> Australia and Canada will meet for the second time in Olympic history.
> Their first encounter in 1976 resulted in a 3-0 victory for Australia.
> Canada have lost all four matches against Australia in major tournaments including two World Cup encounters and a Commonwealth Games match in2006.
> Australia qualified for Beijing 2008 as Oceania Cup champions.
> Defending Champion Australia aim for back-to-back Olympic gold medals. The last nation to achieve this was the Netherlands in 1996 and 2000.
> Canada qualified for Beijing 2008 as Pan American Games champions.
> At an average age of almost 29 (28 years and 359 days), Canada have the oldest team in the men's competition.
> Canada's Rob Short celebrates his 37th birthday on the day of the match. He is the oldest hockey player at Beijing 2008.