In advance of the 2008 IIHF World Championship that were celebrating the centennial anniversary of the International Ice Hockey Federation, the IIHF unveiled their list of 100 Top Stories Of The Century, highlighting the greatest moments in the first hundred years of international hockey history. Ranging from improbable victories, memorable goals and political controversies, these stories captured most of the famous (and infamous) stories that made up the first century of international hockey – many of which also had the International Hockey Lineal Championship up for grabs.

Considering that many of the Top 100 stories feature events and decisions that largely took place in IIHF boardrooms, not on the ice (such as rule changes, awarding event hosting rights, etc.), political shifts that impacted the game, and other stories about international events in the NHL, World Junior Championships or other non-IHLC venues, this makes the IHLC presence in nearly half of the list all the more impressive. The IIHF Top 100 Stories, with games directly tied to the IHLC highlighted in bold, are as follows:

01. The Miracle on Ice
🇺🇸 USA 4-3 URS 🇷🇺 – 22 Feb 1980 – OG – Lake Placid 🇺🇸

02. “Henderson has scored for Canada!”
🇨🇦 CAN 6-5 URS 🇷🇺 – 28 Sep 1972 – SS – Moscow 🇷🇺

03. Soviets shock Canada in Summit Series opener
🇷🇺 URS 7-3 CAN 🇨🇦 – 02 Sep 1972 – SS – Montréal 🇨🇦

04. Soviets hammer Canada, win Gold at their first Worlds
🇷🇺 URS 7-2 CAN 🇨🇦 – 07 Mar 1954 – WC – Stockholm 🇸🇪

05. 1972 – Soviet streak of nine straight World Golds ends

06. First Canada Cup opens up the hockey world
🇨🇦 CAN 11-2 FIN 🇫🇮 – 02 Sep 1976 – CC – Ottawa 🇨🇦

07. NHL takes break and releases players for 1998 Olympics

08. Sweden’s unique double, Olympics & Worlds
🇸🇪 SWE 3-2 FIN 🇫🇮 – 26 Feb 2006 – OG – Turin 🇮🇹 🏅
🇸🇪 SWE 4-0 CZE 🇨🇿 – 21 May 2006 – WC – Rīga 🇱🇻 🏅

09. Mighty Soviets beat hosts 8-1 to win Canada Cup
🇷🇺 URS 8-1 CAN 🇨🇦 – 13 Sep 1981 – CC – Montréal 🇨🇦 🏅

10. Czechia wins first “open” Olympics
🇨🇿 CZE 1-0 RUS 🇷🇺 – 22 Feb 1998 – OG – Nagano 🇯🇵 🏅

11. Canada wins Olympic Gold for first time in 50 years
🇨🇦 CAN 5-2 USA 🇺🇸 – 24 Feb 2002 – OG – West Valley City 🇺🇸 🏅

12. Hašek thwarts all five Canadian gunners in epic shootout
13. After a seven-year absence, Canada returns to the Worlds

14. “Foppa” – The goal, the Gold, the stamp
🇸🇪 SWE 3-2 CAN 🇨🇦 (SO) – 27 Feb 1994 – OG – Lillehammer 🇳🇴 🏅

15. Great Britain wins Olympic Gold
🇬🇧 GBR 2-1 CAN 🇨🇦 – 11 Feb 1936 – OG – Garmisch-Partenkirchen 🇩🇪

16. USA’s original but unheralded “Miracle on Ice”
🇺🇸 USA 3-2 URS 🇷🇺 – 27 Feb 1960 – OG – Olympic Valley 🇺🇸

17. Protesting amateur rules, Canada leaves international hockey

18. Two games Czechoslovakia simply couldn’t lose
🇨🇿 TCH 4-3 URS 🇷🇺 – 28 Mar 1969 – WC – Stockholm 🇸🇪

19. IIHF allows body checking in all three zones

20. Canada Cup ’87 – #99 and #66 perform pure magic
🇨🇦 CAN 6-5 URS 🇷🇺 – 15 Sep 1987 – CC – Hamilton 🇨🇦 🏅

21. Ice Hockey debuts at the Olympics

22. Peter Bondra’s bomb is Slovakia’s biggest thing since independence
🇸🇰 SVK 4-3 RUS 🇷🇺 – 11 May 2002 – WC – Gothenburg 🇸🇪 🏅

23. Montréal and CSKA play an epic 3-3 game on New Year’s Eve
24. IIHF rules spotlighted at 2002 Olympics, later adopted by NHL

25. Soviet Union win its first Olympics, starting a new hockey era
🇷🇺 URS 2-0 CAN 🇨🇦 – 04 Feb 1956 – OG – Cortina d’Ampezzo 🇮🇹

26. “Tupu, Hupu & Lupu” take Finland to the top of the World
🇫🇮 FIN 4-1 SWE 🇸🇪 – 07 May 1995 – WC – Stockholm 🇸🇪 🏅

