Amateurs play with the pros in Sochi

Both the United States and Canada have amateurs on their roster for the Olympic tournament.


Twenty-three professional athletes and 19 amateurs will play in the biggest women’s ice hockey rivalry game at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, according to the team’s rosters.

Canada and the United States will play against each other in the Olympic tournament on Feb. 12 in what Phoenix Arizona News reported as, “arguably the best rivalry in women’s team sports.”

The United States women’s ice hockey team is made up of nine professional athletes who play for professional teams in the Canadian Women’s Hockey League. The remainder up the team is made up of 12 amateur athletes who all have not played above the collegiate level.

The Canadian women’s hockey team is made up of 14 professional athletes who play for professional teams in the Canadian Women’s Hockey League, and the remaining seven players are amateurs.

Despite the two teams’ rosters having large numbers of amateurs, they are both dominant forces in the Olympic tournament. As a result of their dominance, the International Olympic Committee implemented changes to prevent the two teams from defeating their opponents by large margins like they have done in the past Olympic games, reported the Washington Post.

“Instead of two evenly matched groups, the eight countries competing in Sochi were split up so that the top four teams in the world rankings will be in one group and the next four in another,” the Washington Post reported. “After the round robin, the top two teams in Group A receive a bye into the semifinals; the next two go into the quarterfinals to play the top two teams in Group B.”

Canada has won the past three Olympic tournaments however; the United States defeated Canada four consecutive times in December. As a result the Canadians are the “underdogs” going into the 2014 Winter Olympic Games, reported the Star.

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