Norway men's national ice hockey team

Norway

Nickname(s)	Isbjørnene (The Polar Bears)
Association	NIHF
General Manager	Bjørn Mathisrud
Head coach	Petter Thoresen
Assistants	Per-Erik Alcén Sjur Robert Nilsen
Captain	Jonas Holøs
Most games	Tommy Jakobsen (135)
Team colors
IIHF code	NOR
Ranking
Current IIHF	9
Highest IIHF	8 (2012)
Lowest IIHF	21 (2004)
First international
Czechoslovakia 7–0 Norway  (London, England; 17 February 1937)
Biggest win
Norway 24–0 Belgium  (Sofia, Bulgaria; 5 March 1975)  Norway 25–1 China  (Debrecen, Hungary; 22 April 2005)
Biggest defeat
Finland 20–1 Norway  (Hämeenlinna, Finland; 12 March 1947)
IIHF World Championships
Appearances	60 (first in 1937)
Best result	4th (1951)
Olympics
Appearances	12 (first in 1952)
International record (W–L–T)
353–634–112

The Norwegian men's national ice hockey team is the national ice hockey team from Norway that participates at the IIHF World Championships. The team is governed by the Norwegian Ice Hockey Association and is coached by Petter Thoresen.

History

Norway prior to the 1937 World Championships, their first international tournament. They finished in ninth place.

The Norwegian Ice Hockey Association was founded in 1934 and, adopting the international rules and regulations of ice hockey, became a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation in 1935.^[1][2] Poor finances delayed the formation of a national team until 1937, and continued to hamper its development in the years prior to World War II. After missing out on the 1935 World Championships and 1936 Winter Olympics, the NIHF managed to raise enough funds to send a team to London for the 1937 World Championships. The national ice hockey team thus played its first game on 17 February 1937, losing 0–7 to Czechoslovakia, and was eliminated from the competition following a 2–13 loss to Switzerland.^[3] Norway also took part in the next tournament in 1938, but was unable to participate in 1939. Results remained meagre throughout the pre-war years; of the nine international fixtures contested between 1937 and 1940, the closest Norway came to winning was 3–4 in the first game against Sweden, on 20 January 1939.^[4]

After the war, the growth of Norwegian ice hockey accelerated as new teams formed and improvements in infrastructure were made. The opening of the state of the art Jordal Amfi in Oslo meant that for a time Norway was at the forefront in terms of facilities.^[5] Results began to improve on the international stage, though not before Norway had endured its worst defeat ever at the hands of Finland in 1947.

The period from 1949 to 1953 has been viewed as a "golden age" in the history of the national team, beginning with the maiden victory, a 2–0 win over Belgium at the 1949 World Championships. In 1951, the NIHF appointed Canadian Bud McEachern as head coach. McEachern brought a physical style which suited the players of the generation well,^[6] and at the 1951 World Championships, Norway defeated the United States and Great Britain to finish fourth overall. The following year, Norway competed in its first ever Olympic tournament, as host nation of the 1952 Winter Olympics. Finally, in 1953, Norway became the first Western nation to play the Soviet Union, an event that was overshadowed by the death of Joseph Stalin shortly after the team's arrival in Moscow.

The remainder of the decade saw the Norwegians continue to challenge the strongest hockey nations. From the 1960s onwards, however, Norwegian ice hockey fell into decline internationally. The game was becoming increasingly popular at home, but this did not translate into better results against other nations. This has been attributed to poor training conditions. Mild winters meant that a northerly location could no longer make up for the lack of artificial ice rinks, which local politicians were reluctant to support compared to other sports facilities.^[7] After the 1965 World Championships, the Norwegian team was no longer allowed to compete at the highest level, and the NIHF resigned itself to competing at the top of Pool B instead.^[7] Qualifying for the Winter Olympics was still within reach, however, and Norway managed to do so in both 1964 and 1968.

