1920 Czechoslovak national ice hockey team

Participants

Main article: Ice hockey at the 1920 Summer Olympics

Czechoslovakia competed in the inaugural Olympic ice hockey tournament. The team took a bronze medal, thanks in large part to the use of the Bergvall System in the tournament. This system allowed the team to continue competing despite an early loss. Czechoslovakia was blown out by Canada, 15 to nil, in the quarterfinals. Because Canada went on to win the gold medal, the Bergvall System operated to put Czechoslovakia in the silver medal tournament; there, the team received a bye in the semifinals and went immediately to play against the United States in the silver medal match. The Americans did Canada one better, beating Czechoslovakia 16 to nothing. Still the Czechoslovakian team was not done; having lost only to the gold and silver medalists, the team competed for the bronze medal. Again Czechoslovakia received a semifinal bye, facing Sweden in the bronze medal match. This time, they were on the right end of the shutout, beating the Swedes 1 to zero to finish in third place.