Ice hockey at the 1968 Winter Olympics

The men's ice hockey tournament at the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, France, was a big event. It was the 11th time ice hockey was played at the Olympics. This tournament also decided the winners of the World and European Championships, which would not happen again after this year.

The games took place at the Palais des Sports. The Soviet Union did very well, winning their third Olympic gold medal, as well as their eighth World Championship and twelfth European Championship. Czechoslovakia got the silver medal, and Canada won the bronze.

For the first and only time in Olympic history, not all teams had the chance to compete for medals. The two teams that ranked the lowest during qualifying, Japan and Austria, along with the host country France, were placed in a group that only played for positions and not for medals. Two other teams, Poland and Italy, qualified but chose not to participate.

Teams

See also: Ice hockey at the 1968 Winter Olympics – Rosters

Fourteen nations took part in the ice hockey tournament at the 1968 Winter Olympics:

•  Austria
•  Canada
•  Czechoslovakia
•  East Germany
•  Finland
•  France
•  Japan
•  Norway
•  Romania
•  Soviet Union
•  Sweden
•  United States
•  West Germany
•  Yugoslavia

Highlights

In the 1968 Winter Olympics, the USSR ice hockey team lost to Czechoslovakia in one of their last games. This loss gave Czechoslovakia an advantage because both teams had similar records. The gold medal went to the USSR after they won their final game against Canada.

Firsts

This was the first time East Germany played in the Olympics, and they faced West Germany, who won 4–2. Finland made history by defeating Canada early in the competition. The USSR’s loss ended their long streak of not losing in World Championship games.

Medalists

Pos	Team
Gold	Soviet Union
Silver	Czechoslovakia
Bronze	Canada

First round

East Germany beat Norway 3 to 1 on February 4, 1968, in Grenoble. Finland had a big win over Yugoslavia, scoring 11 goals to Yugoslavia's 2. West Germany also won, beating Romania 7 to 0.

Finland, East Germany, and West Germany moved on to the Group A medal round. Romania, Yugoslavia, and Norway were placed in Group B to compete for positions 9th to 14th.

World Championship Group A (France)

Final Round

The first-place team won gold, the second place won silver, and the third place won bronze.

Source: HockeyCanada.ca

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	D	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Soviet Union	7	6	1	0	48	10	+38	12
2	Czechoslovakia	7	5	1	1	33	17	+16	11
3	Canada	7	5	2	0	28	15	+13	10
4	Sweden	7	4	2	1	23	18	+5	9
5	Finland	7	3	3	1	17	23	−6	7
6	United States	7	2	4	1	23	28	−5	5
7	West Germany	7	1	6	0	13	39	−26	2
8	East Germany	7	0	7	0	13	48	−35	0

World Championship Group B (France)

Consolation round

Teams in this group played to decide the rankings from 9th to 14th place.

Source: HockeyCanada.ca

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	D	GF	GA	GD	Pts
9	Yugoslavia	5	5	0	0	33	9	+24	10
10	Japan	5	4	1	0	27	12	+15	8
11	Norway	5	3	2	0	15	15	0	6
12	Romania	5	2	3	0	22	23	−1	4
13	Austria	5	1	4	0	12	27	−15	2
14	France	5	0	5	0	9	32	−23	0

Statistics

Average age

The team from the USSR was the oldest in the tournament, with an average age of 26 years and 9 months. The team from France was the youngest, averaging 22 years and 5 months. The average age for all teams was 24 years and 10 months.

Leading scorers

Leading scorers–Consolation round

Rk	Team	Player	GP	G	A	Pts
1		Anatoli Firsov	7	12	4	16
2		Viktor Polupanov	7	6	6	12
2		Viacheslav Starshinov	7	6	6	12
4		Vladimir Vikulov	7	2	10	12
5		Jozef Golonka	7	4	6	10
6		Fran Huck	7	4	5	9
7		Jan Hrbatý	7	2	7	9
8		Marshall Johnston	7	2	6	8
8		Jack Morrison	7	2	6	8
10		Václav Nedomanský	7	5	2	7

Rk	Team	Player	GP	G	A	Pts
1		Albin Felc	5	5	6	11
2		Viktor Tišler	5	8	2	10
2		Ivo Jan	5	6	2	8
4		Takao Hikigi	5	5	3	8
5		Iuliu Szabo	5	4	4	8

Final ranking

The men's ice hockey tournament at the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, France, had teams from many countries. The final ranking of the teams was as follows:

1. Soviet Union
2. Czechoslovakia
3. Canada
4. Sweden
5. Finland
6. United States
7. West Germany
8. East Germany
9. Yugoslavia
10. Japan
11. Norway
12. Romania
13. Austria
14. France

European Championship final ranking

Here is the final ranking from the European Championship held during the ice hockey event at the 1968 Winter Olympics:

1. Soviet Union
2. Czechoslovakia
3. Sweden
4. Finland
5. West Germany
6. East Germany
7. Yugoslavia
8. Norway
9. Romania
10. Austria
11. France

IIHF Awards

Best Goaltender	Ken Broderick
Best Defenceman	Josef Horešovský
Best Forward	Anatoli Firsov