how long is olympic hockey game

An Olympic ice hockey game is 60 minutes of regulation time: three periods of 20 minutes each, plus intermissions and possible overtime.

Basic game length

• Regulation: 3 periods × 20 minutes = 60 minutes of game clock.

• Intermissions: Usually two breaks of about 15 minutes between periods for rest and ice resurfacing.

• Real time: With stoppages, intermissions, and ceremonies, you should expect around 2–2.5 hours from puck drop to handshake if there’s no long overtime.

Overtime at the Olympics

• For medal games (gold/bronze), if tied after 60 minutes, teams play a 20‑minute 3‑on‑3 sudden‑death overtime.

• If still tied, they keep adding 20‑minute overtime periods until someone scores; there is no shootout in these medal games.

• Between overtime periods, there are usually 15‑minute intermissions with ice resurfacing, just like between regular periods.

Quick “plan your evening” guide

• Regular Olympic hockey game that ends in regulation: block about 2–2.5 hours.

• Tight knockout or medal game with possible long OT: give yourself closer to 3 hours or more, just in case.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.