Ice hockey at the 1920 Summer Olympics

Ice hockey at the Olympic Games

Ice hockey at the
Games of the VII Olympiad1st Ice Hockey
World Championships

Picture of the Gold Medal-winning Winnipeg Falcons taken en route to the 1920 Olympics (photo includes an unidentified ships' officer and a woman)

Tournament details
Host country|  Belgium
Dates| April 23–29, 1920
Format| Bergvall System
Teams| 7
Final positions
Champions |  Canada
Winnipeg Falcons (1st title)
Runner-up |  United States
Third place |  Czechoslovakia
Fourth place|  Sweden
Tournament statistics
Games played| 10
Goals scored| 99 (9.9 per game)
Attendance| 6,946 (695 per game)
Scoring leader(s)|  Herb Drury (14 points)

1924 ->

Ice hockey was introduced to the Olympic Games at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp.[1][2] The tournament also served as the first World Championships. The matches were played between April 23 and April 29, 1920. Canada, represented by the Winnipeg Falcons, won the gold medal.[3] The silver went to the United States and Czechoslovakia took the bronze.

## Summary

[edit]

The organizing committee for the hockey matches included Paul Loicq, the captain of the Belgian team and a future president of the Ligue Internationale de Hockey sur Glace (LIHG).[4] The games used the Canadian ice hockey rules, and the Bergvall system to determine medal winning teams.[5]

The Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) chose the Winnipeg Falcons as the 1920 Allan Cup champions to represent the Canada men's national team, instead of forming a national all-star team on short notice.[6][7] Canada's manager W. A. Hewitt, introduced the CAHA rules of play to the LIHG at the Olympics.[8] Writer Andrew Podnieks described Hewitt's interpretation of the rules as "competitive yet gentlemanly", and that the rules of play were accepted for Olympic hockey.[9] Hewitt refereed the first Olympic hockey game played, an 8–0 win by the Sweden men's national team versus the Belgium men's national team, on April 23, 1920.[10]

All matches took place in the Palais de Glace d'Anvers (ice palace of Antwerp).[3] The rink was smaller than North American standards, measuring 56 metres (184 ft) long by 18 metres (59 ft) wide. All games were played with seven players per side, with the rover position being used. For the duration of each match no substitutions were permitted and if a player exited the game due to injury the opposing team was forced to take a player out as well. Additional differences from modern play included a prohibition on forward passing and the requirement that all players including the goaltender be standing on his skates to play the puck.[4] The duration of each game was two periods of twenty minutes each.[3] Any game tied at the end of forty minutes would be extended by two periods of five minutes each, not sudden death. If tied at the end of fifty minutes, this process would repeat—and repeat as many times as needed until a winner is declared.

This was the first ice hockey tournament at an Olympic Games, and the only ever instance of it at a Summer Olympics.[3] An ice hockey tournament was part of the inaugural Winter Olympics in 1924 and has been part of every Winter program since then.

## Medalists

[edit]

Palais de Glace d'Anvers ice rink where the ice hockey tournament was held. Gold  | Silver  | Bronze

|
|

Canada (CAN)

* * *

Robert Benson
Walter Byron
Frank Fredrickson
Chris Fridfinnson
Magnus Goodman
Haldor Halderson
Konrad Johannesson
Allan Woodman |  United States (USA)

* * *

Raymond Bonney
Anthony Conroy
Herbert Drury
Edward Fitzgerald
George Geran
Frank Goheen
Joseph McCormick
Lawrence McCormick
Frank Synott
Leon Tuck
Cyril Weidenborner |  Czechoslovakia (TCH)

* * *

Karel Hartmann
Vilém Loos
Jan Palouš
Jan Peka
Karel Pešek
Josef Šroubek
Otakar Vindyš
Karel Wälzer

## Participating nations

[edit]

See also: Ice hockey at the 1920 Summer Olympics – Rosters

A total of 60 ice hockey players from 7 nations competed at the Antwerp Games:

* Belgium (7)
* Canada (8)
* Czechoslovakia (8)
* France (7)
* Sweden (11)
* Switzerland (8)
* United States (11)

## Format

[edit]

Seven nations entered teams in the inaugural Olympic ice hockey tournament. The tournament format used the Bergvall system, starting with an elimination round to determine the gold medal winner, after which teams that lost to the tournament winner would play through a new bracket to determine silver. Finally, teams which lost to either the gold or silver winners would face off in a third bracket to determine the bronze winner. For the gold medal round, teams were drawn into the bracket with France receiving a bye to the semifinals.

