1956 Winter Olympics

The men's ice hockey tournament at the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, was the 8th Olympic Championship, also serving as the 23rd World Championships and the 34th European Championships. The tournament was held at the Olympic Ice Stadium and the Apollonio Stadium.

East and West Germany could not come to an agreement over how to formulate a combined team, so they played a qualification game against each other, which the west won. The east hosted a tournament for non qualified teams, often referred to as World Championships Pool B, between GDR, Norway and Belgium in Berlin.

The Soviets won all their games to claim their first Olympic title, their second World title, and their third European title. Canada, represented by the Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen, won its eighth consecutive Olympic ice hockey medal, though this was its first ever bronze medal.

Qualification

 * November 16, 1955
 * East Germany 3-7 West Germany

First round
Top two teams (shaded ones) from each group earned a right to play for 1st-6th places.

Group A

 * January 26
 * Canada 4-0 Germany (UTG)
 * Italy 2-2 Austria


 * January 27
 * Italy 2-2 Germany (UTG)
 * Canada 23-0 Austria


 * January 28
 * Germany (UTG) 7-0 Austria
 * Italy 1-3 Canada

Group B

 * January 27
 * Czechoslovakia 4-3 USA


 * January 28
 * USA 4-0 Poland


 * January 29
 * Czechoslovakia 8-3 Poland

Group C

 * January 27
 * USSR 5-1 Sweden


 * January 28
 * Sweden 6-5 Switzerland


 * January 29
 * USSR 10-3 Switzerland

Final round
First place team wins gold, second silver and third bronze.


 * January 30
 * USA 7-2 Germany (UTG)
 * Canada 6-3 Czechoslovakia
 * USSR 4-1 Sweden


 * January 31
 * USSR 8-0 Germany (UTG)
 * Sweden 5-0 Czechoslovakia
 * USA 4-1 Canada


 * February 1
 * USA 6-1 Sweden


 * February 2
 * Canada 10-0 Germany (UTG)
 * USSR 7-4 Czechoslovakia


 * February 3
 * Czechoslovakia 9-3 Germany (UTG)
 * Canada 6-2 Sweden
 * USSR 4-0 USA


 * February 4
 * USSR 2-0 Canada
 * Germany (UTG) 1-1 Sweden
 * USA 9-4 Czechoslovakia

Consolation round

 * January 31
 * Switzerland 7-4 Austria


 * February 1
 * Poland 6-2 Switzerland
 * Italy 8-2 Austria


 * February 2
 * Italy 8-3 Switzerland
 * Poland 4-3 Austria


 * February 3
 * Italy 5-2 Poland

Final Round

 * March 8
 * East Germany 4-1 Norway


 * March 9
 * East Germany 14-7 Belgium


 * March 10
 * Norway 7-5 Belgium

Tournament awards

 * Best players selected by the directorate:
 * Best Goaltender: 🇺🇸 Willard Ikola
 * Best Defenceman: Nikolai Sologubov
 * Best Forward: 🇨🇦 Jack McKenzie