On the evening of February 10, the men's ice hockey game of the 2022 Winter Olympics is about to start. China and the United States, which are also in Group A, will stage an ice hockey opening game, and as NHL players cannot participate in the Winter Olympic Games due to the epidemic, the mainland ice hockey team is expected to hit a big cold and is expected to stage the 1980 Lake Placid "ice miracle" again.
"Miracle on Ice" was an ice hockey match at the 1980 Winter Olympics at Lake Placid in New York. On February 22, 1980, in the men's hockey final, the hosts, the United States and the Soviet Union, played a duel. Although the former Soviet Union won the gold medal four times and the call for the title was high, the United States defeated them to win 4-3.
In six Winter Olympics, the Soviet team won five gold medals, and they were the biggest favourites to win the title again at the Lake Placid Winter Olympics. This team is mainly composed of professional players with extensive experience in international competitions. In contrast, the U.S. team, led by head coach Herb Brooks, consists mostly of amateur players, with only four players having little experience in the minor leagues. The U.S. team is the youngest team in the history of this World Cup and the U.S. national team.
In tonight's Sino-US ice hockey match, 15 of the 25 players sent by the mainland are born in foreign countries. The richer training background also increases the coefficient of winning the championship.
Founded in 1963, the Chinese men's ice hockey team won the Men's Ice Hockey Championship at the Asian Winter Games twice in 1986 and 1990, and the best result at the World Championships was sixth in Group A. This is the first time in the history of the Chinese men's ice hockey team to stand on the Stage of the Winter Olympics, and their goal is to play every group game and impact the quarterfinals if they have the opportunity.
At the last Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, the South Korean men's ice hockey team used a group of Canadian and American players, but still played three games in the group stage, with a score of 0 points.
In the World Rankings of the International Hockey Federation (IIHF), Canada ranks first in the world with 3235 points, the United States ranks 4th in the world with 2945 points, and Germany ranks 5th in the world with 2905 points.
The strong performance of the U.S. team in ice hockey is inseparable from the professional development of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league consists of 32 teams, of which 25 are based in the United States and 7 are in Canada. Considered the strongest professional hockey league in the world.
The NHL is the No. 5 professional sports league in the world by revenue, behind the National Football League (NFL), Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Basketball Association (NBA), and the Premier League (EPL).
The COVID-19 outbreak has led to the postponement of more than 100 NHL games, which has also prevented the league's players from participating in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
Our national hockey players are no longer facing the United States and Canada, which are made up of all-star players from the NHL, but a national team hastily cobbled together by college students and small league players, which are much less threatening and powerful.
The core players of our national team have played in the Russian Continental Hockey League (KHL), and the Kunlun Red Star team is also an ice hockey team on the mainland.
In the 2007 National Hockey League (NHL) draft, the Nashville Predators selected Jeremy Shmisi in the second round of the draft, and he is likely to be the key to achieving the continental hockey team's victory.
In the overall ranking of 12 teams, the top four teams (three group champions and second-placed teams) will reach the quarterfinals, while the other teams will face the qualifying finals and move into the knockout stage.