At the time of draw, the Swedish team questioned how the matchups for the later rounds would be determined and it was believed that teams advancing further in the earlier round would receive a bye.[4] However, no decision was made and when it came time for the silver medal round Sweden and the United States were selected to play a semifinal game while Czechoslovakia received the bye. Later for the bronze medal round, organizers wanted to ensure the tournament would conclude on schedule but were reluctant to force the Czechoslovakians to play twice in one day. As a result, the Swedish team were made to play another semifinal game which would be their fourth in as many days with the bronze medal game the following day. This led to criticism of the format despite Bergvall later noting that the system was not used correctly.[4]

## Gold medal round (premier prix)

[edit]

### Bracket

[edit]

| Quarterfinals| | Semifinals| | Gold Medal Game

|
|
|
|
|

|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |

| April 23| | | | |

|  Sweden| 8

| April 25

|  Belgium| 0 |

|  Sweden| 4

| |  France| 0 |

| | April 26

|  Canada | 12

| April 24

| |  Sweden| 1

|  United States| 29

| April 25|

|  Switzerland| 0 |

|  Canada| 2

| April 24

| |  United States| 0 |

|  Canada| 15

|  Czechoslovakia| 0 |

### Quarterfinals

[edit]

23 April 1920
21:30| Sweden | 8 – 0
(5–0, 3–0)|  Belgium| Palais de Glace d'Anvers

|
|
|
|

Game reference

| Seth Howander| Goalies| François Vergult| Referee:
W. A. Hewitt
| Burman| 1 – 0|

|
|

Johansson| 2 – 0|
Burman| 3 – 0|
Lindqvist| 4 – 0|
Burman| 5 – 0|
Johansson| 6 – 0|
Molander| 7 – 0|
Lindqvist| 8 – 0|
12 min| Penalties| 6 min
| |
24 April 1920
17:00| United States | 29 – 0
(15–0, 14–0)|  Switzerland| Palais de Glace d'Anvers

|
|
|
|

Game reference

| Ray Bonney| Goalies| René Savoie| Referee:
Raoul Le Mat
| Conroy (8)
J. McCormick (7)
Drury (6)
Goheen (6)
Fitzgerald
Tuck| Goals|

|
|

7 min| Penalties| 0 min
| |
24 April 1920
21:30| Canada | 15 – 0
(7–0, 8–0)|  Czechoslovakia| Palais de Glace d'Anvers

|
|
|
|

Game reference

| Walter Byron| Goalies| Jan Peka|
| Halderson (7)
Fredrickson (4)
Goodman (2)
Woodman
Johannesson| Goals|

|
|

0 min| Penalties| 0 min
| |

### Semifinals

[edit]

25 April 1920
17:00| Sweden | 4 – 0
(2–0, 2–0)|  France| Palais de Glace d'Anvers

|
|
|
|

Game reference

| Seth Howander| Goalies| Jacques Gaittet| Referee:
Ernie Garon
| Burman| 1 – 0|

|
|

Svensson| 2 – 0|
Molander| 3 – 0|
Lindqvist| 4 – 0|
0 min| Penalties| 0 min
| Shots| 1
25 April 1920
21:00| Canada | 2 – 0
(0–0, 2–0)|  United States| Palais de Glace d'Anvers

|
|
|
|

Game reference

| Walter Byron| Goalies| Ray Bonney| Referee:
Alfred de Rauch
| Fredrickson| 1 – 0|

|
|

Johannesson| 2 – 0|
7 min| Penalties| 5 min
| |

### Gold medal game

[edit]

