Molson Canadian Hockey House

***NEWS ALERT*** : CANADA WINS!!!!!! CANADA #1, GOLD MEDAL CHAMPIONS!!!!

MEN'S & WOMEN'S OLYMPIC PARTICIPANTS

	BELARUS The Belarusian men's national ice hockey team is currently ranked 8th in the world by the IIHF in their 2009 World Ranking. The team is controlled by the Belarus Ice Hockey Federation. Arguably, the greatest moment in Belarusian hockey history was the victory over Sweden in the Quarter-finals of the 2002 Winter Olympics, where the team ultimately finished fourth.

	CANADA MEN'S Canada has been one of the leading national ice hockey teams in international play, winning the 1972 Summit Series against the Soviet Union, four of five Canada Cups dating back to 1976, winning the 2002 Winter Olympics, four consecutive IIHF World Championships and the 2004 World Cup of Hockey. Canada is hungry for it's first Olympic Gold Medal on home ice. Canadian Men's Game Dates: February 16 - CAN VS NOR - Buy Pass Now February 18 - CAN VS SUI - Buy Pass Now February 21 - CAN VS USA -Buy Pass Now
	CANADA WOMEN'S The Canadian women's national ice hockey team is controlled by Hockey Canada. Canada has been by far the most dominant team in international competition. They have won the vast majority of the major ice hockey tournaments, while their losses have only been against the United States and Sweden. The current Olympic Gold Medal Champions are looking to skate to another gold at Vancouver 2010. Game Dates: February 13 - CAN VS SVK - Buy Pass Now February 15 - CAN VS SUI - Buy Pass Now February 17 - CAN VS SWE - Buy Pass Now

	CHINA The Chinese women's national ice hockey team is ranked 7th in the world. China reached their hey day of women's hockey in the mid-90's when it was common for them to finish in 4th place mostly thanks to the "Great Wall of China" goaltender, Guo Hong, who is now retired. China last qualified for the Winter Olympics in 2002 where they finished in 7th place.

	CZECH The Czech men's national ice hockey team is one of the most successful national ice hockey teams in the world, currently ranked sixth by the IIHF. The Czechs won the gold medal at the 1998 Winter Olympics and won three straight gold medals at the world championships from 1999 to 2001. At the 2006 Winter Olympics, the Czechs won a bronze medal, defeating Russia 3-0 in the bronze medal game, and becoming one of only three nations to medal twice in ice hockey at the Olympic games since the NHL allowed its players to participate in this event.

	FINLAND MEN'S The Finnish men's national ice hockey team, (Finnish: Leijonat) ("The Lions"), as it is called in Finland is considered a member of the "Big Seven", along with Canada, Russia, the USA, Slovakia, Sweden, and the Czech Republic. Finland's only international gold medal came at the 1995 IIHF World Championship. Finland won the silver medal at 2006 Winter Olympics and they have a legitimate chance of winning gold in Vancouver.
	FINLAND WOMEN'S Finland has consistently proven to be the third best Women's hockey team in the world, having won every bronze medal in both the World Championships and the Olympics, except for the four occasions when they finished consistently fourth. They are ranked behind the Canada (#1) and the USA (#2). Finland's main rival is Sweden, which finished second to Canada at the 2006 Winter Olympics. Finland finished fourth, losing the game for the bronze medal to the USA.

	GERMANY The German men's national ice hockey team first participated in serious international competition at the 1911 European Hockey Championship. When Germany was split after World War II, the hockey team was also split into the West German national ice hockey team and the East German national ice hockey team. By 1991, the teams were replaced by the current German team. Germany's only Olympic hockey medal is a bronze from the 1932 games.

	LATVIA The Latvian men's national ice hockey team is currently ranked 10th in the world by IIHF as of 2008. Their best finishes ever at the World Championships were in 1997, 2000, 2004 and 2009 where they made it as far as the quarterfinals. Latvia finished 12th at the 2006 Winter Olympics and is looking to improve on that at Vancouver 2010.

