It’s that time again! Ice Hockey at the Winter Olympics officially starts on February 3rd and runs through February 20th in Beijing, China.
While the Winter Olympics are covered around the globe, you might have trouble watching your favorite free stream if you’re traveling right now or reside in a country that currently does not have an official Winter Olympics streamer. However, there is a way to still see all of the action! If you sign up for a premium VPN with fast, reliable servers, you can access free international streams from anywhere without worrying about buffering! Simply follow the steps below to watch your favorite country’s ice hockey team at the Winter Olympics:
- Signup for a good-quality VPN provider. We recommend NordVPN for its servers’ speed and reliability.
- Download and install their app directly from their website.
- Choose and connect to a server in the same country as your chosen stream. For example, connected to an Australian server for 7Plus steams of the Winter Olympics.
- Go to that chosen streamer and find the ice hockey game you want to stream.
- Enjoy all of the action on the ice at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics!
If you want the complete list of free streaming providers or the women’s ice hockey and men’s ice hockey schedules, read our full article below.
The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics kicked off earlier with curling and luge events, but many are anticipating the start of the Winter Olympics ice hockey games to root for their home countries!
The first ice hockey game kicks off at 12:10 pm on February 3rd, local Beijing time. The final medal will be given out at the end of the Olympic Games on February 20th, 2022. The ROC (Russian Olympic Committee) and Canadian teams are early favorites with past medal winners on their teams.
The USA team seems to be the underdog with no NHL players on the roster. However, the USA team has some talented young prospects fighting for their country’s glory, including 2021 IIHF World Championship bronze medalist Matty Beniers and past Olympian, Brian O’Neill.
If you’re looking for a guide on how to live stream all of the ice hockey action from this year’s Winter Olympics, we have you covered, including how to leverage a VPN to catch all the free live Winter Olympics streams.
How to Stream the 2022 Winter Olympics Ice Hockey from Anywhere
The good news about the 2022 Winter Olympics is that it’s such a large event that it’s covered by streaming providers around the world. Unfortunately, there are still some countries that won’t have a local carrier. Below are this year’s main broadcasters:
| Region | Stream | Paid or Free |
|---|---|---|
| Australia | 7Plus | Free |
| Canada | CBC | Free |
| Europe | Eurosport | Free |
| Netherlands | NPO Start | Free |
| United Kingdom | BBC iPlayer | Free – Requires a British postal code to sign up |
| United States | Peacock | Paid, but available for a free trial of Peacock. |
| United States | NBC Sports |
Free |
If you’re located somewhere without a local carrier or traveling abroad, you might be blocked from your favorite live ice hockey game streams due to broadcasting rights. If you’re away from home or somewhere without streaming rights, you will probably miss out. Fortunately, we know how you can keep your access to all of the Winter Olympic action and that’s by using a virtual private network (VPN).
By using a VPN, you can change your IP address so that you appear to be watching from the same country the broadcaster has rights in. Simply put, this allows you to log into your chosen streaming account to catch the Winter Olympics, regardless of where you are. All you have to do is connect to a VPN’s server in the applicable country and then let the VPN connect to your streaming platform. Voila! You can now be in England, the Netherlands, or the US with just a push of a button. Or at least these streaming providers will think that you are!
A step-by-step guide: Stream the 2022 Winter Olympics ice hockey games from anywhere
- Choose and subscribe to a quality VPN provider. We recommend NordVPN because it has a great network of servers that have the speed and reliability you need to live stream ice hockey games.
- Once you sign up for NordVPN, download and install the app.
- Sign in to your newly created account and connect to a server in the same country as your chosen streamer. For example, choose an Australian server to watch all of the action on the ice with 7Plus.
- Head over to the streaming platform and find your favorite ice hockey team’s game stream.
- Now you’re ready to watch Winter Olympic hockey online from anywhere!
Can I Use a Free VPN to Stream Live Ice Hockey Games During the Winter Olympics?
We don’t recommend using free VPNs to live stream hockey or any Winter Olympics event because they often place restrictions that prevent users from fully enjoying fast-paced sports. When it comes to action-packed, live sporting events like ice hockey, you really need the reliability and speed of a premium VPN. Without that, you’ll be dealing with slow speeds and buffering which could mean missed plays. No one wants that!
But lagging live streams aren’t the only issues with free VPNs. Below are just some of the many other downsides:
- Data limits
- Limited servers and locations
- Speed caps
While we recommend a reliable, fast VPN like NordVPN, we understand that free VPNs have their place. If you want to try out a good free VPN for surfing the web, we have put together our top rankings of the best truly free VPNs of 2022 that you can check out.
