Ice hockey was introduced to the Olympics in 1920 and is currently a winter Olympic sport. The sport was first included in the men’s tournament, and a memorable moment from that event is known as “the Miracle on Ice.” In 1980 in Lake Placid, the United States shocked the Soviet Union in the semifinals of the Olympic ice hockey competition, and it is still considered one of the greatest upsets in the history of the game.
The games are played on a rectangular ice surface, which is divided into three zones by blue lines. The neutral zone is in the middle and includes a center circle where faceoffs take place, with attacking and defending zones on either side of it. Each zone also has a faceoff circle, spots and a goal crease.
Each team consists of six players and the goalkeeper. There is a referee and linesmen for each game, and the rules of the game are set by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). The rules are slightly different than those used in professional NHL hockey. The IIHF also has rules regarding the use of performance enhancing drugs, and it maintains a Registered Testing Pool of top players who are subject to regular in-competition testing.
The Olympics are held every four years and the games begin with a round-robin tournament where each team plays each other once. After that, the teams that are ranked highest in the group play each other once more in an elimination round. The winning team earns a gold medal and the losing team earns silver.
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