Ice hockey at the 2014 Winter Olympics

The ice hockey events at the 2014 Winter Olympics took place in Sochi, Russia, inside the Olympic Park. The two rinks, the Bolshoy Ice Dome (capacity 12,000) and the Shayba Arena (capacity 7,000), were only 300 meters apart. The Bolshoy Ice Dome was designed to look like a Fabergé egg, while the Shayba Arena was originally planned as a temporary structure but ended up staying in Sochi permanently. Both venues measured 60 by 30 meters, the standard IIHF size. The men’s tournament involved twelve nations, the women’s eight. Play started on 8 February 2014, with the women’s final on 20 February and the men’s final on 23 February. Canada’s men’s and women’s teams both finished undefeated, repeating their gold medal wins from the 2010 Vancouver Games. Finland’s Teemu Selänne, at 43 years and 234 days old, became the oldest ice hockey player to win an Olympic medal (bronze). He also set a new Olympic record with 43 total points and tied the record for most Olympic appearances, competing in his sixth Games. Sweden’s Nicklas Bäckström was barred from the men’s final after his “A-sample” tested positive for pseudoephedrine; his “B-sample” later also showed an elevated level. The men’s tournament used the same format as 2010: three groups of four determined seeding, with group winners and the best second-place team receiving byes into the quarter-finals, while the other eight played a qualification round. The top nine teams in the IIHF World Ranking after the 2012 Men’s World Championships automatically qualified, with three more spots filled through separate qualifiers. The women’s tournament introduced a new format: the top four ranked teams formed Group A, the next four Group B. The bottom two from Group A faced the top two from Group B in the quarter-finals; the winners then played the top two from Group A. The top five teams in the IIHF World Ranking after the 2012 Women’s World Championships automatically qualified, Russia gained a spot as host, and two more teams entered through qualifiers. On 6 December 2017, six Russian women’s players were disqualified for doping, leading to the team’s disqualification; Tatiana Burina and Anna Shukina were disqualified ten days later.