26 April 1920
22:00|  Canada | 12 – 1
(5–1, 7–0)|  Sweden| Palais de Glace d'Anvers

|
|
|
|

Game reference

| Walter Byron| Goalies| Seth Howander| Referee:
Joseph McCormick
| Halderson – 1:15| 1 – 0|

|
|

Fridfinnson − 1:55| 2 – 0|
Fredrickson – 5:20| 3 – 0|
| 3 – 1| 15:58 – Svensson
Fredrickson – 16:00| 4 – 1|
Fredrickson – 17:35| 5 – 1|
Goodman – 23:47| 6 – 1|
Benson – 28:09| 7 – 1|
Fredrickson – 29:15| 8 – 1|
Fredrickson – 29:30| 9 – 1|
Fredrickson – 34:55| 10 – 1|
Halderson – 36:20| 11 – 1|
Fredrickson – 39:02| 12 – 1|
0 min| Penalties| 0 min
| |

## Silver medal round (second prix)

[edit]

### Bracket

[edit]

| Semifinal| | Silver Medal Game

|
|
|

|  |  |  |  |  |

| April 27| |

|  United States| 7

| April 28

|  Sweden| 0 |

|  United States | 16

| |  Czechoslovakia| 0

### Semifinal

[edit]

27 April 1920
22:00| United States | 7 – 0
(5–0, 2–0)|  Sweden| Palais de Glace d'Anvers

|
|
|
|

Game reference

| Cy Weidenborner| Goalies| Seth Howander|
| Drury (4)
Geran (3)| Goals|

|
|

0 min| Penalties| 0 min
| |

### Silver medal game

[edit]

28 April 1920
22:00|  United States | 16 – 0
(7–0, 9–0)|  Czechoslovakia| Palais de Glace d'Anvers

|
|
|
|

Game reference

| Cy Weidenborner| Goalies| Jan Peka| Referee:
Paul Loicq
| L. McCormick (7)
Drury (4)
Conroy (2)
Goheen
J. McCormick
Synott| Goals|

|
|

0 min| Penalties| 0 min
| |

## Bronze medal round (troisième prix)

[edit]

### Bracket

[edit]

| Semifinal| | Bronze Medal Game

|
|
|

|  |  |  |  |  |

| April 28| |

|  Sweden| 4

| April 29

|  Switzerland| 0 |

|  Czechoslovakia | 1

| |  Sweden| 0

### Semifinal

[edit]

28 April 1920
23:30| Sweden | 4 – 0
(0–0, 4–0)|  Switzerland| Palais de Glace d'Anvers

|
|
|
|

Game reference

| Abbe Jansson| Goalies| René Savoie| Referee:
Frank Fredrickson
| Säfwenberg| 1 – 0|

|
|

Johansson| 2 – 0|
Arwe| 3 – 0|
Arwe| 4 – 0|
0 min| Penalties| 0 min
| |

### Bronze medal game

[edit]

29 April 1920
23:00|  Czechoslovakia | 1 – 0
(1–0, 0–0)|  Sweden| Palais de Glace d'Anvers

|
|
|
|

Game reference

| Karel Wälzer| Goalies| Seth Howander| Referee:
Frank Fredrickson
| Šroubek| 1 – 0|

|
|

0 min| Penalties| 0 min
2| Shots| 48

## Statistics

[edit]

### Average age

[edit]

Team France was the oldest team in the tournament, averaging 32 years and 11 months. Gold medalists team Canada was the youngest team in the tournament, averaging 24 years and 5 months. Tournament average was 26 years and 9 months.[11]

### Scoring leaders

[edit]

