. British manager Johnny Murray won with a roster composed entirely with English players; no Scots or Canadians.[3]

Date	Game	Result	Periods
15 March	France vs.  Netherlands	7–3	1–0, 3–1, 3–2
16 March	Belgium vs.  Italy	1–3	1–0, 0–0, 0–3
16 March	Austria vs.  Netherlands	5–5	1–2, 4–1, 0–2
17 March	Belgium vs.  Great Britain	5–1	4–1, 0–0, 1–0
17 March	Austria vs.  Italy	5–1	1–1, 0–0, 4–0
18 March	Great Britain vs.  Netherlands	8–1	3–0, 3–0, 2–1
18 March	Belgium vs.  France	3–3	0–2, 2–0, 1–1
19 March	Italy vs.  Netherlands	5–3	1–2, 1–0, 3–1
20 March	Great Britain vs.  France	10–0	4–0, 5–0, 1–0
20 March	Belgium vs.  Austria	7–10	2–2, 2–6, 3–2
21 March	Italy vs.  France	14–5	4–1, 5–1, 5–3
21 March	Great Britain vs.  Austria	2–1	0–0, 2–1, 0–0
22 March	Austria vs.  France	11–4	3–0, 0–4, 8–0
22 March	Great Britain vs.  Italy	7–3	2–1, 1–1, 3–1
22 March	Belgium vs.  Netherlands	1–7	1–3, 0–3, 0–1

Table

Place	Team	GP	W	T	L	GF	GA	Pts
10	Great Britain	5	4	0	1	28	–10	8
11	Austria	5	3	1	1	32	–19	7
12	Italy	5	3	0	2	26	–21	6
13	Netherlands	5	1	1	3	19	–26	3
14	Belgium	5	1	1	3	17	–24	3
15	France	5	1	1	3	19	–41	3

Statistics

Average age

Team Germany was the oldest team in the tournament, averaging 27 years and 10 months. Team Norway was the youngest team in the tournament, averaging 23 years and 9 months. Gold medalists Canada averaged 26 years and 5 months. Tournament average was 25 years and 8 months.[8]

Top scorers

Team	GP	G	A	Pts
Billy Gibson	8	12	7	19

European Championship medal table

	Sweden
	Czechoslovakia
	Switzerland
4	Poland
5	Finland
6	Germany
7	Norway

Citations

1. "Ice Hockey at the 1952 Oslo Winter Games". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
2. "International Puck Bodies Widely Split". Winnipeg Free Press. Winnipeg, Manitoba. May 18, 1950. p. 17.
3. Summary
4. Duplacey p. 503
5. "News Bulletins". Lethbridge Herald. Lethbridge, Alberta. January 15, 1952. p. 1.
6. Findling and Pelle (1996), pp. 254–255
7. US War Department (1952), pp. 11
8. "Team Canada - Olympics - Oslo 1952 - Player Stats". QuantHockey. Retrieved 23 April 2020.

References

• Duplacey, James (1998). Total Hockey: The official encyclopedia of the National Hockey League. Total Sports. pp. 498–528. ISBN 0-8362-7114-9.
• Podnieks, Andrew (2010). IIHF Media Guide & Record Book 2011. Moydart Press. p. 107.
• Jeux Olympiques d'Oslo 1952
• Ishockey VM OS 1947-1954
• Findling, John E.; Pelle, Kimberly D. (1996). Historical Dictionary of the Modern Olympic Movement. Westport, United States: Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 258. ISBN 0-313-28477-6. Retrieved 25 July 2011. 1956 winter olympics.
• Armed Forces Talk. US War Department. 1952.