Winter Olympics Ice Hockey: Men's Finals - Preview, Complete Schedule and How to watch

The men's ice hockey tournament is nearing what will surely be a thrilling conclusion as medals are awarded at the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022.

First up, Sweden and Slovakia will face off in Saturday's (19 February) bronze medal match.

"If somebody said before the tournament that we will play for the medals, maybe we wouldn't trust him," said Slovakia's Patrik Rybar about the chance to win the nation's first ice hockey Olympic medal. "But, right now, we are here, and we need to focus for our game."

Then, defending champions ROC and Finland will face off to determine the gold and silver medallists. ROC is seeking back-to-back titles for the first time since the breakup of the Soviet Union, while Finland are hoping to go one better than their silver medals at Calgary 1988 and Torino 2006.

"It's huge for everybody individually, as a team and as a hockey country. It is a big thing," said Finland's Harri Sateri. "It would be huge. It's the Olympics – one of the biggest tournaments you can win."

Read on for what to look out for, game schedule and how to watch.

Olympic Men's Ice Hockey medal round schedule

Here's a look at the medal round schedule. All times local to Beijing:

Saturday 19 February
Bronze medal game
21:10 Sweden v. Slovakia

Sunday 20 February
Gold medal game
12:10 Finland v. Sweden

Gold medal game: Finland v. ROC

ROC, the defending Olympic gold medallists from PyeongChang 2018, have one last hurdle to overcome to earn a second-straight Olympic title: Finland.

They’ll meet in the gold medal game, and ROC head coach Alexei Zhamnov is expecting a battle.

"We'll try but it won't be easy. We know this," he told Olympics.com after their semi-final win over Sweden. "Finland are a very good team and we want to make sure we're ready."

ROC's Damir Sharipzyanov explained how he sees the stakes of Sunday's game.

"We got to the final, and now, it is the game of our life. That's the same for everyone," he said, adding, "We've been building throughout the tournament. It was a slow start, not a lot of goals, but we are building and I like where we are going."

Finland have won no fewer than six Olympic men's ice hockey medals - two silver and four bronze - but never gold.

Though they’ll face stiff competition in the holders, coach Jukka Jalonen is relishing the opportunity.

“We are excited,” he said. “It was our goal to get there, and we feel very happy about that.”

Bronze medal game: Sweden v. Slovakia

Sweden will face a quick turnaround after a marathon game against ROC in the semi-finals that went to an eight-round penalty-shot shootout.

After that emotional loss, captain Anton Lander admitted his disappointment: “It sucks, it really sucks. Right now, it sucks,” he said candidly.

But they’ll have to put that aside to fend off a rising Slovak team and claim the bronze medal.

"I think we don't have to talk at all before tomorrow's game,” said Lander. “We all know what's on the line. We will be ready."

Slovakia were world champions in 2002, but Saturday’s game sees them try to win a first Olympic hockey medal having made their debut at Lillehammer 1994 following the breakup of Czechoslovakia in 1993.

“It is a chance to showcase how Slovak hockey has moved forward,” said their Canadian head coach Craig Ramsay. "This is an opportunity to show the world who we are.”

Marek Hrivik says they only need a slight adjustment to make a medal dream a reality.

"We have to approach it the same way we did today, but we just have to score some goals,” he said. “That's the biggest adjustment that we have got to make."

Olympic Ice Hockey - Where to watch?

From the Opening Ceremony to athlete action, here's where and how you can watch the Winter Games in your region via the Official Olympic Broadcast Partners.