The times have been released for the qualifying round of games of the Olympic Hockey tournament on Tuesday. The top four teams in the groupt stage (Sweden, United States, Canada and Finland) have advanced directly to the quarterfinals while the remaining 8 teams are ranked 5 through 12 and play off in a single elimination game. The quarterfinals will take place on Wednesday, with the Semifinals going Friday. The Bronze medal game is played Saturday with the Gold medal being decided on Sunday.
PHOTO CREDIT: USA Today Sports
Here are the times for the qualification round:
(5) Russia vs (12) Norway – 7:30 AM EST
Alex Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin et al will face off against the Norwegians. Russia is not happy having to play this game and not being in the top 4. The winner will face Finland in the quarterfinals.
(6) Switzerland vs (11) Latvia – 12:00 NOON EST
Switzerland’s tight defense (1 goal allowed in 3 games) will be tough for the offensively challenged Latvians to crack. They played each other in the preliminary round, with Swizterland recording a tight 1-0 win. The winner gets to face Canada in the quarters.
(7) Czech Republic vs (10) Slovakia – 12 NOON EST
These two bitter rivals were both among the top hockey nations, but now one of them won’t even be in the top 8. The winner plays the US in the quarterfinals
(8) Slovenia vs (9) Austria – 3:00 AM EST
Who would have thought before the tournament that one of these two teams would have been in the quarterfinals. That is the case and the winner gets Sweden in the next round.