Friday, July 19, 2013

NHL going to Winter Olympics once more

Per an agreement between the National Hockey League and the International Ice Hockey Federation, the premier league on the world stage will once again send its players to the Winter Olympics.

The accord was finally reached on Friday, meaning the Master Schedule for the 2013-14 season will be announced later in the day.

It will be the fifth time Gary Bettman will allow his regular season to be interrupted for more than two weeks in order to permit the "best players in the world" the sole spotlight on the world stage.

Four years ago, it was a double triumph for Canada, as Vancouver hosted the Winter Games and the host nation claimed a 3-2 overtime triumph against the rival Americans in the Gold Medal game.

At Torino in 2006, Sweden outdueled rival Finland.

Salt Lake City in 2002 saw Team Canada outlast the host Americans

The first time around, at Nagano in 1998, the Czech Republic bested Russia in a shootout.

Read the full statement here.

The IIHF has also released a preliminary schedule, which you can find here.

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