Hockey North Star

Olympic qualification was announced, 24 men’s national teams will battle for the three remaining spots at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. The top-nine teams of the 2008 IIHF World Ranking are already qualified.

Olympic ice hockey tournament in Vancouver, Canada, February 16-28, 2010
Group A: Canada, United States, Switzerland, Qualifier 3
Group B: Russia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Qualifier 2
Group C: Sweden, Finland, Belarus, Qualifier 1

Final Olympic Qualification, February 5-8, 2009
Group E: Germany, Slovenia, Austria, Qualifier. Host: Mannheim (Germany)
Group F: Latvia, Italy, Ukraine, Qualifier. Host: Latvia. The venue is expected to be Riga
Group G: Norway, Denmark, France, Qualifier. Host: Norway

Olympic Pre-Qualification, November 6-9, 2008
Group B: Kazakhstan, Netherlands, Estonia, Qualifier. Host: TBA
Group C: Hungary, Lithuania, Croatia, Serbia. Host: Hungary
Group D: Poland, Japan, Romania, Great Britain. Host: Poland

Pre-Qualification, September 4-7, 2008:
Group A: Bulgaria, Spain, Mexico, Turkey. Host: TBA

__________________
To be the Man you have to beat the Man (Ric Flair)