For the first time, the women's gold medal game was decided in overtime, with Canada defeating the United States 3–2. Switzerland defeated Sweden for their first Olympic ice hockey medal in 66 years, and first medal in the women's tournament.[1][2]
On 6 December 2017, nearly four years after the tournament was played, six players from the Russian national team (Inna Dyubanok, Yekaterina Lebedeva, Yekaterina Pashkevich, Anna Shibanova, Yekaterina Smolentseva, and Galina Skiba) were subjected to sanctions, and the team was disqualified by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) based on findings from the reanalysis of doping samples collected from Russian athletes at the 2014 Winter Games by the Oswald Commission.[4] Ten days later, Tatiana Burina and Anna Shukina were also sanctioned and the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) was directed to modify results accordingly.[5] All eight of the players were "declared ineligible to be accredited in any capacity for all editions of the Games of the Olympiad and the Olympic Winter Games subsequent to the Olympic Winter Games Sochi 2014" and "disqualified from the events in which they participated" by the IOC.[6] The players registered their appeals with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and, in 2018, five of the eight players (Lebedeva, Pashkevich, Smolentseva, Burina, and Shukina) won their appeals, the sanctions against them were annulled and their results were reinstated.[7] The sanctions against Inna Dyubanok, Anna Shibanova, and Galina Skiba were partially upheld, though the life-ban on Olympic competition was lifted, and the disqualification of the team was maintained on account of their violations.[8][9]
Russia qualified as the host. Canada, the United States, Finland, Switzerland, and Sweden qualified as the top five teams in the IIHF World Ranking. Germany and Japan qualified via the qualification tournament.[10][11]
The IIHF selected six referees and nine linesmen to work the 2014 Winter Olympics. They were the following:[12]
Referees
Erin Blair
Melanie Bordeleau
Jay Cheverton
Anna Eskola
Nicole Hertrich
Aina Hove
Jack Long
Joy Tottman
Linesmen
Therese Bjorkman
Denise Caughey
Stephanie Gagnon
Charlotte Girard
Alicia Hanrahan
Laura Johnson
Michaela Kúdeľová
Ilona Novotná
Zuzana Svobodová
Preliminary round
Format
The top four teams based on the 2012 IIHF World Ranking,[13][14] Canada, United States, Finland and Switzerland, competed in Group A, while the remaining four teams competed in Group B. The top two teams in Group A received a bye to the semifinals. In the quarterfinals, the third place team in Group A played the second place team in Group B, while the fourth placed team in Group A played the first place team in Group B. The winners advanced to the semifinals, while the two losers, and the third and fourth placed teams in Group B, competed in a classification bracket for places five through eight.[15] This format has been used since the 2012 World Championship.[16][17]
Tiebreak criteria
In each group, teams were ranked according to the following criteria:[18]
Number of points (three points for a regulation-time win, two points for an overtime or shootout win, one point for an overtime or shootout defeat, no points for a regulation-time defeat);
In case two teams are tied on points, the result of their head-to-head match will determine the ranking;
In case three or four teams are tied on points, the following criteria will apply (if, after applying a criterion, only two teams remain tied, the result of their head-to-head match will determine their ranking):
Points obtained in head-to-head matches between the teams concerned;
Goal differential in head-to-head matches between the teams concerned;
Number of goals scored in head-to-head matches between the teams concerned;
If three teams remain tied, result of head-to-head matches between each of the teams concerned and the remaining team in the group (points, goal difference, goals scored);
The Russian team was disqualified for the doping. The IIHF was requested by the IOC to modify their results,[19][20] and the 6th and 7th place were reallocated.[21]
Statistics
Scoring leaders
List shows the top skaters sorted by points, then goals.
TOI = Time on ice (minutes:seconds); SA = Shots against; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; Sv% = Save percentage; SO = Shutouts Source: IIHF.com
^"Medals, Diplomas and Medallist Pins Reallocation"(PDF). Stillmed.olympic.org. Archived(PDF) from the original on 11 June 2020. Retrieved 11 March 2022. The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) has modified the results accordingly, disqualifying team RUSSIAN FEDERATION
