Yeah, I just turned off that game after a while. Italy was playing like Canada had a power play, even when they were at full strength.

Yes, the host country automatically gets a seed into the preliminary rounds. After that, it's what you can do with the skill & talent you have.

Earlier, the USA women beat the Swiss women in the same sport, 6-0. International ice hockey, particularly among women, doesn't have a very even distribution of skill.

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On the kinkometer, my kink measures as a sine wave.