World Cup of Hockey
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2008-07-10T20:19:57Z
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:''This article is about Ice Hockey. For other [[hockey]] World Cups, see [[World Cup (hockey)]] for disambiguation.''
[[Image:World Cup Hockey.jpg|right|140px]]
The '''World Cup of Hockey''' is an international [[ice hockey]] tournament. Until 1996, the tournament was called the '''Canada Cup'''.{{Fact|date=June 2008}} There is currently no upcoming instalment of this tournament scheduled.
==History==
[[Alan Eagleson]] came up with the idea of the Canada Cup in 1966 while painting his home in Parry Sound, Ontario and listening to the [[FIFA World Cup]] final on the radio. He said to himself, "if they can do a World Cup for soccer then why not a World Cup for hockey as well?"{{Fact|date=February 2007}} Following the exciting [[Summit Series|1972 Summit Series]] between Canada and the Soviet Union, interest in a world professional [[ice hockey]] championship increased substantially. The Canada Cup would bring together the top hockey-playing countries in the world.
It was held in 1976, 1981, 1984, 1987 and 1991. It featured competition between teams representing [[Canada]], [[Czechoslovakia]], [[Finland]], the [[Soviet Union]], [[Sweden]], the [[United States]], and (in 1984 only, taking the place of Finland) [[West Germany]]. All the tournaments were won by Canada except the 1981 tournament, which was won by the Soviet Union. The 1987 event is often called one of the most spectacular in hockey history as #99 [[Wayne Gretzky]] and #66 [[Mario Lemieux]] combined forces to capture the [[Canada Cup]] at [[Copps Coliseum]] as Team Canada defeated the Soviets. Canada won that series 2 games to one and all three games ended in 6-to-5 scores, with two games ending in overtime. <ref name=memproj2>{{cite press release| title = "Tigertown Triumphs"| publisher =The Hamilton Spectator-Memory Project (Souvenir Edition) page MP56| date =[[2006-06-10]]| accessdate = 2007-02-16}}</ref> The 1987 and 1991 finals were both held in [[Hamilton, Ontario]]. <ref name=memproj2>{{cite press release| title = "Tigertown Triumphs"| publisher =The Hamilton Spectator-Memory Project (Souvenir Edition) page MP56| date =[[2006-06-10]]| accessdate = 2007-02-16}}</ref>
In [[1996]], The Canada Cup officially changed its name to the World Cup of Hockey. The national team of the [[United States]] defeated [[Canadian national men's hockey team|Canada]] to win the championship. The other competitors were the national teams of the [[Czech Republic]], [[Finland]], [[Germany]], [[Russia]], [[Slovakia]], and [[Sweden]]. In the [[2004 World Cup of Hockey]] tournament [[Canada]] won the championship, after it defeated [[Finland]] in the final match and the [[Czech Republic]] in the semifinals.
The World Cup of Hockey is not to be confused with the [[Ice Hockey World Championships]], an annual tournament played since 1930 . In particular, the World Cup of Hockey is organized by the [[National Hockey League]] and not the [[International Ice Hockey Federation]], with its games played under NHL rules and not those of the IIHF. As well, the World Championships overlap with the NHL playoffs (the second round and beyond of the NHL postseason), so most of the best players are tied to their professional clubs, whereas the World Cup is always during the NHL offseason.
==Results==
<table border=1>
<tr><th>Year<th margin=left>Champion<th>Runner-up<th>3. place
<tr><td>[[1976 Canada Cup|1976]] <td>{{ih|CAN}} <td>{{ih|TCH}}<td>{{ih|URS}}
<tr><td>[[1981 Canada Cup|1981]]<td>{{ih|URS}}<td>{{ih|CAN}}<td>{{ih|TCH}}
<tr><td>[[1984 Canada Cup|1984]]<td>{{ih|CAN}}<td>{{ih|SWE}}<td>{{ih|URS}}
<tr><td>[[1987 Canada Cup|1987]]<td>{{ih|CAN}}<td>{{ih|URS}}<td>{{ih|SWE}}
<tr><td>[[1991 Canada Cup|1991]]<td>{{ih|CAN}}<td>{{ih|USA}}<td>{{ih|FIN}}
</table>
In 1996, the Canada Cup became officially known as the [[World Cup of Hockey]]. There was no tournament held in 2000, none schedualed for 2008, and the tournament's future is uncertain. During a meeting about a new NHL transfer agreement with the new Kontinential Hockey League, there have been talks of having a World Cup of Hockey in 2012.
{| class="wikitable"
|- bgcolor=#efefef
! Year !! Champion !! Runner-up !! Semi-finalists
|-
| [[1996 World Cup of Hockey|1996]] ||{{ih|USA}} || {{ih|CAN}} || {{ih|RUS}} and {{ih|SWE}}
|-
| [[2004 World Cup of Hockey|2004]] || {{ih|CAN}} || {{ih|FIN}} || {{ih|CZE}} and {{ih|USA}}
|}
===Trophy===
In 2004, award-winning Canadian architect [[Frank Gehry]] designed a new trophy for the tournament. It is made from a composite alloy of copper and nickel as well as solid cast urethane plastic.
==See also==
* [[Summit Series]]
* [[World Professional Hockey Championships]]
==External links==
* Müller, Stephan : International Ice Hockey Encyclopedia 1904-2005 / BoD GmbH Norderstedt, 2005 ISBN 3-8334-4189-5
* [http://www.nhl.com/worldcup/ Official site of World Cup of Hockey 2004]
{{IIHF}}
{{NHL topics}}
==References==
{{reflist}}
[[Category:World Cup of Hockey| ]]
[[Category:Ice hockey tournaments]]
[[de:World Cup of Hockey]]
[[fr:Coupe du monde de hockey]]
[[it:World Cup of Hockey]]
[[ru:Кубок мира по хоккею]]
[[fi:Jääkiekon maailmancup]]
[[sv:World Cup i ishockey]]