Norway slipped further into mediocrity during the 1970s, suffering relegation to Pool C after finishing in last place in Pool B of the 1972 World Championships. Once again, the NIHF was forced to revise its objectives; not to return to Pool A, but merely to survive in Pool B. The goal of qualifying for the Winter Olympics remained throughout this period, but after another stint in Pool C in 1975, the ice hockey tournament at the 1976 Winter Olympics went ahead without Norwegian participation.^[7]

In addition to the continuing lack of political will to improve training conditions, the bleak situation during the 1970s had been compounded by a growing reluctance among players to represent Norway internationally.^[7] This trend was finally reversed under the leadership of Georg Smefjell and Olav Dalsøren from 1978 to 1980. Smefjell and Dalsøren also succeeded in leading Norway back to the Winter Olympics. At the 1979 World Championships, Norway finished fourth in Pool B and qualified for the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid. There, the team showed encouraging signs for the future, despite losing heavily against the top tier nations and eventually coming away from the tournament with only a single point.^[8]

Game between France and Norway at Patinoire Pôle Sud in 2013.

The appointment of Ronald Pettersson as head coach in 1980 heralded an era of Swedish influence on Norwegian international ice hockey. For the next nine years, four Swedish coaches in a row took charge of a team that proved to be highly unstable. For Pettersson, the 1981 World Championships were a disappointment. Wins against Yugoslavia and Japan were barely enough to avoid relegation from Pool B. His successor, Arne Strömberg experienced similar difficulties. At the 1982 World Championships, an otherwise strong performance was blighted by losses against newly promoted China and Austria.^[8]

The next Swedish import was Hans Westberg in 1982, whose unorthodox methods lead Norway to the 1984 Winter Olympics. Expectations ahead of the Olympic tournament were only partially met, the 3–3 draw against the United States being the most notable result.^[8][9] The following season, while initially promising, ended in catastrophe at the 1985 World Championships as Norway dropped out of Pool B for the third time.^[10]

Norway stabilized itself in the lower half of Pool A in the 1990s, but the team was relegated again in 1997. After a spell with Swedish coach Leif Boork, Roy Johansen was hired in 2001. A new era of slow, but steady, growth began and Norway climbed thirteen places in the IIHF World Ranking during Johansen's reign, from a 21st place in 2004, to an 8th place in 2012. Johansen stepped down as head coach in 2016 and was replaced by Petter Thoresen.

Tournament record

Olympic record

Norwegian players prior to a game during the 2010 Winter Olympics, where they finished in 12th place.

Games	GP	W	OW	T	OL	L	GF	GA	Coach	Captain	Finish	Rank
1952 Oslo	8	0	0	0	0	8	15	46	Bud McEachern		Round-robin	9th
1956 Cortina d'Ampezzo	Did not participate
1960 Squaw Valley	Did not participate
1964 Innsbruck	7	5	0	0	0	2	40	19	Rolf Kirkvaag		Consolation Round (Group B)	10th
1968 Grenoble	6	3	0	0	0	3	16	18	Egil Bjerklund		Consolation Round (Group B)	11th
1972 Sapporo	5	3	0	0	0	2	17	27	Ake Brask		Consolation Round	8th
1976 Innsbruck	Did not participate
1980 Lake Placid	5	0	0	1	0	4	9	36	Ronald Pettersson, Olav Dalsøren		First round	11th
1984 Sarajevo	7	1	0	1	0	5	15	43	Hans Westberg		First round	12th
1988 Calgary	6	0	0	1	0	5	18	38	Lenhart Åhlberg, Tore Jobs		11th place game	12th
1992 Albertville	6	1	0	0	0	5	12	40	Bengt Olsson, Tore Jobs		9th Place Match	9th
1994 Lillehammer	7	1	0	0	0	6	11	26	Bengt Olsson, Tore Jobs		11th Place Match	11th
1998 Nagano	Did not qualify
2002 Salt Lake City	Did not qualify
2006 Turin	Did not qualify
2010 Vancouver	4	0	0	–	1	3	8	23	Roy Johansen	Tommy Jakobsen	Qualification playoffs	10th
2014 Sochi	4	0	0	–	0	4	3	16		Ole-Kristian Tollefsen	Qualification playoffs	12th
2018 Pyeongchang	5	0	1	–	1	3	5	18	Petter Thoresen	Jonas Holøs	Quarterfinals	8th

Team

Current roster

Roster for the 2018 IIHF World Championship.^[11]

