Hockey is played on ice between two teams of five players each, using curved sticks to maneuver the rubber puck into their opponent’s goal. A game consists of three 20-minute periods with two 15-minute intermissions. In Olympic competition, games cannot end in a tie; deadlocks are broken by either a four-on-four overtime period or, for playoff games and the gold medal game, a shootout.
The 1980 Lake Placid “Miracle on Ice” game was a major upset that sent shockwaves across the United States and shook the Soviet Union, which had won all of the previous gold medals in men’s ice hockey. The American team featured future NHL stars like Wayne Gretzky and Eric Lindros, as well as the legendary goalie Vladislav Tretiak.
After the first period, the Soviets took a 1-0 lead, but in the second period, Buzz Schneider scored to tie the game at 1-1. Then, with only a few seconds left on the clock, Mark Johnson sent a slap shot toward Tretiak’s net. It deflected off the left shoulder of the goalie and crossed the goal line, earning Johnson a spot in Olympic history and saving the Americans from defeat.
The 1998 tournament saw a change in the format, as an agreement was reached to allow NHL players to play in the Olympics. The tournament began with a preliminary round without NHL players or the top six teams (Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, Russia, Sweden and the United States), followed by a final round that included those players.