2014 US Olympic Trials: Saturday Event Schedule, TV Info, Preview and More

The United States is in the midst of preparations for upcoming the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Thanks to the magic of television, eager fans can get a glimpse into the hard work and obstacles that hopeful Olympians must put in and overcome in order to represent the Stars and Stripe in Sochi.

Let’s take a look at the complete schedule of Olympic Trial events taking place on Saturday, Dec. 28, plus highlight what a casual viewer should be looking for during these events.

Sport	Events	Coverage Start Time (EST)	TV	Live Stream
Speedskating (Long Track)	Womens 500m / Men 500m	3 p.m.	NBC	IceNetwork
Women's Ice Hockey	Team USA vs. Team Canada	4 p.m.	NBCSN	NBCSN Live Extra

Women’s Ice Hockey: Bad Blood with Canada

There is no love lost between the United States women’s hockey team and its Canadian counterpart.

That much was evident on Dec. 20, when these two bitter rivals dropped the gloves and brawled at the tail end of a 4-1 USA victory.

Erik Martinson posted a photo of the two penalty boxes after the carnage ended:

These two countries last squared off in the Four Nations tournament back in early October, a meeting that was also punctuated with a full-scale melee. Canada won that matchup, 4-2, but the fights were the lasting the story.

With one more showdown on tap in the Olympic Trials, you can certainly expect things to be a little chippy. Neither side is willing to back down here, and things only project to get more intense if these uncivil neighbors meet up in Sochi.

Team USA forward Amanda Kessel attempted to describe the feeling of getting ready for a game against Canada, as per Anastassia Smorodinskaya of Sports Illustrated: “You almost feel it in your whole body on those game days...it feels different." 

Factor in the sheer talent on both sides and this Trial contest in St. Paul should be more than enough to whet your appetite for women’s Olympic hockey.

Speed Skating: Stars Attempting to Qualify

This is the second day of long-track Trials, with competitors from across the land converging on the Olympic Oval in Kearns, Utah in an attempt to land one of the coveted 30 spots on Team USA’s speed skating squad.

In a rather controversial twist, there isn’t a single spot on that roster spoken for. Every single potential Olympian will have to earn his or her way on, including bona fide stars like J.R. Celski and Shani Davis.

Sprint team coach Ryan Shimabukuro openly criticized this policy, outright stating that television coverage is the reason for it, as per Paul Newberry of the Associated Press (via Yahoo! Sports):

"

I'm not a fan of the fact that our top skaters weren't able to prequalify based on their World Cup results. A lot of those decisions were based on television coverage. But that makes it very difficult for us. We have a very hard travel schedule. When you get to this time of year, you want to protect your medal contenders.

"

Regardless of the new qualifying rules, the wheat should almost certainly be separated from the chaff during this nearly two weeks long Trial process.

While Davis and Celski are certain to lead the men, two former inline skaters, Heather Richardson and Brittany Bowe, are expected to make waves on the women’s side now that they are competing on the ice.

Shimabukuro spoke about this transition and what they are expecting, as per Newberry:

"

Both want to become Olympic champions. They’re pushing each other as well as other members of the sprint team. A lot of our success is due to our team working very well together and being very supportive of each other. Heather is going into these games with one Olympics under her belt. She knows what to expect.

"

Don’t expect either of these two women to have an issue qualifying, even though the path to Sochi is a bit more difficult this year due to new qualifying measures. It’s just another bump in a long road that started as soon as the 2010 Vancouver Games ended.