Ice hockey in Belarus Ice hockey in Belarus Ice hockey in Belarus is governed by the Belarus Ice Hockey Federation. Belarusian men's and junior national teams participate at the IIHF World Championships. Belarus has been a member of the IIHF since May 6, 1992. The national hockey team finished fourth at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics following a memorable upset win over Sweden in the quarterfinals, and regularly competes in the World Championships, often making the quarterfinals. The Belarusian Extraliga was founded in 1992. Numerous Belarusian players are present in the Kontinental Hockey League in Eurasia, particularly for Belarusian club HC Dinamo Minsk,
Germany men's national ice hockey team Germany men's national ice hockey team The German men's national ice hockey team first participated in serious international competition at the 1911 European Hockey Championship. When Germany was split after World War II, a separate East Germany national ice hockey team existed until 1990. By 1991, the East German teams and players were merged into the Deutscher Eishockey-Bund association. The team is not considered to be as elite as Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland, Russia, Slovakia, Sweden or the United States, but they are ranked 8th in the world (2017) by the IIHF. Since re-unification, their best recent results include