2022 Ice Hockey Winter Olympic Schedule
Ice hockey is one of the sports that run the entire length of the 24th Winter Olympics, from February 2nd through the 20th (Eastern Standard Time). Whether you’re following the USA hockey team, the Canada hockey team, or one of the other amazing countries represented, you don’t want to miss a game. Below is the current ice hockey schedule for this year’s Winter Olympics games:
| Date | Time | Event | Teams |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wed, 2 Feb | 11:10 PM ET | Women’s Preliminary #1 – Group B | Czech Republic vs. People’s Republic of China |
| Wed, 2 Feb | 11:10 PM ET | Women’s Preliminary #2 – Group A | Canada vs. Switzerland |
| Thurs, 3 Feb | 3:40 AM ET | Women’s Preliminary #3 – Group B | Sweden vs. Japan |
| Thurs, 3 Feb | 8:10 AM ET | Women’s Preliminary #4 – Group A | Finland vs. USA |
| Thurs, 3 Feb | 11:10 PM ET | Women’s Preliminary #5 – Group B | Denmark vs. People’s Republic of China |
| Thurs, 3 Feb | 11:10 PM ET | Women’s Preliminary #6 – Group A | Russian Olympic Committee vs. Switzerland |
| Fri, 4 Feb | 11:10 PM ET | Women’s Preliminary #7 – Group A | Canada vs. Finland |
| Sat, 5 Feb | 3:40 AM ET | Women’s Preliminary #8 – Group B | Japan vs. Denmark |
| Sat, 5 Feb | 3:40 AM ET | Women’s Preliminary #9 – Group B | Czech Republic vs. Sweden |
| Sat, 5 Feb | 8:10 AM ET | Women’s Preliminary #10 – Group A | USA vs. Russian Olympic Committee |
| Sun, 6 Feb | 3:40 AM ET | Women’s Preliminary #11 – Group B | People’s Republic of China vs. Japan |
| Sun, 6 Feb | 8:10 AM ET | Women’s Preliminary #12 – Group A | Switzerland vs. USA |
| Sun, 6 Feb | 11:10 PM ET | Women’s Preliminary #13 – Group A | Russian Olympic Committee vs. Canada |
| Mon, 7 Feb | 3:40 AM ET | Women’s Preliminary #14 – Group B | Denmark vs. Czech Republic |
| Mon, 7 Feb | 8:10 AM ET | Women’s Preliminary #15 – Group B | People’s Republic of China vs. Sweden |
| Mon, 7 Feb | 8:10 AM ET | Women’s Preliminary #16 – Group A | Switzerland vs. Finland |
| Mon, 7 Feb | 11:10 PM ET | Women’s Preliminary #17 – Group A | USA vs. Canada |
| Tue, 8 Feb | 3:40 AM ET | Women’s Preliminary #18 – Group B | Japan vs. Czech Republic |
| Tue, 8 Feb | 8:10 AM ET | Women’s Preliminary #19 – Group B | Sweden vs. Denmark |
| Tue, 8 Feb | 8:10 AM ET | Women’s Preliminary #20 – Group A | Finland vs. Russian Olympic Committee |
| Wed, 9 Feb | 3:40 AM ET | Men’s Preliminary #1 – Group B | Russian Olympic Committee vs. Switzerland |
| Wed, 9 Feb | 8:10 AM ET | Men’s Preliminary #2 – Group B | Czech Republic vs. Denmark |
| Wed, 9 Feb | 11:10 PM ET | Men’s Preliminary #3 – Group C | Sweden vs. Latvia |
| Thu, 10 Feb | 3:40 AM ET | Men’s Preliminary #4 – Group C | Finland vs. Slovakia |
| Thu, 10 Feb | 8:10 AM ET | Men’s Preliminary #5 – Group A | USA vs. People’s Republic of China |
| Thu, 10 Feb | 8:10 AM ET | Men’s Preliminary #6 – Group A | Canada vs. Germany |
| Thu, 10 Feb | 11:10 PM ET | Men’s Preliminary #7 – Group B | Denmark vs. Russian Olympic Committee |
| Thu, 10 Feb | 11:10 PM ET | Women’s Play-offs Quarterfinals – #21 | TBD |
| Fri, 11 Feb | 3:40 AM ET | Men’s Preliminary #8 – Group B | Czech Republic vs. Switzerland |
