Ice hockey at the 2018 Winter Olympics
| Ice hockey at the Games of the Olympiad | |
 | |
| Venues | Gangneung Hockey Centre Kwandong Hockey Centre |
|---|---|
| Dates | 10–25 February 2018 |
| Ice hockey at the 2018 Winter Olympics |
|---|
| Tournament |
| men women |
| Qualification |
| men women |
| Rosters |
| men women |
The ice hockey competitions of the 2018 Winter Olympics will be played at two venues, within the Gangneung Coastal Cluster in Pyeongchang, Korea. The Gangneung Hockey Centre, which will seat 10,000, and the Kwandong Hockey Centre, which will seat 6,000, are both scheduled to be completed in 2016.[1][2] Both venues are international sized (60 meters by 30 meters).
Twelve teams will compete in the men's tournament, beginning on the 13th and ending on the 25th of February. Eight teams will compete in the women's, beginning on the 10th and ending on the 22nd of February.
Men's tournament
The tournament will feature 12 countries, 8 qualifying through the IIHF World Ranking, 3 through subsequent qualifying tournaments, and the host South Korea men's national ice hockey team.[3] The format will be the same as 2010 and 2014; three groups of 4 to determine seeding, with four rounds of elimination games. Each group winner receives a bye into the second round, along with the best second place team while the remaining eight teams play a qualification game. Each quarter-final winner advances to the semis with the winners playing for the gold medal, and the losers the bronze.[4] It is unknown whether the NHL will agree to allow its players to participate in the tournament.
Qualification
Qualification for the men's tournament at the 2014 Winter Olympics will be determined by the IIHF World Ranking following the 2015 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships.[4] The top eight teams in the World Ranking will receive automatic berths into the Olympics, the host will receive an automatic berth, while all other teams have an opportunity to qualify for the remaining three spots in the Olympics. In April 2014 Rene Fasel indicated that the Korean's would need a ranking of 18th or better[5] however in September of the same year they apparently changed their policy allowing the hosts to participate automatically while ranking outside the top 20.[6]
Women's tournament
The women's tournament will run from 10 to 22 February. Eight nations will contest the gold. The format will be the same as 2014, the top 4 seeded teams play in group A and the next four in group B. The bottom two group A teams played the top 2 teams in group B in the quarter finals, where the winners played either the first or second place team in group A.[4]
Qualification
Qualification for the women's tournament at the 2014 Winter Olympics was determined by the IIHF World Ranking following the 2016 IIHF Women's World Championships. The top five teams in the World Ranking receive automatic berths into the Olympics, South Korea gains direct entry by being host and all other teams have an opportunity to qualify for the remaining two spots in the Olympics.[4]
Participating nations
Eight nations will play in two pools.
| Group A | Group B |
|---|---|
|
References
- ↑ "Pyeongchang 2018 Olympics Venues - Ice Sports". Pyeongchang2018.org. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
- ↑ "Pyeongchang 2018 volume 2". Pyeongchang2018.org. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
- ↑ "Olympic format set". IIHF.com. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 "2018 Olympic Winter Games". IIHF.com. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
- ↑ "Fasel, Wu address media". IIHF.com. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
- ↑ "Korea headed to the Olympics". IIHF.com. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
External links
- Olympic qualification schedule, at IIHF.com.
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