How many periods are there in hockey? What to know about length of Olympic gold medal hockey game originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Not all hockey fans are created equal.
Some come along every four years, for games like this one. Team USA against Canada for a gold medal at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan.
That leaves some new viewers wondering just how this works.
Well, we've got answers.
MORE: Matt Boldy's Olympic goal was the stuff of legend
How many periods are there in hockey?
There are three periods in a hockey game.
At the top level, the periods last 20 minutes apiece. That makes it an hour-long game, 60 minutes.
The clock stops frequently, so the periods last a lot longer than 20 minutes.
MORE: Eileen Gu responds to hate only way she knows how
Is there overtime in hockey?
Yes, Olympic hockey has overtime.
For the gold medal game specifically, it's 20 minutes long, as well.
The difference in overtime? It's 3-on-3 for the skaters, as opposed to 5-on-5 the rest of the game.
More Olympics news:
- This U.S. luge star was parodied on SNL
- Mikaela Shiffrin just broke the Olympics
- Megan Keller's childhood dreams culminate in a dream come true
- U.S. women's hockey star's brothers go viral at Olympics
- Controversy and cursing with Canada curling
- A dog stole the show at the finish line of cross country skiing