Sochi’s hockey gift to Team Canada: They miss the Swiss

The best news about the Sochi Olympic hockey tournament is that we dodged the Swiss.

Those pesky yodellers have given Team Canada more than enough trouble over the years, including at the last world championships. So the fact they won't be in Canada's group is cause to raise a hunk of gruyere in celebration. While fellow Group B denizens Austria and Norway could become one of those unheralded upset makers, there's nothing in hockey history to even hint at that possibility. Skiing and biathlon, yes. Hockey, no.

The only true challenge in Group B is the Finns, but that should be a lesser worry than facing the Russians, Americans or Swedes. Assuming an easy first-round is a good thing, Olympic organizers did Canada a big favour.

Maybe they're hoping for some free maple syrup in return.

The Russians and Yanks have it much tougher and will beat each other up in Group A while the Swedes will battle the Czechs in Group D. The Tre Kronor will also have to contend with those pesky Swiss skaters.

While a preliminary round free of a real tough opponent is good news for Canadians, the schedule really isn't. Thanks to the fact that Sochi is practically half a world away, Canadians east of Manitoba will be watching first-round games at noon. On the West Coast, the bulk will be starting just after breakfast.

Expect a lot of workers to come down with the flu starting Feb. 12.

Strangely, things get worse as the tournament goes on. The semifinals are all in the morning eastern time (dawn in the west) and the Feb. 23 final -- get this -- is at 7 a.m. EST. That means one early Sunday or very late Saturday night west of the Rockies.

Of course, if Canada's in the semifinals and final, time won't matter at all. The final could be played at 2:30 a.m. on a Monday and it would still draw millions of viewers.