Ice hockey at the 1998 Winter Olympics

1998 was the first year that featured women in ice hockey competition. It was greatly anticipated that the women's gold medal match would feature Canada versus the United States, with Canada winning, Canada having won all the competitions in previous years in women's hockey, and the United States perpetually finishing second, with no one else up their level of play. However, the United States became the first country to win gold in women's ice hockey at the Olympics.

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1998 was the first year that the modern NHL took a break to allow its players to participate in the Olympics, allowing the United States and Canada to field teams with professionals of top calibre, as the European teams were doing since the IIHF first allowed professinals into the Olympics. The United States is remembered as the ugly Americans due to violence after it was downed in the quarterfinals. Many American players trashed their hotel rooms (the US squad did not stay in the Olympic village), and they left without apologizing. The Canadian team failed to play well after losing their semifinal match, and disappointed Canadians who wished for Wayne Gretzky to get an Olympic medal, playing a lacklustre bronze medal game.

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Memorably, during the shootout in their semifinal match against the Czech Republic, Canadian coach Marc Crawford opted to have defenseman Ray Bourque shoot in the shootout instead of NHL all-time leading scorer Gretzky. Hockey commentators alternatively criticized Crawford's decision (Bourque, like the other four Canadian shooters, failed to score) and praised it on the grounds that Bourque was one of hockey's most accurate shooters at the time and Gretzky had always been surprisingly mediocre on breakaways. The Czech Republic went on to win the game and the gold medal.

Related Topics:
Czech Republic - Marc Crawford - Ray Bourque

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Japanese fans were disappointed when their adopted hero, Paul Kariya, a Canadian of Japanese heritage, failed to make the games due to a vicious injury suffered in seasonal play in the NHL. They shifted their attentions to a Canadian player of Japanese extraction, Vicky Sunohara, and were pleased with a vicarious silver medal from Canada's women's team.

Related Topics:
Paul Kariya - NHL - Vicky Sunohara

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Games were played at The Big Hat and Aqua Wing Arena.

Related Topics:
The Big Hat - Aqua Wing Arena

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Ice Hockey medal winners at the 1998 Winter Olympics:

Related Topics:
Ice Hockey - 1998 Winter Olympics

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