(photo: www.sochi2014.com)

While the Women’s Ice Hockey Tournament has been in full swing since the end of last week, the Men’s Tournament officially begins today at 12:00 PM EST.

2014 Olympic Winter Games

Game Schedule for Men’s Ice Hockey Tournament
Feb. 12-23 • Sochi, Russia
Date Match-Up Time (Local/EST)
Preliminary Round
Wed., Feb. 12 Group C: CZE vs. SWE 21:00/12:00 PM
Group C: LAT vs. SUI 21:00/12:00 PM
Thurs., Feb. 13 Group B: FIN vs. AUT 12:00/3:00 AM
Group A: RUS vs. SLO 16:30/7:30 AM
Group A: SVK vs. USA 16:30/7:30 AM
Group B: CAN vs. NOR 21:00/12:00 PM
Fri., Feb. 14 Group C: CZE vs. LAT 12:00/3:00 AM
Group C: SWE vs. SUI 16:30/7:30 AM
Group B: CAN vs. AUT 21:00/12:00 PM
Group B: NOR vs. FIN 21:00/12:00 PM
Sat., Feb. 15 Group A: SVK vs. SLO 12:00/3:00 AM
Group A: USA vs. RUS 16:30/7:30 AM
Group C: SUI vs. CZE 21:00/12:00 PM
Group C: SWE vs. LAT 21:00/12:00 PM
Sun., Feb. 16 Group B: AUT vs. NOR 12:00/3:00 AM
Group A: RUS vs. SVK 16:30/7:30 AM
Group A: SLO vs. USA 16:30/7:30 AM
Group B: FIN vs. CAN 21:00/12:00 PM
Qualification Playoff
Tues., Feb. 18 E1: 5D vs. 12D 12:00/3:00 AM
E2: 6D vs. 11D 16:30/7:30 AM
E3: 7D vs. 10D 21:00/12:00 PM
E4: 8D vs. 9D 21:00/12:00 PM
Quarterfinals
Wed., Feb. 19 F1: 1D vs. Winner of E4 12:00/3:00 AM
F2: 2D vs. Winner of E3 16:30/7:30 AM
F3: 3D vs. Winner of E2 21:00/12:00 PM
F4: 4D vs. Winner of E1 21:00/12:00 PM
Semifinals
Fri., Feb. 21 Winner of F1 vs. Winner of F4 16:00/7:00 AM
Winner of F2 vs. Winner of F3 21:00/12:00 PM
Bronze Medal Game
Sat., Feb. 22 Semifinal game losers 19:00/10:00 AM
Gold Medal Game
Sun., Feb. 23 Semifinal game winners 16:00/7:00 AM

 

The Men’s Ice Hockey Tournament features 12 teams, divided into 3 groups of 4. The men’s teams play will start as the women’s did: 3 round robin games against the other teams in their pool. After these preliminary rounds, each team will be assigned a seed from 1D-12D. This ranking will be based on each team’s position in their group, number of points earned, goal differential, goals scored, and their 2013 IIHF World Ranking.

Seeds 1D-4D earn a bye into the Quarterfinals while the remaining 8 teams must compete in a single elimination Qualification Playoff where they will earn an “E” ranking of E1-E4. (Losers exit the tournament with a rank of 9-12, based on their position at the end of pool play)
5D vs. 12D (Winner will become E1)
6D vs. 11D (Winner will become E2)
7D vs. 10D (Winner will become E3)
8D vs. 9D (Winner will become E4)

The 4 “E” teams will then join the 4 “D” teams in the Quarterfinals, in which the winners advance to the Semifinals and earn an “F” ranking. (Losers exit the tournament with a rank of 5-8, based on their position at the end of pool play)
1D vs. E4 (Winner will become F1)
2D vs. E3 (Winner will become F2)
3D vs. E2 (Winner will become F3)
4D vs. E1 (Winner will become F4)

The “F” teams face off in the Semifinals, with the winner of each game advancing to the Gold Medal game, and the losers to the Bronze Medal game.
F1 – F4 (Winner plays for gold, loser for bronze)
F2 – F3 (Winner plays for gold, loser for bronze)

The Women’s Tournament works a little differently. There are 2 groups instead of 3, featuring only 8 teams in total. Even the pools the ladies were placed in were decided quite differently from the men. Because there is very little parity in women’s hockey, the top 4 teams are all in the same heat; whereas the talent is more spread out across the men’s groups. This was done deliberately to keep the elite teams from beating up the little guys, making all the games a little more competitive.

