Ice hockey at the 1998 Winter Olympics – Women's tournament
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The 1998 Olympic women's ice hockey tournament was the first year that featured women in ice hockey competition.[1] It was anticipated that the women's gold medal match would feature Canada versus the United States.[2] Canada was favored to come out on top as they had won all the competitions in previous years in women's hockey, with the United States perpetually finishing second, while no other national teams could match their level of play. However, the United States beat Canada in the final and became the first country to win gold in women's ice hockey at the Olympics.[3][4][5][6][7]
Tournament details | |
---|---|
Host country | Japan |
Venue(s) | 2 (in 1 host city) |
Dates | 8–17 February |
Teams | 6 |
Final positions | |
Champions | United States (1st title) |
Runner-up | Canada |
Third place | Finland |
Fourth place | China |
Tournament statistics | |
Games played | 17 |
Goals scored | 119 (7 per game) |
Attendance | 81,707 (4,806 per game) |
Scoring leader(s) | Riikka Nieminen (12 points) |
Petra Vaarakallio scored the first-ever goal in women's ice hockey at the Olympics in 1998. She had won bronze at the 1992 World Ringette Championships but stopped playing ringette after receiving a six-month suspension for kicking an opponent who was lying on the ice.
There were no qualification tournaments, the host Japan played alongside the top five nations at the previous season's World Championships.