Olympic Hockey Schedule 2014: Must-Watch Games to Circle on Your Calendar
One of the premier events of any Winter Olympics is the ice hockey, and—as usual—there are plenty of exciting games in the preliminary round of the tournament to keep an eye on. It can be trying to keep up with all of the action—especially considering that pesky time difference—so here is the full schedule of games as well as the TV information where available.
Schedule
| Feb. 8 | 12 p.m. | 2 a.m. | USA 3 - 1 Finland |
| Feb. 8 | 5 p.m. | 7 a.m. | Canada 5 - 0 Switzerland |
| Feb. 9 | 12 p.m. | 2 a.m. | Sweden vs. Japan |
| Feb. 9 | 5 p.m. | 7 a.m. | Russia vs. Germany |
| Feb. 10 | 2 p.m. | 4 a.m. | USA vs. Switzerland |
| Feb. 10 | 7 p.m. | 9 a.m. | Finland vs. Canada |
| Feb. 11 | 2 p.m. | 4 a.m. | Germany vs. Sweden |
| Feb. 11 | 7 p.m. | 9 a.m. | Russia vs. Japan |
| Feb. 12 | 12 p.m. | 2 a.m. | Switzerland vs. Finland |
| Feb. 12 | 4:30 p.m. | 6:30 a.m. | Canada vs. USA |
| Feb. 13 | 12 p.m. | 2 a.m. | Japan vs. Germany |
| Feb. 13 | 9 p.m. | 11 a.m. | Switzerland vs. Russia |
| Feb. 15 | 12 p.m. | 2 a.m. | Playoff Quarterfinals |
| Feb. 15 | 4:30 p.m. | 6:30 a.m. | Playoff Quarterfinals |
| Feb. 16 | 12 p.m. | 2 a.m. | Classifications (5-8) |
| Feb. 16 | 9 p.m. | 11 a.m. | Classifications (5-8) |
| Feb. 17 | 4:30 p.m. | 6:30 a.m. | Semifinals |
| Feb. 17 | 9 p.m. | 11 a.m. | Semifinals |
| Feb. 18 | 12 p.m. | 2 a.m. | Classifications (7-8) |
| Feb. 18 | 4:30 p.m. | 6:30 a.m. | Classifications (5-6) |
| Feb. 20 | 4 p.m. | 6 a.m. | Bronze-Medal Game |
| Feb. 20 | 9 p.m. | 11 a.m. | Gold-Medal Game |
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| Feb. 12 | 9 p.m. | 11 a.m. | Czech Republic vs. Sweden |
| Feb. 12 | 9 p.m. | 11 a.m. | Latvia vs. Switzerland |
| Feb. 13 | 12 p.m. | 2 a.m. | Finland vs. Austria |
| Feb. 13 | 4:30 p.m. | 6:30 a.m. | Russia vs. Slovenia |
| Feb. 13 | 4:30 p.m. | 6:30 a.m. | Slovakia vs. USA |
| Feb. 13 | 9 p.m. | 11 a.m. | Canada va. Norway |
| Feb. 14 | 12 p.m. | 2 a.m. | Czech Republic vs. Latvia |
| Feb. 14 | 4:30 p.m. | 6:30 a.m. | Sweden vs. Switzerland |
| Feb. 14 | 9 p.m. | 11 a.m. | Norway vs. Finland |
| Feb. 14 | 9 p.m. | 11 a.m. | Canada vs. Austria |
| Feb. 15 | 12 p.m. | 2 a.m. | Slovakia vs. Slovenia |
| Feb. 15 | 4:30 p.m. | 6:30 a.m. | USA vs. Russia |
| Feb. 15 | 9 p.m. | 11 a.m. | Sweden vs. Latvia |
| Feb. 15 | 9 p.m. | 11 a.m. | Switzerland vs. Czech Republic |
| Feb. 16 | 12 p.m. | 2 a.m. | Austria vs. Norway |
| Feb. 16 | 4:30 p.m. | 6:30 a.m. | Russia vs. Slovakia |
| Feb. 16 | 4:30 p.m. | 6:30 a.m. | Slovenia vs. USA |
| Feb. 16 | 9 p.m. | 11 a.m. | Finland vs. Canada |
| Feb. 18 | 12 p.m. | 2 a.m. | Playoff Qualifications |
| Feb. 18 | 4:30 p.m. | 6:30 a.m. | Playoff Qualifications |
| Feb. 18 | 9 p.m. | 11 a.m. | Playoff Qualifications |
| Feb. 18 | 9 p.m. | 11 a.m. | Playoff Qualifications |
| Feb. 19 | 12 p.m. | 2 a.m. | Playoff Quarterfinals |
| Feb. 19 | 4:30 p.m. | 6:30 a.m. | Playoff Quarterfinals |
| Feb. 19 | 9 p.m. | 11 a.m. | Playoff Quarterfinals |
