Short answer
The Soviet Union won the final round robin ahead of the United States. Czechoslovakia won bronze and Sweden finished fourth.
What happened
Sapporo, Japan, hosted the 1972 tournament at the Makomanai Ice Arena and the Tsukisamu Indoor Skating Rink.
Canada did not send a team for the first time since 1920, over the rules on professional players; it played the Soviets in the Summit Series that year instead. The Soviet Union won its fourth gold, the United States silver and Czechoslovakia bronze.
Key facts
- Host
- Sapporo, Japan
- Dates
- 3 to 13 February 1972
- Venues
- Makomanai Ice Arena and Tsukisamu Indoor Skating Rink
- Teams
- 11
- Games
- 30
- Goals
- 235 (7.8 a game)
- Top scorer
- Valeri Kharlamov, 16 points
Final standings
| Place | Team |
|---|---|
| Gold | Soviet Union |
| Silver | United States |
| Bronze | Czechoslovakia |
| 4th | Sweden |
| 5th | Finland |
| 6th | Poland |
| 7th | West Germany |
| 8th | Norway |
| 9th | Japan |
| 10th | Switzerland |
| 11th | Yugoslavia |
Places below fourth follow the ranking printed in the tournament article; some early tournaments ranked lower places differently over the years.
More men’s tournaments
1968 tournament 1976 tournament All men’s tournaments
See every podium in the complete results list, or how each country did in the medal finder.
Source for this page
Wikipedia: Ice hockey at the 1972 Winter Olympics (results, standings, scoring leader and awards, read October 29, 2026).
Questions people ask
Who won the 1972 Olympic men’s hockey gold?
The Soviet Union. The United States won silver and Czechoslovakia bronze.
Who led the 1972 tournament in scoring?
Valeri Kharlamov, with 16 points.
Sources
Last reviewed October 29, 2026. Spotted an error? Results are checked against the linked sources; tell us through the corrections note on the about page.