2014 Olympic Winter Games

Game Schedule for Women’s Ice Hockey Tournament
Feb. 8-20 • Sochi, Russia
Date Match-Up Time (Local/EST)
Preliminary Round
Sat., Feb. 8 Group A USA 3 : 1 FIN Completed
Group A CAN 5 : 0 SUI Completed
Sun., Feb. 9 Group B SWE 1 : 0 JPN Completed
Group B RUS 4 : 1 GER Completed
Mon., Feb. 10 Group A USA 9 : 0 SUI Completed
Group A FIN 0 : 3 CAN Completed
Tues., Feb. 11 Group B GER 0 : 4 SWE Completed
Group B RUS 2 : 1 JPN Completed
Wed., Feb. 12 Group A SUI 3 : 4 FIN Completed
Group A CAN vs. USA 16:30/7:30 AM
Thurs., Feb. 13 Group B JPN vs. GER 12:00/3:00 AM
Group B SWE vs. RUS 21:00/12:00 PM
Quarterfinals
Sat., Feb. 15 3A vs. 2B 12:00/3:00 AM
4A vs. 1B 16:30/7:30 AM
Classification Playoff
Sun., Feb. 16 L(3A vs. 2B) vs. 3B 12:00/3:00 AM
L(4A vs. 1B) vs. 4B 21:00/12:00 PM
Semifinals
Mon., Feb. 17 1A vs. W(4A vs. 1B) 16:30/7:30 AM
2A vs. W(3A vs. 2B) 21:00/12:00 PM
Classification Playoff
Tues., Feb. 18 7th Place Game 12:00/3:00 AM
5th Place Game 16:30/7:30 AM
Finals
Thurs., Feb. 20 Bronze Medal Game 16:00/7:00 AM
Gold Medal Game 21:00/12:00 PM

A lot more is already determined at the end of the Preliminary Round than in the men’s tournament. The top teams from Group A (1A and 2A) receive a bye all the way into the Semifinals. The bottom teams from Group A (3A and 4A) and the top teams from Group B (1B and 2B) advance to the Quarterfinals. (The bottom teams from Group B go to a Final Classification Playoff game to determine their rank)

Quarterfinals match-ups as follows:
3A vs. 2B (Winner of this game plays 2A in Semis, loser plays 3B in Classification Playoff)
4A vs. 1B (Winner of this game plays 1A in Semis, loser plays 4B in Classification Playoff)

There are 2 Classification Playoff rounds. The losers of the first round play to determine 7th and 8th place in the second round, while the winners play for 5th and 6th place.

Semifinals match-ups as follows:
1A vs. W(4A vs. 1B)
2A vs. W(3A vs. 2B)

Once again the winners here will play for gold, while the losers battle for bronze.

Born in the “non-traditional” hockey market of South Florida, Elizabeth (Beth) quickly grew to love the sport at a very young age after her Buffalo-bred family introduced her to the Sabres. High school friends who didn’t care about hockey couldn't understand her withdrawals during the 2004-05 lockout, but college would bring a hockey loving boyfriend (and best friend) to whom she could finally relate. A South Florida native himself, and an avid Florida Panthers fan, he got her into the home team. Together they work for their college hockey club (the FAU Owls), broadcasting games. Beth is a huge USA Hockey fan and hopes to see them win Olympic gold in her lifetime. Between her 2 favorite NHL teams, her college squad, and USA Hockey, it's hard to tell which team she loves most, but she is passionate about them all.

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