Game schedule, start time and more

The men’s hockey tournament at the 2026 Winter Olympics advanced to the knockout stage after the preliminary round. The top three group winners, along with the best runners-up, receive a direct bye to the quarter-finals.

Team Canada, Team USA, Team Slovakia, and Team Finland are the four teams that received a direct bye to the quarterfinals. Meanwhile, Team Germany, Team France, Team Switzerland, Team Italy, Team Czechia, Team Denmark, Team Sweden, and Team Latvia will compete in the qualifiers.

The remaining eight teams will compete in single-elimination qualifiers on February 17 to fill the final four spots in the quarterfinals.

Men’s Olympic Ice Hockey Qualifying Bracket: Games and Schedule

These are the single-elimination matches to advance to the quarter-finals:

Germany against France

Switzerland vs Italy

Czech Republic vs Denmark

Sweden vs Latvia

All matches will be played on Tuesday.

Men’s Olympic Ice Hockey Quarterfinal Bracket: Games and Schedule

The top four winners will face the friendly teams in these matches on Wednesday:

Slovakia vs the winner of Germany/France

Canada vs winner from Czech Republic/Denmark

Finland vs. the winner of Switzerland/Italy

USA vs. Sweden/Latvia winner

Notably, these are also single-elimination games. The winners advance to the semifinals, with the bronze medal game taking place on Saturday (February 21) and the gold medal game on Sunday (February 22).

This bracket gives tournament favorites like Canada and the United States strong paths, while underdogs battle through the playoffs.