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{{ Infobox national hockey team
| Name            = Commonwealth of Independent States
| Badge           =  CIS.png
| Badge_size      = 150px
| Nickname        =  
| Association     =  
| General Manager =  
| Coach           = 
| Asst Coach      =  
| Captain         = 
| Most games      = Andrei Khomutov (13)
| Top scorer      = 
| Most points     = Andrei Khomutov (17)
| Home Stadium    = 
| IIHF code       = CIS
| IIHF Rank       = 
| IIHF max        = 
| IIHF max date   = 
| IIHF min        = 
| IIHF min date   = 
| Team_Colors     =  
| Jerseys         = 
| First game      = {{ih|CIS}} 7 - 2 {{ih-rt|AUT}} <br> <small>([[Feldkirch, Vorarlberg|Feldkirch]], [[Austria]]; January 19, 1992)</small>
| Largest win     = {{ih|CIS}} 8 - 1 {{ih-rt|SUI}} <br> <small>([[Albertville]], [[France]]; February 8, 1992)</small>
| Largest loss    = {{ih|SUI}} 3 - 0 {{ih-rt|CIS}} <br> <small>([[Rapperswil]], [[Switzerland]]; February 2, 1992)</small>
| Olympic apps      = 1
| Olympic first     = [[1992 Winter Olympics|1992]]
| Olympic medals    = [[File:Gold medal icon.png]] ''Gold'': 1&nbsp;– [[1992 Winter Olympics|1992]]
| Record          = 11-2-0
}}
The '''CIS national ice hockey team''' was an ephemeral national [[ice hockey]] team that represented the [[Commonwealth of Independent States]].<ref name="TEAMPAGE">{{cite web | url=http://nationalteamsoficehockey.com/common_wealth_of__independent_states.html | title=Commonwealth of Independent States | publisher=National Teams of Ice Hockey | access-date=2013-06-16 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130704101203/http://www.nationalteamsoficehockey.com/common_wealth_of__independent_states.html | archive-date=2013-07-04 | url-status=dead }}</ref> Essentially the former [[Soviet Union national ice hockey team|Soviet team]] under a different name, the CIS team existed in the few months between the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the formation of new ice hockey federations for the former Soviet states, now independent countries. Most notably, the team competed at the [[1992 Winter Olympics]] as part of the '''Unified Team''', winning the gold medal. However, the [[International Ice Hockey Federation]] would later attribute this gold medal to [[Russia men's national ice hockey team|Russia]] as the successor state.<ref name="1992 Olympic Medal">{{cite web|url=http://www.iihf.com/iihf-home/history/all-medallists/olympics/men/|title=OLYMPIC ICE HOCKEY TOURNAMENTS, MEN|author=IIHF|publisher=IIHF.com|access-date=2018-02-26}}</ref> The International Olympic Committee does not attribute that medal to Russia.<ref name="Olympic medalists">{{cite web|url=https://www.olympic.org/ice-hockey/ice-hockey-men|title=ICE HOCKEY MEN|author=IOC|date=2018|publisher=olympic.org|access-date=2018-03-10}}</ref> After the Olympics, the CIS team ceased to exist and was replaced by the Russian team. In the 13 games the CIS played, they won 11 and lost 2.

==History==
The Soviet Union was dissolved in December 1991, only weeks before the start of the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France. As a result, there was no time to send a replacement for the Soviet national team, who was expected to compete at the Olympics. In effect, the Soviet team participated, under the name "Unified Team" and with the "CCCP" on their uniforms removed, leaving a blank spot. Rather than the Soviet national anthem, the Olympic Hymn was played, and the Olympic flag was used instead of the Soviet flag.

Many of the best Soviet players had since left the former Soviet Union for the National Hockey League (NHL), which did not stop play for the Olympics. Thus, the team used players from the Russian and Swiss leagues instead, and head coach Viktor Tikhonov, known for his authoritarian style of coaching, was forced to modify his strategy, as he had no leverage over the players. Despite the absence of superstars, the CIS team had no problems with talent, boasting experienced veterans Vyacheslav Bykov, Andrei Khomutov and Alexei Zhamnov. The team was composed almost entirely of Russians, with Lithuanian-born Darius Kasparaitis and Ukrainian-born Alexei Zhitnik the only non-Russians. Kasparaitis would later represent Russia in international competition. In 2017, he switched to join the Lithuanian national team. Zhitnik would represent Russia throughout his career. 

They played in three friendlies against [[Austria men's national ice hockey team|Austria]], [[Canada men's national ice hockey team|Canada]], and [[Italy men's national ice hockey team|Italy]] in January 1992. They defeated the Austrians and Canadians 7-2 each, and the Italians by a score of 4–2.

The national team next took part in the [[Nissan Cup]], hosted by [[Switzerland men's national ice hockey team|Switzerland]]. They defeated [[Finland men's national ice hockey team|Finland]] in the semifinals 6–2, but were surprised by the Swiss hosts in the final, losing by a score of 3–0.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://articles.latimes.com/1992-02-09/sports/sp-3586_1_unified-team | title=The Olympics: Winter Games at Albertville| work=LA Times | date=1992-02-09 | access-date=2013-06-16 }}</ref>

At the [[1992 Winter Olympics]] held in [[Albertville]], [[France]], the national team finished with a 7–1 record, and won the gold medal by defeating Canada 3–1 in the final.

After the Olympics, the team was dissolved and replaced by the [[Russia men's national ice hockey team|Russian national team]] and other national teams for the independent post-Soviet states.

==Olympic record==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Games !! GP !! W !! L !! T !! GF !! GA !! Coach !! Captain !! Finish
|-
| [[1956 Winter Olympics|1956]]–[[1988 Winter Olympics|1988]] || colspan="9" |<center> ''As'' {{ih|URS}}</center>
|-
| style="background:gold;" rowspan="2" | {{flagicon|FRA}} [[1992 Winter Olympics|1992]] [[Albertville]] || colspan="9" | <center>''As [[File:Olympic flag.png|25px]] Unified Team''</center>
|-
| 8 || 7 || 1 || 0 || 46 || 14 || Viktor Tikhonov || Vyacheslav Bykov || '''{{Gold1}}'''
|-
| [[1994 Winter Olympics|1994]] – present || colspan="9" |<center>''As'' {{ih|RUS}}</center>
|-
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Men's national teams}}
{{Wikipedia}}

[[Category:Former national ice hockey teams]]