| Fri, 11 Feb | 3:40 AM ET | Men’s Preliminary #9 – Group C | Sweden vs. Slovakia |
| Fri, 11 Feb | 8:10 AM ET | Men’s Preliminary #10 – Group C | Latvia vs. Finland |
| Fri, 11 Feb | 8:10 AM ET | Women’s Play-offs Quarterfinals – #22 | TBD |
| Fri, 11 Feb | 11:10 PM ET | Men’s Preliminary #11 – Group A | Canada vs. USA |
| Fri, 11 Feb | 11:10 PM ET | Women’s Play-offs Quarterfinals – #23 | TBD |
| Sat, 12 Feb | 3:40 AM ET | Men’s Preliminary #12 – Group A | Germany vs. People’s Republic of China |
| Sat, 12 Feb | 3:40 AM ET | Women’s Play-offs Quarterfinals – #24 | TBD |
| Sat, 12 Feb | 8:10 AM ET | Men’s Preliminary #13 – Group B | Russian Olympic Committee vs. Czech Republic |
| Sat, 12 Feb | 8:10 AM ET | Men’s Preliminary #14 – Group B | Switzerland vs. Denmark |
| Sat, 12 Feb | 11:10 PM ET | Men’s Preliminary #15 – Group C | Slovakia vs. Latvia |
| Sun, 13 Feb | 3:40 AM ET | Men’s Preliminary #16 – Group C | Finland vs. Sweden |
| Sun, 13 Feb | 8:10 AM ET | Men’s Preliminary #17 – Group A | People’s Republic of China vs. Canada |
| Sun, 13 Feb | 8:10 AM ET | Men’s Preliminary #18 – Group A | USA vs. Germany |
| Sun, 13 Feb | 11:10 PM ET | Women’s Play-offs Semifinals #25 | TBD |
| Mon, 14 Feb | 8:10 AM ET | Women’s Play-offs Semifinals #26 | TBD |
| Mon, 14 Feb | 11:10 PM ET | Men’s Qualification Play-offs #19 | TBD |
| Mon, 14 Feb | 11:10 PM ET | Men’s Qualification Play-offs #20 | TBD |
| Tue, 15 Feb | 3:40 AM ET | Men’s Qualification Play-offs #21 | TBD |
| Tue, 15 Feb | 8:10 AM ET | Men’s Qualification Play-offs #22 | TBD |
| Tue, 15 Feb | 11:10 PM ET | Men’s Play-offs Quarterfinals #23 | TBD |
| Wed, 16 Feb | 1:00 AM ET | Men’s Play-offs Quarterfinals #24 | TBD |
| Wed, 16 Feb | 3:40 AM ET | Men’s Play-offs Quarterfinals # 25 | TBD |
| Wed, 16 Feb | 6:30 AM ET | Women’s Bronze Medal Game #27 | TBD |
| Wed, 16 Feb | 8:30 AM ET | Men’s Play-offs Quarterfinals #26 | TBD |
| Wed, 16 Feb | 11:10 PM ET | Women’s Gold Medal Game #28 | TBD |
| Thu, 17 Feb | 11:10 PM ET | Men’s Play-offs Semifinals #27 | TBD |
| Fri, 18 Feb | 8:10 AM ET | Men’s Play-offs Semifinals #28 | TBD |
| Sat, 19 Feb | 8:10 AM ET | Men’s Bronze Medal Game #29 | TBD |
| Sat, 19 Feb | 11:10 PM ET | Men’s Gold Medal Game #30 | TBD |
Which Ice Hockey Teams Are Favored to Win in the XXIV Winter Olympic Games?
Like with every Olympics, there are a lot of highly-talented athletes that are scheduled to take part in the games, and ice hockey is no exception. The Canadian and Russian Olympic Committee teams are currently favored to take home medals.
However, past games have shown us that you never know who will win gold until the athletes leave it all on the ice. Below are the Ice Hockey medal standings for the last five Winter Olympic Games:
| Year | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | OAR(Men), USA(Women) | Germany(Men), Canada(Women) | Canada(Men), Finland(Women) |
| 2014 | Canada(Men), Canada(Women) | Sweden(Men), USA(Women) | Finland(Men), Switzerland(Women) |
| 2010 | Canada(Men), Canada(Women) | USA(Men), USA(Women) | Finland(Men), Finland(Women) |
| 2006 | Sweden(Men), Canada(Women) | Finland(Men), Sweden(Women) | Czech Republic(Men), USA(Women) |
| 2002 | Canada(Men), Canada(Women) | USA(Men), USA(Women) | Russia(Men), Sweden(Women) |
