1996 World Cup of Hockey
Tournament details
Host countries Canada
 Czech Republic
 Finland
 Germany
 Sweden
 United States
Venue(s)9 (in 9 host cities)
DatesAugust 26 – September 14, 1996
Teams8
Final positions
Champions  United States (1st title)
Tournament statistics
Games played19
Goals scored140 (7.37 per game)
Scoring leader(s)United States Brett Hull (11 pts)
MVPUnited States Mike Richter

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

Inaugural World Cup of Hockey

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

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

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

The tournament did see some controversy after the Canada-Russia game in Vancouver was played when Sweden's coach Kent Forsberg said he believed "Canada cheated its way to victory" through help of Canadian NHL referees that saw two goals disallowed and several controversial penalties for Russia.[2][3] The Russian's coach Boris Mikhailov echoed a similar sentiment after the game saying "It was the referees' victory", as Russia felt there was "biased officiating".[3][4][5]

In the best-of-three final, Canada won the first game, in Philadelphia, 4–3 in overtime. Then the USA recorded a memorable pair of 5–2 victories in Montreal to win the series. In the third and decisive game, the US received spectacular goaltending from tournament MVP Mike Richter[6] and rallied from a 2–1 deficit in the third period by scoring four goals in the final 3:18 of the game. Tony Amonte scored the game-winning goal.

Rosters

Venues

North American pool and playoffs
European pool

Results

Exhibition Games (incomplete list)

  • Russia 5–4 Finland (Moscow)[7]
  • Sweden 2–3 Russia (Stockholm)[7]
  • Germany 2–4 Russia (Landshut)[8]
  • Canada 4–4 Russia (Calgary)[9]
  • United States 4–6 Russia (Detroit) [10]
  • United States 1–3 Canada (Vancouver)[11]
  • Canada 5–7 United States (San Jose)[12]
  • Slovakia 4–7 Canada (Edmonton)[13]
  • Slovakia 2–9 United States (Providence)[13]

North American pool

Team Pld W L D GF GA GD Pts Qualification
 United States 3 3 0 0 19 8 +11 6 Advanced to semifinals
 Canada 3 2 1 0 11 10 +1 4 Advanced to quarterfinals
 Russia 3 1 2 0 12 14 −2 2
 Slovakia 3 0 3 0 9 19 −10 0
Source:

Scores

  • August 29, Vancouver: Russia 3–5 Canada
  • August 31, Montreal: Slovakia 4–7 Russia
  • August 31, Philadelphia: Canada 3–5 United States
  • September 1, Ottawa: Canada 3–2 Slovakia
  • September 2, New York City: Russia 2–5 United States
  • September 3, New York City: United States 9–3 Slovakia

European pool

Team Pld W L D GF GA GD Pts Qualification
 Sweden 3 3 0 0 14 3 +11 6 Advanced to semifinals
 Finland 3 2 1 0 17 11 +6 4 Advanced to quarterfinals
 Germany 3 1 2 0 11 15 −4 2
 Czech Republic 3 0 3 0 4 17 −13 0
Source:

Scores

  • August 26, Stockholm: Germany 1–6 Sweden
  • August 27, Helsinki: Finland 7–3 Czech Republic
  • August 28, Helsinki: Germany 3–8 Finland
  • August 29, Prague: Sweden 3–0 Czech Republic
  • August 31, Garmisch: Czech Republic 1–7 Germany
  • September 1, Stockholm: Finland 2–5 Sweden

Knockout stage

QuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinal
September 8
September 6 Russia2
E2 Finland0 United States5September 10–14
NA3 Russia5 United States355
September 7 Canada422
September 5 Canada3
E3 Germany1 Sweden2
NA2 Canada4

Quarterfinals

  • September 5, Montreal: Germany 1–4 Canada
  • September 6, Ottawa: Russia 5–0 Finland

Semifinals

  • September 7, Philadelphia: Canada 3–2 Sweden (2OT)
  • September 8, Ottawa: Russia 2–5 United States

Finals

  • September 10, Philadelphia: Canada 4–3 United States (OT)
  • September 12, Montreal: United States 5-2 Canada
  • September 14, Montreal: United States 5-2 Canada

Statistics and awards

 1996 World Cup of Hockey winners 

United States
1st title

Tournament MVP

All-star team

[14]

Final standings

1 United States
2 Canada
3 Sweden
4 Russia
5 Finland
6 Germany
7 Slovakia
8 Czech Republic

Top scorers

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

See also

References

  1. ↑ "CNN/SI - Nagano Olympics - Athlete profile: Dominik Hasek - February 3, 1998". Sports Illustrated. February 3, 1998. Retrieved August 15, 2013.
  2. ↑ "Swedish Coach Accuses Canada Of Winning Unfairly". Apnewsarchive.com. August 31, 1996. Retrieved August 15, 2013.
  3. 1 2 "15th Anniversary Memories: 1996 World Cup of Hockey - Philadelphia Flyers - News". Flyers.nhl.com. Retrieved August 15, 2013.
  4. ↑ "Cup Runneth Over For Canada Disallowed Goals Wreck Russians" NY Daily News by Frank Brown, August 30, 1996
  5. ↑ "Swedish Coach Accuses Canada of Winning Unfairly". www.apnewsarchive.com. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
  6. ↑ Fleury, Theo; Kirstie McLellan Day (2009). Playing With Fire. HarperCollins. pp. 133–139. ISBN 978-1-55468-239-3.
  7. 1 2 "Ľ189/14/Sports". Friends-partners.org. Archived from the original on October 28, 2018. Retrieved August 15, 2013.
  8. ↑ Joe Lapointe (August 18, 1996). "Superpowers Lace Up To Take On the World". New York Times. Retrieved August 15, 2013.
  9. ↑ Joe Lapointe (August 29, 1996). "Matchup of Power Players". New York Times. Retrieved August 15, 2013.
  10. ↑ Joe Lapointe (August 25, 1996). "Russians Mix and Match for World Cup". New York Times. Retrieved August 15, 2013.
  11. ↑ "Canada beats U.S. in World Cup of Hockey competition". Deseret News. August 21, 1996. p. D5. Retrieved June 13, 2014.
  12. ↑ "Spirited Victory for U.S. High Intensity: The Hits Just Keep on Coming in World Cup of Hockey Exhibition". San Jose Mercury News. August 22, 1996. Retrieved June 13, 2014.
  13. 1 2 "Team USA routs Slovakia in last tuneup for new tournament". The Washington Times. August 26, 1996. Retrieved June 13, 2014.
  14. ↑ Canadian Press (September 18, 1996). "No Canadian all-stars chosen". Archived from the original on April 12, 1997. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
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