The organizing committee for the hockey matches included Paul Loicq, the captain of the Belgian team and a future president of the Ligue Internationale de Hockey sur Glace (LIHG).[4] The games used the Canadian ice hockey rules, and the Bergvall system to determine medal winning teams.[5]
All matches took place in the Palais de Glace d'Anvers (ice palace of Antwerp).[3] The rink was smaller than North American standards, measuring 56 metres (184 ft) long by 18 metres (59 ft) wide. All games were played with seven players per side, with the rover position being used. For the duration of each match no substitutions were permitted and if a player exited the game due to injury the opposing team was forced to take a player out as well. Additional differences from modern play included a prohibition on forward passing and the requirement that all players including the goaltender be standing on his skates to play the puck.[4] The duration of each game was two periods of twenty minutes each.[3] Any game tied at the end of forty minutes would be extended by two periods of five minutes each, not sudden death. If tied at the end of fifty minutes, this process would repeat—and repeat as many times as needed until a winner is declared.
This was the first ice hockey tournament at an Olympic Games, and the only ever instance of it at a Summer Olympics.[3] An ice hockey tournament was part of the inaugural Winter Olympics in 1924 and has been part of every Winter program since then.
Seven nations entered teams in the inaugural Olympic ice hockey tournament. The tournament format used the Bergvall system, starting with an elimination round to determine the gold medal winner, after which teams that lost to the tournament winner would play through a new bracket to determine silver. Finally, teams which lost to either the gold or silver winners would face off in a third bracket to determine the bronze winner. For the gold medal round, teams were drawn into the bracket with France receiving a bye to the semifinals.
At the time of draw, the Swedish team questioned how the matchups for the later rounds would be determined and it was believed that teams advancing further in the earlier round would receive a bye.[4] However, no decision was made and when it came time for the silver medal round Sweden and the United States were selected to play a semifinal game while Czechoslovakia received the bye. Later for the bronze medal round, organizers wanted to ensure the tournament would conclude on schedule but were reluctant to force the Czechoslovakians to play twice in one day. As a result, the Swedish team were made to play another semifinal game which would be their fourth in as many days with the bronze medal game the following day. This led to criticism of the format despite Bergvall later noting that the system was not used correctly.[4]
Team France was the oldest team in the tournament, averaging 32 years and 11 months. Gold medalists team Canada was the youngest team in the tournament, averaging 24 years and 5 months. Tournament average was 26 years and 9 months.[11]
Hansen, Kenth (May 1996), "The Birth of Swedish Ice Hockey – Antwerp 1920", Citius, Altiu, Fortius, 4 (2): 5–27
Wallechinsky, David; Loucky, Jaime (2005), The Complete Book of the Winter Olympics: Turin 2006 Edition, Wilmington, Delaware: Sport Media Publishing, ISBN1-894963-45-8
Belgium
Canada
United States
Czechoslovakia
Sweden
Belgium (7)
Canada (8)
Czechoslovakia (8)
France (7)
Sweden (11)
Switzerland (8)
United States (11)
France
Switzerland
Herb Drury (USA)
Frank Fredrickson (CAN)
Erik Burman (SWE)
