Despite being a late addition to the Olympic program, in 1924, men’s ice hockey became an instant success. The high-powered, edge-of-your-seat sport was a great fit for the Winter Games and has been a mainstay at every edition since.
During the 1920s, teams from Canada dominated the tournament, winning six of the first seven gold medals. That was broken by a team from the Soviet Union, which won nine straight medals through 1956 before the U.S. reclaimed the top spot in 1960 and 1980, resulting in the famous “Miracle on Ice” upset of the Soviets that lives on in hockey lore to this day.
A new era began in the 1990s, with Sweden grabbing its first gold in 1994 after a shootout classic, and the Czech Republic (now the Czechia) taking silver behind Dominik Hasek’s imperious goaltending. Then Canada reset its own story, regaining the top spot in 2002 and retaining it in 2010 and 2014.
The shootout is used to determine a winner in a tie game after a five-minute overtime period. Eric Lindros, now of the Toronto Maple Leafs, shot first for Canada. He sent a slap shot in front of the net, and when it appeared to hit the back of the goal line, the referee gave a signal and the puck was awarded as a goal.
In the next shootout, Shannon Szabados of Canada was up against Peter Draisaitl of Germany. The Canadian goalie skated forward, leaned in and sent a wrist shot on the short side of the net. The puck bounced off the back of the net and wobbled into the goal for a victory that capped a memorable tournament.