If the Stanley Cup Playoffs isn’t enough hockey for you, then you’re in luck. For the fifth straight year, NBCSN is showing the IIHF World Championship tournament. And this year, they are going all-in with presenting every United States Men’s National Team game from Prague and Ostrava, Czech Republic beginning Friday.
From NBCSN:
“As the U.S. television home of hockey, we’re thrilled to present comprehensive coverage for the fifth consecutive year of IIHF World Hockey Championship, the sport’s premier annual international tournament,” said Jon Miller, President, Programming, NBC Sports and NBCSN. “The World Championship is another example of our commitment to hockey, from our near-200 games of regular-season and Stanley Cup Playoff coverage, to our presentations of international hockey at the Olympic, Paralympic and Championship levels.”
Live coverage begins on NBCSN on Friday, May 1, at 10 a.m. ET, when Team USA faces Finland, the 2014 silver medalist, in the first of seven preliminary-round games, which will all air on NBCSN. Team USA’s preliminary-round matchups also feature a showdown with 2014 IIHF gold medalist Russia, on Monday, May 4, at 10 a.m. ET on NBCSN. Last year, Team USA finished second in preliminary-round play before losing 4-3 to the Czech Republic in the quarterfinal round.
Five of their seven Group B games will air live, while two will be on a same-day delay. The tape delayed games are Saturday vs Norway and May 10 vs Slovenia. The Norway game will air at 11:00 p.m. ET and the Slovenia game will air at 3:00 p.m. ET.
The USA schedule is as follows (Times listed as ET):
Fri., May 1
USA vs. Finland NBCSN 10 a.m.
Sat., May 2
USA vs. Norway NBCSN 11 p.m. (Tape Delayed)
Mon., May 4
USA vs. Russia NBCSN 10 a.m.
Thur., May 7
USA vs. Belarus NBCSN 10 a.m.
Fri., May 8
USA vs. Denmark NBCSN 2 p.m.
Sun., May 10
USA vs. Slovenia NBCSN 3 p.m. (Tape Delayed)
Tue., May 12
USA vs. Slovakia NBCSN 10 a.m.
Should they advance to the quarterfinal round, those games will take place Thursday, May 14. Whether or not it’s on TV will depend on the time slot the Americans are placed in. If they play at 9:00 a.m. ET it will be shown on NBCSN. The following game at 11:30 a.m. ET will be shown in progress. For those with the NBC Sports Live Extra app, they can enjoy games at 10:00 a.m., 1:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. ET live. There will be one quarterfinal shown on a delay, and that will be shown at 11:30 p.m. Thursday night.
Both semifinals on Saturday May 16 will be shown on NBC Sports Live Extra, with puck drop scheduled for 9:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. ET.The Third place game can be seen at 10:00 a.m. on NBC Sports Live Extra and the final will be shown on NBCSN at 2:30 p.m.
This year’s Team USA roster features a mix of NHL, AHL, collegiate, and European-based players. While no current CHL players are represented, 15 players played in the NHL this season, five played NCAA hockey including Hobey Baker Award winner Jack Eichel, Jimmy Vesey and Dylan Larkin, three played in the AHL including goalies Connor Hellebuyck and Jack Campbell, and two enjoyed playing on the bigger ice surface in the KHL (Dan Sexton and Steve Moses).
