31 Jul
Ice hockey competitions at the 2014 Winter Olympics will be held at two locations; the Bolshoy Ice Dome and the Shayba Arena in Russia. Both are expected to be completed in 2012 and put to use before the games. The play field will be built to international standards (60 by 30 meters) and will be moved to other locations after the games. Each will accommodate 12,000 and 7,000 spectators respectively.
There will be 12 men’s teams and eight women’s teams participating at the games. Participating in men’s will include the host country Russia, Slovakia, United States and a qualifier in Group A; Canada, Finland, Norway and a qualifier in Group B; and Czech Republic, Sweden, Switzerland, and a qualifier in Group C. The participating nine named countries have been selected based on IIHF World Rankings and the others will be chosen based on subsequent qualifying tournaments. There are two groups for the women’s competition. Competing in Group A will be Canada, Finland, Switzerland and the United States. Group B will consist of Russia, Sweden and two qualifiers. Two qualifiers will be based on 2012 IIHF Women’s World Championship. Both games will begin on February 8 with different conclusion dates.