Head coach: Petter Thoresen

No.	Pos.	Name	Height	Weight	Birthdate	Team
4	D	Johannes Johannesen	1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)	7001850000000000000♠85 kg (187 lb)	(1997-03-01) March 1, 1997	Stavanger Oilers
6	D	Jonas Holøs – C	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)	7001930000000000000♠93 kg (205 lb)	(1987-08-27) August 27, 1987	HC Fribourg-Gottéron
8	F	Mathias Trettenes	1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)	7001760000000000000♠76 kg (168 lb)	(1993-11-08) November 8, 1993	Krefeld Pinguine
12	F	Michael Haga	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)	7001770000000000000♠77 kg (170 lb)	(1992-03-10) March 10, 1992	Mora IK
14	D	Dennis Sveum	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)	7001860000000000000♠86 kg (190 lb)	(1986-11-27) November 27, 1986	Stavanger Oilers
15	F	Tommy Kristiansen	1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)	7001980000000000000♠98 kg (216 lb)	(1989-05-26) May 26, 1989	Sparta Sarpsborg
16	F	Eirik Salsten	1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)	7001900000000000000♠90 kg (200 lb)	(1994-06-17) June 17, 1994	Stavanger Oilers
17	D	Stefan Espeland	1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)	7001840000000000000♠84 kg (185 lb)	(1989-03-24) March 24, 1989	Vålerenga Ishockey
18	F	Tobias Lindström	1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)	7001920000000000000♠92 kg (203 lb)	(1988-04-20) April 20, 1988	Vålerenga Ishockey
20	F	Anders Bastiansen – A	1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)	7001930000000000000♠93 kg (205 lb)	(1980-10-31) October 31, 1980	Frisk Asker Ishockey
21	F	Steffen Thoresen	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)	7001880000000000000♠88 kg (194 lb)	(1985-06-03) June 3, 1985	Storhamar Ishockey
22	F	Martin Røymark	1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)	7001860000000000000♠86 kg (190 lb)	(1986-11-10) November 10, 1986	Modo Hockey
26	F	Kristian Forsberg	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)	7001880000000000000♠88 kg (194 lb)	(1986-05-05) May 5, 1986	Stavanger Oilers
27	F	Ludvig Hoff	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)	7001860000000000000♠86 kg (190 lb)	(1996-10-16) October 16, 1996	Univ. of North Dakota
28	F	Niklas Roest	1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)	7001800000000000000♠80 kg (180 lb)	(1986-08-03) August 3, 1986	Sparta Warriors
30	G	Lars Haugen	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)	7001830000000000000♠83 kg (183 lb)	(1987-03-19) March 19, 1987	Färjestad BK
33	G	Henrik Haukeland	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)	7001830000000000000♠83 kg (183 lb)	(1994-12-06) December 6, 1994	Timrå IK
37	D	Villiam Strøm	1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)	7001950000000000000♠95 kg (209 lb)	(1990-12-10) December 10, 1990	Stavanger Oilers
38	G	Henrik Holm	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)	7001800000000000000♠80 kg (180 lb)	(1990-09-06) September 6, 1990	Stavanger Oilers
40	F	Ken André Olimb	1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)	7001810000000000000♠81 kg (179 lb)	(1989-01-21) January 21, 1989	Linköpings HC
43	D	Christian Bull	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)	7001900000000000000♠90 kg (200 lb)	(1996-08-13) August 13, 1996	Storhamar Ishockey
46	F	Mathis Olimb – A	1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)	7001790000000000000♠79 kg (174 lb)	(1986-02-01) February 1, 1986	Linköpings HC
47	D	Alexander Bonsaksen	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)	7001840000000000000♠84 kg (185 lb)	(1987-01-24) January 24, 1987	Iserlohn Roosters
90	D	Daniel Sørvik	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)	7001830000000000000♠83 kg (183 lb)	(1990-03-11) March 11, 1990	HC Litvínov
93	F	Thomas Valkvæ Olsen	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)	7001880000000000000♠88 kg (194 lb)	(1993-05-18) May 18, 1993	Södertälje SK

References

• Langholm, Dag (1984). Norsk ishockey gjennom 50 år. Norwegian Ice Hockey Association.

External links

• Official website
• IIHF profile