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| Guy Hebert (Hamilton '89) USA jersey from 1996 World Cup |
1996 saw the World Cup of Hockey replace the Canada Cup (1976-1991) as one of the premiere international hockey championships. Unlike the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) sanctioned Winter Olympics and annual World Ice Hockey Championships, the World Cup of Hockey was organized by the NHL; as such, they played by NHL and not IIHF rules.
Since the tournament took place in August and September during the NHL offseason the best players in the world were able to participate, in stark contrast to the World Ice Hockey Championships, which take place during the Stanley Cup playoffs. Some stars declined to participate, like Dominik Hasek (Czech Republic) of the Buffalo Sabres, while others missed the tournament due to injury, like the Vancouver Canucks' Pavel Bure (Russia).
The tournament was divided into two four team pools: North America and Europe. The North American pool featured Canada and the United States along with non-North American foes Russia and Slovakia. The European pool consisted of Sweden, Finland, Germany and Czech Republic.
Ron Wilson - - then head coach of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim -- served as bench boss for the American squad. Wilson brought his franchise goaltender, Hamilton alumnus Guy Hebert '89, to backup the New York Rangers' Mike Richter. The USA roster boasted star skaters such as the soon to be ageless wonder Chris Chelios (Chicago Blackhawks), the future before picture in a diet commercial, Keith Tkachuk (Winnipeg Jets/Phoenix Coyotes), and 2009 Hockey Hall of Fame inductees Brett Hull (St. Louis Blues) and Brian Leetch (New York Rangers).
The USA won all three of its pool play games, including a 5-3 win in Philadelphia on August 31st over the rival Canadian team captained by Wayne Gretzky. Gretzky preferred the tournament when it was the Canada Cup. The Great One led all four Canadian Cups he was part of in scoring. In his only World Cup appearance, he finished tied for third in scoring with seven points (3-4-7).
Tournament MVP Richter played almost the entire seven game tournament for the USA, but Hebert did play one full game in net; a 9-3 victory over Slovakia at Madison Square Garden in the pool play finale on September 3rd.
As NA pool winners, the Americans received a bye into the semifinals, where they defeated Russia 5-2 in Ottawa on September 8th to setup a re-match with Canada in the finals. Unlike the single elimination Quarters and semis, the finals were a best-of-3 series. The Canadians took game one in Philly 4-3 (OT) on the strength of a Steve Yzerman (Detroit Red Wings) goal in overtime. The USA had tied the game with just seven seconds left to send it to the extra frame.
The final two games were played in Montreal, with the United States winning both 5-2 to take the first ever World Cup of Hockey crown. 15 minutes worth of game 3 highlights called by the immortal Doc Emrick and John Davidson can be found below.
The second installment of the World Cup took place in 2004, just prior to the 2004-05 NHL lockout that claimed an entire NHL season. This time, Canada took home the Gold, defeating Finland 3-2 in the one game final. The United States lost to Finland 2-1 in the semis thanks to a Saku Koivu (Montreal Canadiens) goal in the third period. There have been no World Cup of Hockeys since the second installment in 2004.
Hebert's best team finish in international play came in the 1996 World Cup, but his own personal international glory took place two years earlier in the 1994 World Championship. The U.S.A. finished just out of the medal hunt with a fourth place finish, but Hebert was the goalie of record in a 3-1 win over Russia in the Quarterfinals, the first time the United States defeated the former Soviets in international play since the "Miracle on Ice" in 1980.
Hebert also made the 1998 U.S. Olympic squad at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. It was the first time NHL players were able to participate in the Olympic Games with Hebert backing up Richter again along with John Vanbiesbrouck (Florida Panthers), the only man taken ahead of him in the 1993 NHL expansion draft. Hebert was the third string netminder and considered not going as his wife was expecting their first child during the Olympics. The United States lost to the Czech Republic 4-1 in the Quarterfinals in what was considered a failed tournament for the red,white and blue. The Czechs would ride the superb goaltending of Hasek all the way to a surprise gold medal victory over Russia.
Read More: Hockey Hall of Fame - - Unites States 1996 World Cup
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