Sochi Winter Olympics: Ice Hockey Preview
Published: February 10, 2014
The Sochi Winter Olympics of 2014 are due to commence, and with 18 days of sporting action set to take place, there will be plenty of sports bettors aiming to win big, as well athletes aiming for gold. One of the major sports of this year's Winter Olympics is of course, Ice Hockey.
12 nations are going head to head, in three groups this year. In Group A, the Russian hosts will take on Slovakia, the United States and Slovenia. Over in Group B, Finland must square off against Canada, Norway and Austria. Finally, in Group C, the superb Czech Republic and Swedish teams, meet the high flying Swiss and Latvian nations. The winner of each group and the best second placed team will also join them. From then on, it's a straight elimination tournament to determine the winner.
The tournaments kick off on February 8, and they run until February 23. 444 players from the best hockey leagues across the globe are due to take part, with a total of 14 countries (including women's hockey), represented in this year's Sochi Winter Olympics Ice Hockey tournament, which take place in the Bolshoy Ice Dome and Shayba Arena.
So now, who's ready to place some sports bets? Let's start with the men's groups first. Generally, the winner of Group A is a tough call. Our money though, if we decided to place something down, would be on the Russians, since they are at home, followed in close second by the USA. The odds on these are roughly 1.45, and 3.00, respectively. Group B will almost certainly be won by the Canadians, who are at 1.17 odds to win. Finally, we'd say the Swedes will take Group C, with odds of roughly 1.50 available.
But what if you fancy playing a bet on an outright winner? Well, the Canadians are actually top dollar, and we'd like to think that after an impressive NHL season, they could go on to win it. 3.00 says that they will, whilst the Russians are in close second, with 3.10. You can never count the Russians out, especially when playing in their homeland. Sweden are our third favourites, with odds of 6.00, whilst the USA limps home in fourth with 8.00 to win the tournament outright.
If you fancy some really brave bets, then why not stick a fiver on the Czech Republic or Switzerland. These teams come in at 13.00 and 34.00, respectively. If you really want to tempt fate, you can always place a pound down on Slovenia or Austria, who are 1001.00 to win, each. But to be fair, that'll never happen.
All of our odds are taken from Everygame, who are without a shadow of a doubt, the number one sports betting site to bet with, as they are following the Sochi Winter Olympics Ice Hockey Tournament from the get-go. You will also find bets on the women's tournaments, as well as a wide range of alternative bet types for this tournament, over at Everygame this weekend.
Please note: all odds accurate as of 10.02.2014, 12:00 GMT+2 and are subject to change. All tips on our site are based on the personal opinion of the author. No success is guaranteed. Please gamble responsibly. 18+.