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Olympic Hockey – Early Years Trivia

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Disguised as a winter sporting event, the first World Championship games were a demonstration event at the 1920 Summer Olympics. One stipulation was that if hockey was played, figure skating must be included. Sweden shut out host team Belgium 8-0 on April 23, 1920 in Antwerp in game # 1. Bill Hewitt refereed the first hockey game. Kristmundur “Chris” Fridfinnson scored the goal that gave Canada its first Olympic gold medal. Einar Svenson scored the first goal against Canada in Olympic competition. With a 3-0 lead, Svenson scored for the Swedes at 3:58 p.m. in the first half. It should be noted that the first Olympic hockey games were divided into two 20-minute halves.

MEDALS: GOLD – CANADA … Silver – United States … Bronze – Czechoslovakia

1924: The 1924 Winter Olympics, officially known as the First Winter Olympics, were held in Chamonix, France. Originally called Semaine des Sports d’Hiver “International Winter Sports Week” and held in association with the 1924 Summer Olympics, the sporting competitions held at the foot of Mont Blanc in Chamonix, Haute-Savoie, between the 25th of January and February 5. Harry Watson played 5 matches and scored a hat trick in each contest. With a fast start, Harry scored a total of 11, 13 and 6 goals, 3 games in three days. After a day off, Watson scored hat tricks against Great Britain and the United States in the competition for the medal. It is still a total goals record … 36 goals for the tournament. Canada divided 17 hat tricks among 4 players. After representing the United States at the 1924 Olympics, Al “Frenchy” Lacroix became George Vezina’s understudy with the Canadiens. Lacroix relieved Vezina during the 1925-26 season. Alphonse Albert Lacroix hailed from Newton, Massachusetts.

MEDALS: GOLD – CANADA … Silver – United States … Bronze – Great Britain

1928: At the 1928 Olympics, Canadian gold medal winners “shut out” the opposition entirely. Represented by the Toronto Grads University, Canada shut out the European opposition three in a row. Due to its known superiority, Canada received an automatic “goodbye” in the medal round. They claimed gold by blanking Sweden 11-0, Great Britain 14-0 and Switzerland 13-0. Dr. Joe Sullivan recorded shutouts in games # 1 and # 3. “Stuffy” Mueller blanked Great Britain. Future Montreal Maroons teammates Hugh Plaxton and Dave Trottier led the Canadian scoreboard with 12 goals each. Despite not being behind the bench, Conn Smythe received a gold medal at the 1928 Olympics. Two of the Canadian players, Hugh Plaxton and Joe Sullivan, lobbied for their relatives to join the 1928 Olympic team. Smythe did not agree. Frank Sullivan, Roger and Bert Plaxton were added. The players won the dispute. They went for the gold. Conn Smythe stayed home. Manager Bill Hewitt was left in charge of the Canadian squad.

MEDALS: GOLD – CANADA … Silver – Sweden … Bronze – Switzerland

1932: The rules on the amateur status of players competing in Olympic tournaments were very strict. Once again, the US Olympic Committee bent the rules of amateur vs. professional in 1932. Before the Lake Placid games, the United States team played the Boston Bruins. The United States Olympic team received receipts for the game. The Americans claimed that they could not afford to travel to the games if they did not accept the proceeds. The Canadians refused to file a protest. The initial showdown of the 1932 Olympic showdown Canada vs. The United States was delayed. Before action, American goalkeeper Frank Farrell had his goalie pads tied so tightly that they were within legal width. When the goalkeeper’s knees were together, the pads could not be more than 20 inches wide. The two-referee system was accepted. Only two men officiated all the contests … Lou Marsh from Canada and Don Sands from the United States. The tournament was a free-for-all doubles series. The teams played periods of 3 to 15 minutes.

MEDALS: GOLD – CANADA … Silver – United States … Bronze – Germany

1936: The Port Arthur Bearcats were elected as Canada’s representatives at the 1936 Olympics by default. The usual procedure was that the Allan Cup champions from previous years would be Canada’s chosen team. However, the 1935 Halifax Wolverines lost most of their best players after their Allan Cup victory. Impossible to form a competitive team, the Olympic committee chose the runner-up Bearcats. Canada’s Olympic streak reached 20 before suffering its first loss. After 3 victories in Group “A”, the Canadian squad was brought down by Great Britain 2 – 1. February 10, 1936 – Chirp Brenchley scored the winning goal at 13:48 in the third period. Carl Erhardt was the oldest player to win an Olympic hockey gold medal. Born on February 15, 1897, Erhardt was captain of the 1936 Olympic champions. Carl was 39 years old at the time.

MEDALS: GOLD – GREAT BRITAIN … Silver – Canada … Bronze – United States

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