U.S.-Switzerland to open 2010 Olympics
by Adam KimelmanThe U.S. will face Switzerland in the first game of the quadrennial hockey tournament, followed by host Canada facing Norway at 4:30 p.m. The other opening-day game features Russia against Latvia at 9 p.m.
Defending gold medalist Sweden opens its title defense against Germany at 4:30 p.m. on Feb. 17.
The 12 countries have been split into three groups for the event, and the first six days of the tournament will feature round-robin play inside the three groups.
Group A features the U.S., Canada, Switzerland and Norway. Group B consists of Russia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Latvia. Group C has Sweden, Finland, Belarus and Germany.
The final day of the preliminary round could make for must-see viewing. At noon, Russia faces the Czech Republic, followed at 4:45 p.m. by Canada playing the U.S., and a clash between Sweden and Finland at 9 p.m. closes the day.
The top 12 teams regardless of group advance to the next round, with the top four teams receiving byes into the quarterfinals. The remaining eight teams will battle in a single-elimination playoff qualification round. Those four teams then advance to the quarterfinals, which will be played starting at noon on Feb. 24.
The semifinals will be played Feb. 26, at noon and 6:30 p.m. The bronze-medal game will be played at 7 p.m. on Feb. 27, and the gold-medal game will take place at 12:15 p.m. on Feb. 28.
All games will be played at Canada Hockey Place (also known as GM Place), home of the Vancouver Canucks, and Thunderbird Arena at the University of British Columbia.
Contact Adam Kimelman at akimelman@nhl.com.
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NOTE: This is the proposed schedule for the Men's Ice Hockey Tournament at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver. It is subject to change.
VENUES: Canada Hockey Place (CHP), UBC Thunderbird Arena (UBC)
PRELIMINARY ROUND | ||||||||
Day | Date | Group | Time | Venue | Game | Home | Away | |
1 | Tue 16.02 | A | 12.00 | CHP | 1 | USA | SUI | |
A | 16.30 | CHP | 2 | CAN | NOR | |||
B | 21.00 | CHP | 3 | RUS | LAT | |||
2 | Wed 17.02 | C | 12.00 | CHP | 4 | FIN | BLR | |
C | 16.30 | CHP | 5 | SWE | GER | |||
B | 21.00 | CHP | 6 | CZE | SVK | |||
3 | Thu 18.02 | A | 12.00 | CHP | 7 | USA | NOR | |
A | 16.30 | CHP | 8 | SUI | CAN | |||
B | 21.00 | CHP | 9 | SVK | RUS | |||
4 | Fri 19.02 | C | 12.00 | CHP | 10 | BLR | SWE | |
B | 16.30 | CHP | 11 | CZE | LAT | |||
C | 21.00 | CHP | 12 | FIN | GER | |||
5 | Sat 20.02 | A | 12.00 | CHP | 13 | NOR | SUI | |
B | 16.30 | CHP | 14 | LAT | SVK | |||
C | 21.00 | CHP | 15 | GER | BLR | |||
6 | Sun 21.02 | B | 12.00 | CHP | 16 | RUS | CZE | |
A | 16.45 | CHP | 17 | CAN | USA | |||
C | 21.00 | CHP | 18 | SWE | FIN | |||
7 | Mon 22.02 | DAY OFF | ||||||
QUALIFICATION PLAYOFF | ||||||||
8 | Tue 23.02 | 12.00 | CHP | 19 | QP1 | |||
16.30 | CHP | 20 | QP2 | |||||
19.00 | UBC | 21 | QP3 | |||||
21.00 | CHP | 22 | QP4 | |||||
NOTES: | ||||||||
QP1 - if playing in Qualification playoffs, USA to play in the 12.00 game | ||||||||
QP2 - if playing in Qualification playoffs, CAN to play in the 16.30 game | ||||||||
QUARTER-FINAL ROUND | ||||||||
9 | Wed 24.02 | 12.00 | CHP | 23 | QF1 | |||
16.30 | CHP | 24 | QF2 | |||||
19.00 | UBC | 25 | QF3 | |||||
21.00 | CHP | 26 | QF4 | |||||
NOTES: | ||||||||
QF1 or QF4 - if qualified, USA to play in either the 12.00 or 21.00 game | ||||||||
QF2 - if qualified, CAN to play in the 16.30 game | ||||||||
10 | Thu 25.02 | DAY OFF | ||||||
SEMI-FINAL ROUND | ||||||||
11 | Fri 26.02 | 12.00 | CHP | 27 | SF1 | |||
18.30 | CHP | 28 | SF2 | |||||
NOTES: | ||||||||
SF1 - if qualified, USA to play in the 12.00 game | ||||||||
SF2 - if qualified, CAN to play in the 18.30 game | ||||||||
BRONZE MEDAL GAME | ||||||||
12 | Sat 27.02 | 19.00 | CHP | 29 | BRONZE | |||
GOLD MEDAL GAME | ||||||||
13 | Sun 28.02 | 12:15 | CHP | 30 | GOLD |