27. Dropping red-line, allowing two-line pass changes the Game

28. Vladimir Kopat bounces Sweden from the 2002 Olympics
🇧🇾 BLR 4-3 SWE 🇸🇪 – 20 Feb 2002 – OG – West Valley City 🇺🇸

29. Vienna court decides the 1987 Worlds medal race
30. Börje Salming becomes the first European superstar
31. Zebras told to crack down — once and for all

32. Mats Sundin’s marvellous goal ends Soviet Union’s hockey era
🇸🇪 SWE 2-1 URS 🇷🇺 – 04 May 1991 – WC – Turku 🇫🇮

33. Women enter Olympics – USA hands Canada first loss
🇺🇸 USA 3-1 CAN 🇨🇦 – 17 Feb 1998 – OG – Nagano 🇯🇵 🏅

34. The Piešťany fiasco – Soviet Union and Canada disqualified
🇨🇦 CAN void URS 🇷🇺 – 04 Jan 1987 – WJC – Piešťany 🇨🇿

35. Swedish “Mirakel” bumps USA from Gold medal game
🇸🇪 SWE 3-2 USA 🇺🇸 (SO) – 17 Feb 2006 – OG – Turin 🇮🇹

36. Soviets embarrass NHL All Stars to win Challenge Cup

37. Given no options, goaltending icon Vladislav Tretyak retires at 32
🇨🇿 TCH 7-2 URS 🇷🇺 – 12 Apr 1984 – SC – Karlstad 🇸🇪

38. USA wins 1996 World Cup of Hockey
🇺🇸 USA 5-2 CAN 🇨🇦 – 14 Sep 1996 – WCH – Montréal 🇨🇦 🏅

39. Poland scores biggest shocker in World Championship history
40. Finally, Canada to host the World Championship

41. Anson Carter’s “video goal” – the most dramatic Worlds finale ever
🇨🇦 CAN 3-2 SWE 🇸🇪 (OT) – 11 May 2003 – WC – Helsinki 🇫🇮 🏅

42. Breakup of old Europe creates a new hockey world

43. Mike Bossy’s OT goal in Canada Cup ends Soviet’s 4-year streak
🇨🇦 CAN 3-2 URS 🇷🇺 (OT) – 13 Sep 1984 – CC – Calgary 🇨🇦

44. Amid turmoil, Sweden wins first Gold after 25 years
🇷🇺 URS 2-2 SWE 🇸🇪 – 01 May 1987 – WC – Vienna 🇦🇹

45. Canada wins first World Championship in 33 years
🇨🇦 CAN 2-1 FIN 🇫🇮 (SO) – 08 May 1994 – WC – Assago 🇮🇹 🏅

46. Hockey escape of the century – Šťastnýs land in Québec

47. IIHF starts the World Women’s Championship
🇨🇦 CAN 15-1 SWE 🇸🇪 – 19 Mar 1990 – WC – Ottawa 🇨🇦

48. Czechoslovakian team jailed for treason – generation lost
49. NHL-lockout floods European leagues with 388 players
50. LIHG (precursor to IIHF) formed by four members
51. First non-North Americans win Stanley Cup

52. USA’s women stop Canada’s quest for a nine-in-a-row
🇺🇸 USA 1-0 CAN 🇨🇦 (SO) – 09 Apr 2005 – WC – Linköping 🇸🇪 🏅

53. Harry Watson scores at will in Olympics
🇨🇦 CAN 30-0 TCH 🇨🇿 – 28 Jan 1924 – OG – Chamonix 🇫🇷
🇨🇦 CAN 22-0 SWE 🇸🇪 – 29 Jan 1924 – OG – Chamonix 🇫🇷
🇨🇦 CAN 33-0 SUI 🇨🇭 – 30 Jan 1924 – OG – Chamonix 🇫🇷
🇨🇦 CAN 19-2 GBR 🇬🇧 – 01 Feb 1924 – OG – Chamonix 🇫🇷
🇨🇦 CAN 6-1 USA 🇺🇸 – 03 Feb 1924 – OG – Chamonix 🇫🇷

54. Vezina Trophy winner Pelle Lindbergh dies in car crash
55. Tretyak first player to be inducted into Hockey Hall of Fame
56. Orr first Canada Cup MVP after playing on one good leg

57. Tre Kronor’s win over Canada becomes sports lore in Sweden
🇸🇪 SWE 5-3 CAN 🇨🇦 – 13 Mar 1962 – WC – Colorado Springs 🇺🇸

