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From February 14 to the 25, the Men’s Ice Hockey tournament will take place. The

games will be held at The Gangneung Hockey Centre and the Kwandong Hockey Centre where

12 teams will be going for gold. The competition is divided into three groups of four, where they

each will compete in three games to determine seeding, each playing every other team in their

group, followed by four rounds of elimination games. Each group winner receives a bye into the

second round, along with the highest ranked of the remaining teams. The remaining eight teams

will play an eliminating qualification game to advance to the quarter-final round. Each quarter-

final winner will advance to the semi-finals with the winners playing for the gold medal and the

losers playing for the bronze.

Introduced for the first time in 1920 Antwerp, Men’s Ice Hockey has been a staple of the

winter Olympic Games giving fans all over the world memorable moments, from the miracle on

ice in Lake Placid, to just four years ago in Sochi when the U.S. defeated the host Russia in an

eight-round shootout where TJ Oshie would play hero. The rules of Olympic men’s ice hockey

are not very different from those of the NHL. In the Olympics, the rink is 15 feet wider and the

zones are proportioned differently thus creating more space on the ice. Teams are allowed to

carry 20 players which is two more then the NHL. In the past the NHL has paused it season for

its players to participate in the Olympics and represent their countries, but this year that changes.

For the past five Winter Olympics Games the NHL has allowed its players to participate.

But on April 3, 2017, the NHL and the NHLPA announced it would not schedule a break for the

games and send players over. The primary disagreement between the NHL, IIHF, and IOC was

who would pay to insure players. The IOC agreed to insure the players for the 2014 Olympics at

a cost of $14 million but was unwilling to pay again. IOC appeared concerned that if it continued

to cover the costs of NHL players, other professional bodies would demand similar
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treatment. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman noted that the NHL does not directly profit from

their presence in the Olympics and that the IOC's ambush marketing rules make it difficult for

the league to capitalize on its players' participation, adding that, "in fact, we kind of disappear for

two weeks because historically the IOC hasn't even let us join in promoting our participation in

the Olympics”. However, the KHL which is based in Russia will have a 33-day break to allow its

players to participate in the Olympics. So, people are asking who will represent the stars and

stripes?

The 25- player U.S Olympic Ice Hockey Team roster was named on Jan. 1, 2018 and is

comprised of college players, American hockey league players and Americans playing in

Europe. Michigan will be well represented with three players from the state on the roster. Chad

Billins is a defenseman from Marysville, Michigan and played college hockey at Ferris State. He

currently plays in the Swedish Hockey league for Linköping HC. Jim Slater from Lapeer who

played his college hockey at Michigan State, and currently for Fribourg-Gotteron in the NLA,

will be playing forward for the USA. Last but not least James Wisniewski from Canton who

plays for the Kassel Huskies in Germany, will be playing defense for the red, white and blue. If

the past has taught us anything, it’s that in the Olympics anything can happen, and hockey

provides many memorable moments no matter who you cheer for. `