One of the most popular Winter Olympic sports is ice hockey. While NHL players are not allowed to participate, the Olympic tournament still attracts a lot of talent from around the world.
The men’s tournament first debuted in 1920. Canada dominated the event until 1956, when the Soviets began to dominate. The USSR won nine straight Olympic gold medals before the Americans won a historic upset in 1980 at Lake Placid, dubbed “the Miracle on Ice.”
When it comes to men’s ice hockey, there are few teams who have matched the success of Canada, which has won a total of 15 medals including nine golds. Sweden, Finland and the Czech Republic have each won a gold medal as well.
The ice is divided into three zones by the blue lines that are painted across the width of the rink. If the puck crosses a blue line into an attacking zone, a team is offside and the referee must blow his whistle to warn the players.
The rules of the game are complex and involve a number of different penalties, including offside and hooking. A hooking penalty occurs when a player impedes the progress of an opposing player with their stick, either by pulling or tugging on a piece of the body or stick. Players are also penalized for pushing an opposing player out of the way during a faceoff, and a player may not delay play by intentionally shooting the puck out of bounds or shifting the goal line.