58. Raimo Helminen, 38, dresses for a sixth Olympics

59. Team with no name wins Olympic Gold
🇷🇺 EUN 3-1 CAN 🇨🇦 – 23 Feb 1992 – OG – Méribel 🇫🇷 🏅

60. Mats Sundin, the first European number one draft
61. Sweden stages biggest World Championship comeback

62. Soviets’ revenge for Lake Placid – 13-1 over Sweden
🇷🇺 URS 13-1 SWE 🇸🇪 – 24 Apr 1981 – WC – Gothenburg 🇸🇪

63. Alexander Mogilny becomes the first Soviet NHL defector

64. David Moravec’s OT winner cements Czech dominance
🇨🇿 CZE 3-2 FIN 🇫🇮 (OT) – 13 May 2001 – WC – Hanover 🇩🇪 🏅

65. Igor Larionov openly revolts against coach, system

66. Trail Smoke Eaters’ Gold ends hockey’s amateur era
🇨🇦 CAN 5-1 URS 🇷🇺 – 12 Mar 1961 – WC – Geneva 🇨🇭

67. The perfect game against the best team: CSSR-USSR 7-2
68. Victoria Cup introduced—NHL clubs to face Euro rivals

69. Andy Murray wins third Gold medal, joins the legends
🇨🇦 CAN 4-2 FIN 🇫🇮 – 13 May 2007 – WC – Moscow 🇷🇺 🏅

70. Swede Ulf Sterner – the first European in the NHL

71. Worlds final in front of 50,000 fans at soccer stadium
🇷🇺 URS 4-4 SWE 🇸🇪 – 05 Mar 1957 – WC – Moscow 🇷🇺

72. Reporter reveals that Samuelsson is not a Swede in Nagano
73. Star-studded Russia ends up 11th at home in 2000

74. Only 18, Sidney Crosby wins scoring crown at the 2006 Worlds
🇸🇪 SWE 5-4 CAN 🇨🇦 – 20 May 2006 – WC – Rīga 🇱🇻

75. Peter Šťastný, 39, promotes Slovakia to the A-pool
76. Pryakhin becomes the first legal Soviet NHL player

77. Just separated, Czechs and Slovaks meet in 2000 final
🇨🇿 CZE 5-3 SVK 🇸🇰 – 14 May 2000 – WC – Saint Petersburg 🇷🇺 🏅

78. USA wins its first and so far only Worlds
🇺🇸 USA 2-1 CAN 🇨🇦 (OT) – 26 Feb 1933 – WC – Prague 🇨🇿 🏅

79. Scotty Bowman forms NHL’s first-ever “Russian five”
80. WHA recruits Euros, changing the North American game

81. Czechoslovkia snaps Soviets’ six-year unbeaten streak
🇨🇿 TCH 5-4 URS 🇷🇺 – 15 Feb 1968 – OG – Grenoble 🇫🇷

82. United States sends two teams to 1948 Olympics
🇨🇭 SUI 5-4 USA 🇺🇸 – 30 Jan 1948 – OG – St. Moritz 🇨🇭

83. Nancy Drolet – first woman to score two OT goals for Gold
🇨🇦 CAN 4-3 USA 🇺🇸 (OT) – 06 Apr 1997 – WC – Kitchener 🇨🇦 🏅
🇨🇦 CAN 3-2 USA 🇺🇸 (OT) – 09 Apr 2000 – WC – Mississauga 🇨🇦 🏅

84. A Swiss village sees the dawn of international hockey
🇬🇧 GBR 1-0 GER 🇩🇪 – 10 Jan 1910 – EC – Les Avants 🇨🇭

85. Wimbledon. World Championship. Drobný wins both!
86. Wayne Gretzky heads south to play for Los Angeles
87. Paul DiPietro tops his native country at the Olympics
88. Denmark sends USA to relegation round at 2003 Worlds

89. Finally a final game, IIHF adopts a playoff system
🇸🇪 SWE 5-2 FIN 🇫🇮 – 10 May 1992 – WC – Prague 🇨🇿 🏅

90. Chris Chelios plays in the 2006 Olympics at age 44
91. The IIHF introduces the World U20 Championship
92. U.S. ‘Miracle’ team lights the cauldron 22 years later
93. No more ties; teams earn three points for a win

94. Penticton Vees defeat Soviets to reclaim Gold
🇨🇦 CAN 5-0 URS 🇷🇺 – 06 Mar 1955 – WC – Krefeld 🇩🇪

95. 1988 Olympic Silver – Finland is a true hockey power
96. Wickenheiser scores in men’s professional game
97. “B” Pool Americans win Olympic Silver in 1972

98. Vsevolod Bobrov – a two-sport Olympian
🇷🇺 URS 2-0 CAN 🇨🇦 – 04 Feb 1956 – OG – Cortina d’Ampezzo 🇮🇹

99. Connie Broden’s feat will see no repeat
🇨🇦 CAN 4-2 URS 🇷🇺 – 09 Mar 1958 – WC – Oslo 🇳🇴

100. Toews scores three shootout goals in one game!
🇨🇦 CAN 2-1 USA 🇺🇸 (SO) – 03 Jan 2007 – WJC – Leksand 🇸🇪