Player | GP | G

|
|

Herb Drury (USA) | 4 | 14
Frank Fredrickson (CAN) | 3 | 12
Anthony Conroy (USA) | 4 | 10
Haldor Halderson (CAN) | 3 | 9
Joe McCormick (USA) | 3 | 8
Moose Goheen (USA) | 6 | 7
Larry McCormick (USA) | 1 | 5
Erik Burman (SWE) | 5 | 4
Gerry Geran (USA) | 2 | 3
Magnus Goodman (CAN) | 3 | 3

Source: olympedia.org

## Final ranking

[edit]

Winnipeg Falcons team photo at the 1920 Summer Olympics Pos | Team  | Pld | W | L | GF | GA | GD

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

|  Canada | 3  | 3  | 0  | 29  | 1  | +28
|  United States | 4  | 3  | 1  | 52  | 2  | +50
|  Czechoslovakia | 3  | 1  | 2  | 1  | 31  | −30
4  |  Sweden | 6  | 3  | 3  | 17  | 20  | −3
5  |  Switzerland | 2  | 0  | 2  | 0  | 33  | −33
5  |  France | 1  | 0  | 1  | 0  | 4  | −4
5  |  Belgium | 1  | 0  | 1  | 0  | 8  | −8

Source: olympedia.org

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Justin Felisko. "When Ice Hockey Was A Summer Sport". USA Hockey Magazine. Retrieved 2016-10-25.
2. ^ "Ice Hockey at the 1920 Antwerp Summer Games". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
3. ^ a b c d Smith, Stephen (23 April 2020). "Remembering Canada's first Olympic hockey gold: Winning gold 100 years ago in Antwerp, Belgium, Canada's team set a standard for Olympic hockey dominance that would last for three more successive Games". Canadian Geographic. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
4. ^ a b c d Hansen, Kenth (May 1996). "The Birth of Swedish Ice Hockey – Antwerp 1920". LA84 Digital Library. Retrieved 2021-05-27.
5. ^ "Story #21: Ice Hockey debuts at the Olympics". International Ice Hockey Federation. 2008. Archived from the original on 2019-07-24. Retrieved 2019-07-25.
6. ^ Podnieks, Andrew (1997), p. 2
7. ^ Podnieks, Andrew; Hockey Hall of Fame (2005), pp. 28–29
8. ^ "Pro Officials Like Own Interpretation Of Rules". Winnipeg Free Press. Winnipeg, Manitoba. December 7, 1957. p. 43.
9. ^ Podnieks, Andrew (1997), p. 4
10. ^ "IIHF Honour Roll: W. A. Hewitt". Legends of Hockey. Hockey Hall of Fame. 2013. Retrieved January 3, 2022.
11. ^ "Team Canada - Olympics - Antwerpen 1920 - Player Stats". QuantHockey. Retrieved 23 April 2020.

## Sources

[edit]

* Podnieks, Andrew (1997). Canada's Olympic Hockey Teams: The Complete History 1920–1998. Toronto, Ontario: Doubleday Canada. ISBN 0-385-25688-4.
* Podnieks, Andrew; Hockey Hall of Fame (2005). Silverware. Toronto, Ontario: Fenn Publishing. ISBN 1-55168-296-6.
* Hansen, Kenth (May 1996), "The Birth of Swedish Ice Hockey – Antwerp 1920", Citius, Altiu, Fortius, 4 (2): 5–27
* Wallechinsky, David; Loucky, Jaime (2005), The Complete Book of the Winter Olympics: Turin 2006 Edition, Wilmington, Delaware: Sport Media Publishing, ISBN 1-894963-45-8

## External links

[edit]

* 1920 Olympic Games report (digitized copy online)
* International Olympic Committee results database
* Ishockey VM OS 1920-1939
* Olympedia Olympic results database

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Events at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp

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* ~~2020~~
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* Team appearances
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*[GP]: Games played
*[G]: Goals
*[Pos]: Position
*[Pld]: Played
*[W]: Won
*[L]: Lost
*[GF]: Goals for
*[GA]: Goals against
*[GD]: Goal difference
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template