If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. Learn more >
Teddy Ricketson
One of the biggest events at the Winter Games is men’s ice hockey.
The competition format has the 12 nations split into three groups of four teams each. They play a round-robin format, with each nation playing every country in its group. These results are used alongside goal differential and other tiebreakers to set a 12-team ranking.
The winner of each group and the best team remaining after are given a bye. Then the eight remaining teams enter the knockout stage, which is a single-elimination bracket. Matches then proceed until the final two teams standing compete for the gold medal.
Here is a look at the hockey bracket for the knockout stage, after the round-robin stage of the 2026 Olympics.
MORE 2026 OLYMPICS: Live medal tracker | Viewer's guide | Day-by-day schedule
Byes: Canada, USA, Slovakia, Finland
Tuesday, February 17
Wednesday, February 18
Friday, February 20
Saturday, February 21 — Bronze medal game
Sunday, February 22 — Gold medal game
Teddy Ricketson is a Digital Content Producer at The Sporting News. He joined the team in 2024 after spending the last three years writing for Vox Media as part of its DK Nation/Network team. Teddy does his best to support the South Carolina Gamecocks and Carolina Panthers, but tends to have more fun cheering on the Atlanta Braves. In his free time, he loves spending time with his wife, Brooke, and their two dogs, Bo and Hootie.
Hockey News