1996 World Cup of Hockey

The first World Cup of Hockey (WCH), or 1996 World Cup of Hockey, replaced the Canada Cup as one of the premier championships (along with the Winter Olympic tournament, which professionals have competed in since 1998).

The first edition of the Cup featured eight teams divided into two groups. The European Group, whose games were all played in Europe, included the Czech Republic, Finland, Germany and Sweden. The North American Group played in North American cities and included Canada, Russia, Slovakia and the United States.

After the teams played a three-game group stage, the top team in each group advanced to the semi-finals, while the second and third place teams played cross-over quarter-finals. The quarter-finals and semi-finals were single elimination games. The championship final was a best-of-three. All playoff games were played in North America.

In the biggest surprise of the tournament, Germany defeated Czech Republic 7-1 in the European Group, which eliminated the Czechs and sent the Germans into the quarter-finals. In the biggest game of the North American Group, USA defeated Canada 5-3 to finish first and get a bye to the semi-finals. In the semis, they defeated Russia 5-2, while Canada beat Sweden 3-2 on Theoren Fleury's goal at 19:47 of the second overtime period, ending the longest game in international hockey history.

In the best-of-three final, Canada won the first game, in Philadelphia, 4-3 in overtime. Then the USA recorded a pair of 5-2 victories in Montreal to win the series. In the third and decisive game, the US received spectacular goaltending from tournament MVP Mike Richter and rallied from a 2-1 deficit in the third period.

Rosters

 * see 1996 World Cup of Hockey rosters

Venues

 * General Motors Place, Vancouver
 * Corel Centre, Ottawa
 * Molson Centre, Montreal
 * CoreStates Center, Philadelphia
 * Madison Square Garden, New York
 * Globen, Stockholm
 * Helsinki Ice Hall, Helsinki
 * Garmisch Olympia Stadion, Garmisch
 * Sportovní hala, Prague

Scores

 * August 29, Vancouver: Russia 3-5 Canada
 * August 31, Montreal: Slovakia 4-7 Russia
 * August 31, Philadelphia: Canada 3-5 United States
 * September 1, Ottawa: Canada 3-2 Slovakia
 * September 2, New York City: Russia 2-5 United States
 * September 3, New York City : United States 9-3 Slovakia

Scores

 * August 26, Stockholm: Germany 1-6 Sweden
 * August 27, Helsinki: Finland 7-3 Czech Republic
 * August 28, Helsinki: Germany 3-8 Finland
 * August 29, Prague: Sweden 3-0 Czech Republic
 * August 31, Garmisch: Czech Republic 1-7 Germany
 * September 1, Stockholm: Finland 2-5 Sweden

Quarterfinals

 * September 5, Montreal: Germany 1-4 Canada
 * September 6, Ottawa: Russia 5-0 Finland

Semifinals

 * September 7, Philadelphia: Canada 3-2 Sweden (2OT)
 * September 8, Ottawa: Russia 2-5 United States

Finals

 * September 10, Philadelphia: Canada 4-3 United States (OT)
 * September 12, Montreal: United States 5-2 Canada
 * September 14, Montreal: Canada 2-5 United States

Leading scorers

 * Leading Goaltender: Curtis Joseph, Canada (2.31 GAA)
 * Tournament MVP: Mike Richter, USA

All-star team

 * Goaltender: Mike Richter, USA
 * Defence: Calle Johansson, Sweden; Chris Chelios,USA
 * Forwards: Brett Hull, USA; Mats Sundin, Sweden; John LeClair, USA