| Feb. 19 | 9 p.m. | 11 a.m. | Playoff Quarterfinals |
| Feb. 21 | 4 p.m. | 6 a.m. | Playoff Semifinals |
| Feb. 21 | 9 p.m. | 11 a.m. | Playoff Semifinals |
| Feb. 22 | 7 p.m. | 9 a.m. | Bronze-Medal Game |
| Feb. 23 | 4 p.m. | 6 a.m. | Gold-Medal Game |
Games to Watch
Women’s: Canada vs. USA
When: Feb. 12, 4:30 p.m. (local), 6:30 a.m. (EST)
Unfortunately for women’s ice hockey, there isn’t much parity in the international game. Actually, there’s no parity in the international game.
Since women’s ice hockey became an Olympic event in 1998, the only nations to win gold in the event have been Canada and the USA. It’s not just about medals, however. These two teams have trounced the opposition, rolling to the 2010 gold-medal match with a combined score of 86-4 (including an 18-0 Canadian blowout over Slovakia).
Canada and USA are head, shoulders, knees and toes above the rest of the field, and those two powerhouses are the overwhelming favorites to take home gold and silver this year.
The only real question is which medal each nation brings home. And that’s what makes this Group A contest so intriguing: It’s almost guaranteed to be a preview of this year’s gold-medal match.
In addition, there is no love lost between these teams. That much was made abundantly clear in the pre-Olympic tune-up games:
Two excellent teams that don’t like each other? If you can only watch one women’s hockey game (prior to the playoff rounds of course), it has to be this one.
Men’s: USA vs. Russia
When: Feb. 15, 4:30 p.m. (local), 6:30 a.m. (EST)
This is the biggest “clash of the titans” in the preliminary stages. Canada, Russia, USA and Sweden are the four favorites to win the gold medal, and this match is the only preliminary-round encounter between any of those teams.
The Russian team will be facing immense pressure in front of the home crowd, and anything less than a gold medal will be a tremendous disappointment—especially after failing to win a medal in the 2010 games.
Both sides have plenty of superstar talent, which will make this an entertaining matchup, but this game will be much more than an exhibition of talent.
This game will reveal just how good both teams are and whether either can dethrone Canada, the reigning gold-medal winner.
Men’s: Canada vs. Finland
When: Feb. 16, 9 p.m. (local), 11 a.m. (EST)
At first glance, this looks like a lopsided contest, but it will be a fascinating game. For starters, it will be intriguing to see how the Canadians adjust to the bigger rink and greater pace of the international game.
Furthermore, the lineup of Finnish goalkeepers is world-class. Kari Lehtonen, Antti Niemi and Tuukka Rask are three of the best keepers in the world, and they could negate the Canadians’ overall talent advantage in this matchup.
The battle between the attacking might of the Canadians and what is sure to be an incredibly stingy Finland defense will be entertaining and could be a potential upset waiting to happen if the Finnish attack can utilize an effective counter-attack.
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