Winter Olympics 2018: When does the men’s hockey tournament start?

Make sure you don’t miss one minute of this year’s Olympic men’s hockey tournament.

The men’s Olympic ice hockey tournament gets underway Feb. 14 at 7:10 a.m. ET, when Team USA faces off against Slovenia and Slovakia takes on the “Olympic Athletes of Russia.” These games, like all other games, can be watched across NBC’s networks.

Hockey fans will need to get used to waking up early to catch the action. The only other game on opening day is Finland playing against Germany at 10:10 p.m. ET. Sweden will face Norway to begin their quest for the gold medal at 2:40 a.m. ET Thursday, Feb. 15. Tournament favorite Canada starts their schedule later that morning at 7:10 a.m. ET against Switzerland. Host country South Korea opens against the Czech Republic at 7:10 a.m. ET on Feb. 15 as well.

Due to no NHL players participating in this year’s Olympics, every country has a chance to win a medal. There are plenty of remarkable storylines to follow, like former NHL players trying to revitalize their career and prospects trying to prove they are ready for the NHL. In total, there are twelve teams competing in the tournament, the teams are split into three groups. After each nation plays every other team in the group they are seeded and then sent into the elimination rounds.

Next: Women's olympic hockey TV schedule

Canada is the top-ranked team in the world according to the IIHF. They are in group A with the Czech Republic ranked 6, Switzerland ranked 7 and South Korea ranked 12. The United States, ranked 5 in the world, are in Group B with Russia (OAR) ranked second, Slovakia ranked 8 and Slovenia ranked 11. Sweden leads Group C ranked third, Finland, ranked fourth, Norway, ranked 6, and Germany ranked 10. This year it is a very balanced field that could make every game interesting.