	NORWAY The Norwegian men's national ice hockey team participates at the IIHF World Championships for both men and women. The teams are governed by the Norwegian Ice Hockey Federation. Norway's last Olympic appearance was in 1994 when they finished 11th. Their best international performance was 4th place at the 1951 IIHF World Championship.

	RUSSIA MEN'S The Russian men's national ice hockey team is one of the most successful national ice hockey teams in the world, rated number one in IIHF world rankings. It has been competing internationally since 1993 and follows a long tradition of Soviet Union team mostly composed of Russian players. The Russian team has not been as dominant as the Soviet team, winning the gold in the World Championships three times in 18 years but it remains one of the top teams in the world. Russia finished 4th at the 2006 Winter Olympics.
	RUSSIA WOMEN'S The Russian women's national ice hockey team is controlled by Ice Hockey Federation of Russia. On April 1, 1994, Russia played its first game in Brampton, Ontario where they lost 2-1 to Switzerland. Russia is currently ranked 6th in the world in women's ice hockey. It has been very difficult for the Russians to move higher than this position, except for in the 2001 Women's World Ice Hockey Championships, where they surprised many by upsetting Finland in the bronze medal final 2-1. They finished in 6th place at the 2006 Winter Olympics.

	SLOVAKIA MEN's The Slovak men's national ice hockey team is controlled by the Slovak Ice Hockey Federation. As of 2008, the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), ranks them as the eighth strongest national team in the world. In the last eight years, Slovakia has won three medals at the World Championships, including a gold medal in 2002. Slovakia finished in 5th place at the 2006 Winter Olympics.
	SLOVAKIA WOMEN'S The Slovak women's national ice hockey team represents the nation of Slovakia and has qualified for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The biggest win: Slovakia 82-0 Bulgaria

	SWEDEN MEN's The Swedish men's national ice hockey team, or Tre Kronor ("Three Crowns" in Swedish), as it is called in Sweden, is one of the most successful ice hockey teams in the world. The IIHF currently ranks them third. At the 2006 Winter Olympics they won the gold medal after a thrilling final against Finland. At the 2006 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships, Sweden won the final against the Czech Republic and thus became the first hockey team ever to win at both the Winter Olympics and the World Championships in the same year. They are strong contenders to defend their title in Vancouver.
	SWEDEN WOMEN's The Swedish team had traditionally been the fourth-best women's team in the world, behind Canada, USA and Finland. However, the team has shown steady improvement since 2001, winning bronze medals at the 2002 Winter Olympics, the 2005 Women's World Ice Hockey Championships, and the 2007 Women's World Ice Hockey Championships, and a silver medal at the 2006 Winter Olympics.

	SWITZERLAND MEN'S Switzerland has not won a medal at a major ice hockey tournament since a bronze medal at the 1953 World Championships, but they came close in 1998, finishing in 4th place. The Swiss national hockey team scored two historic, unexpected upsets at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, defeating the Czech Republic 3-2 and blanking Canada 2-0 two days later. They finally fell to Sweden in the quarterfinals.
	SWITZERLAND WOMEN'S The Swiss women's national ice hockey team is currently ranked 5th in the world in women's ice hockey. Switzerland finished in 7th place at the 2006 Winter Olympics. The Swiss women's best international performance was a bronze medal at the 1995 European Championships.

	USA MEN'S The United States won the silver medal at the 2002 Winter Olympics, and the gold medal at the 1996 World Cup of Hockey. Their most recent medal at the World Championships came in 2004 with a bronze. The American ice hockey team's greatest success was the "Miracle on Ice" at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, when they defeated the heavily favoured Soviet Union on the way to a gold medal.
	USA WOMEN'S The United States has been, by far, the second most dominant women's hockey team in international play, having won silver in almost every major tournament. The exception where they won neither gold nor silver is the 2006 Winter Olympics, where they won bronze over Finland. USA won both the 2008 and 2009 IIHF World Women Championships. They will be looking to win their second Women's Hockey Gold Medal at Vancouver 2010.