The men's tournament in ice hockey at the 2002 Winter Olympics was the 20th Olympic championship and held in Utah, United States, between 9 and 24 February 2002. For the second consecutive Olympics, the National Hockey League (NHL) took a break in its regular-season to allow its players to participate in the tournament. 14 countries qualified for the tournament; eight by virtue of their ranking at the 1999 IIHF World Championship and six via qualification.