The last game day in the group participation in the Olympic hockey tournament – all participants of the ¼ finals who got there, and those who will play in the qualifying round of the ⅛ finals were determined.

We remind you that we have arrived in the quarterfinals of the visible team, which took first places in their groups and the best second team. The four were the USA (the Americans beat Germany and led group A with 9 points), Finland (8 points, first place in the group after defeating the Swedes in overtime), Russia (7 points, first place in group B) and the Swedish team ( second place in group C). It turned out that the Russians saw their place in the ¼ finals before anyone else, but of all the winners of the group, they scored fewer points.

In the overall ranking of the team (which is what matters), the results among the quarter-finalists are as follows:

• 1. USA – 9 points,
• 2. Finland – 8,
• 3. Russia – 7,
• 4. Sweden – 7.

The rest of the teams (5-12, 6-11, 7-10, 8-9), as already mentioned, will play an additional match in the playoffs – ⅛ finals, after which the quarterfinal pairs will be determined.

The winner of the overall rating – the Americans – play with the winner of the pair 8/9 (Germany – Slovakia). Stars and Stripes before the start of the tournament was not taken by anyone in the calculations when there was a conversation about medals, the presence of 15 players from colleges, speed, speed to the minimum percentage of success, but this team became acceptable for group participation. The US team just played the Germans and they were favorites, but the Slovaks have a 17-year-old phenom Juraj Słafkowski, who appeared in the tournament’s top scorers, and the presence of such a player can decide a single match. The second place in the overall ranking – the Finns – play with the winner of the pair 7/10 (Czech Republic – Switzerland). The Czechs beat the Swiss in the shootout group (2:1 B), and it’s very quick to predict the winner here, although the victory over Russia gave Philip Pechan’s promotion a good boost for the future.

The Russian team itself will play with the winner of the 11/6 pair, which was won by Denmark and Latvia. The Danes have already become troublemakers in the tournament, a difficult match with the team of Peter Regin in the group has not yet been forgotten. The Latvians became the only team (China is not in the score), they did not score points, but in all three matches, Harijs Vitolins’ wards were fiercely determined, could score points in the game with Sweden, and looked very worthy. In any case, the match with Latvia, which always and in any case wants to beat Russia, will also not be a consistent outing for Zhamnov’s team. The fourth team in the ranking – the Swedes – will play with the winner of the 5/12 pair, which was provided by Canada and China. Everything is already clear here, and Tre Krunur may well be preparing for a confrontation with Staal and company.

Quarter-final winners go through a tight bracket without reseeding. So, the Russian team, in case of victory over Denmark or Latvia, will fall on the winner of the Finland-Czech Republic/Switzerland pair. Thus, in the semi-finals of Zhamnov’s game, a little pleasant meeting with the guys of Jalonen shines, who gained momentum at the end of the group stage and gave out the brightest match with Sweden.

The Swedes themselves, as already mentioned, are waiting for Canada in the ¼ finals, and if successful, they will fight with the one who wins the USA-Slovakia/Germany pair.

The quarter-final matches will take place on Wednesday 16 February. The semi-finals of the Olympics will be held on Friday, February 18. The match for bronze medals will take place on February 19, the final on February 20.

Maxim Zamyatin