2004 World Cup of Hockey Schedule
Matchup	Date	Arena	City
Preliminary Round
Czech Republic vs. Finland	Mon., Aug. 30	Hartwall Arena	Helsinki
Germany vs. Sweden	Tue., Aug. 31	Globe Arena	Stockholm
Canada vs. USA	Tue., Aug. 31	Bell Centre	Montreal
Czech Republic vs. Sweden	Wed., Sept. 1	Globe Arena	Stockholm
Canada vs. Slovakia	Wed., Sept. 1	Bell Centre	Montreal
Finland vs. Germany	Thurs., Sept. 2	Cologne Arena	Cologne
USA vs. Russia	Thurs., Sept. 2	Xcel Energy Center	St. Paul
Germany vs. Czech Republic	Fri., Sept. 3	Sazka Arena	Prague
USA vs. Slovakia	Fri., Sept. 3	Xcel Energy Center	St. Paul
Sweden vs. Finland	Sat., Sept. 4	Hartwall Arena	Helsinki
Canada vs. Russia	Sat., Sept. 4	Air Canada Centre	Toronto
Russia vs. Slovakia	Sun., Sept. 5	Air Canada Centre	Toronto
Quarterfinals
E1 vs. E4	Mon., Sept. 6	Home Arena of E1	TBD
E2 vs. E3	Tue., Sept. 7	Home Arena of E2	TBD
NA1 vs. NA4 or NA2 vs. NA3	Tue., Sept. 7	Xcel Energy Center	St. Paul
NA1 vs. NA4 or NA2 vs. NA3	Wed., Sept. 8	Air Canada Centre	Toronto
Semifinals
Quarterfinal winners	Fri., Sept. 10	Xcel Energy Center	St. Paul
Quarterfinal winners	Sat., Sept. 11	Air Canada Centre	Toronto
Championship
Semifinal winners	Thurs., Sept. 14	Air Canada Centre	Toronto

European Pool

North American Pool

History

The inaugural World Cup of Hockey was played in 1996. It was born of a rich tradition of international hockey competition that has included the 1972 Summit Series, the Challenge Cup in 1979, Rendez-Vous '87, and a series of Canada Cup Tournaments, last played in 1991. The United States defeated Canada, 2-1, in a thrilling three-game 1996 World Cup final series.

Venues

World Cup of Hockey games will be played at four European and three North American venues. Hartwall Arena in Helsinki, Finland will host games Aug. 30 and Sept. 4; Globe Arena in Stockholm, Sweden on Aug. 31 and Sept. 1; Cologne Arena in Cologne, Germany on Sept. 2; and Sazka Arena in Prague, Czech Republic on Sept. 3. European quarterfinal games will be played at the home venue of the top two European finishers in round-robin play.

Bell Centre in Montreal will play host to games Aug. 31 and Sept. 1. Games will be played at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn., Sept. 2, 3, 7 and 10. Air Canada Centre in Toronto will host games Sept. 4, 5, 8 and 11, as well as the championship game on Sept. 14.

Ticket sales information will be announced at a later date.

Broadcast partners

CBC and SRC will telecast World Cup of Hockey games in Canada. IMG/TWI will serve as the official broadcast and marketing agency of the World Cup of Hockey outside North America and is currently finalizing international broadcast distribution plans. Broadcast plans in the United States will be announced at a later date.

Player selection

Rosters will be comprised of 20 skaters and three goaltenders. Each national federation will announce at least 18 members of its team no later than Feb. 1, 2004. The balance of the team must be appointed by June 20, 2004. Each team will conduct a 10-day training camp beginning Aug. 20, 2004, and play two exhibition games prior to the start of the World Cup.

Tournament format

The World Cup of Hockey opens with round-robin play within the four-team European and North American pools Aug. 30-Sept. 5. All teams will qualify for the single-elimination playoff games, beginning with the Quarterfinals, Sept. 6-8 (two games each in Europe and North America). Semifinal games will be played in St. Paul on Sept. 10 and Toronto on Sept. 11. The championship game will be played Sept. 14 at Air Canada Centre in Toronto. Start times for all games will be announced at a later date.