Sochi Day 13: What to Watch

The U.S. women's hockey team takes on Canada in the gold medal game, as women's figure skating concludes

Two blockbuster women's ice events are on the Sochi Olympics roster Thursday: The gold medal match-up between the Canadian and American hockey teams, and the conclusion to the nail-biting figure skating competition.

There are no clear favorites heading into either event. While the U.S. has lost to Canada in the last three Olympic Games, the hockey team has a new coach this year and is coming off a strong season. 

South Korea's Yuna Kim, meanwhile, leads the women's figure skating competition, but may not be able to defend her Olympic title against the rivals at her heels. Russian skater Adelina Sotnikova, Italian Carolina Kostner and American Gracie Gold are among the women best positioned to overtake her for the gold.

Men's ski cross, women's halfpipe skiing and curling medal matches also get underway. Scroll down for more details on what to watch on the 13th day of competition.

1 a.m. ET: Catch up on Wednesday's highlights with NBC's late-night recap of the biathlon mixed relay and the men's snowboarding parallel giant slalom. Keep watching at 2 a.m. ET for recaps from the men's giant slalom, the women's bobsled final and the first night of the women's figure skating competition.

1:55 a.m. ET: The men's Nordic combined gets underway with the team trial ski jump (live here) followed by the large hill jump at 3 a.m. ET (here) and 4x5k cross-country race at 6 a.m. (here). Norway and Germany are the favorites heading into competition, though there could be a surprise from American reigning champions Bill Demong and Todd Lodwick. 

2:45 a.m. ET: Men's ski cross debuts at Sochi with an early seeding round (here) followed by a final at 4:45 a.m. ET (here). This is just the second time the event is on the Olympic schedule. John Teller, a part-time auto mechanic from Mammoth Lakes, Calif. is one of America's best hopes. He has seen some big victories since crossing over from Alpine skiing, including a third place finish at last year's world championships. 

3 a.m. ET: Great Britain and Switzerland play in the curling bronze medal match (here). The gold medal game follows at 8:30 a.m. ET when Canada takes on two-time defending Olympic champion Sweden. Watch that live here.

7 a.m. ET: After losing to the U.S. and Canada, Sweden and Switzerland face each other in the bronze medal match of the women's hockey competition. Watch live here or on the NBC Sports Network.

9:30 a.m. ET: The women's halfpipe skiing event begins with a qualifying round (live here), where reigning X Games champion Maddie Bowman will make her Olympic debut. The 20-year-old from South Lake Tahoe, Calif. could give the U.S. a sweep if she matches teammate David Wise's gold in the men's event. Finals begin at 12:30 p.m. here.

10 a.m. ET: U.S. figure skating darling Gracie Gold, currently in fourth place in the women's competition has a final chance to pull herself up onto the podium. Tune in to see if reigning Olympic champion and current leader Yuna Kim from South Korea manages to keep her throne, or if Gold or another top contender, takes it away. Two other Americans, Ashley Wagner, in sixth place, and Polina Edmunds, in seventh, have a shot at medals, too. Watch the final women's programs here.

12 p.m. ET: The U.S. and Canada meet for the fourth time Thursday in a gold medal Olympic hockey game. Canada has won the last three but the U.S. has had a strong season, winning the world championships in April over Canada. Watch the game live here or on NBC. (If you miss it live, watch a full replay on NBCOlympics.com or on the NBC Sports Network at 5 p.m.)

8 p.m. ET/7C: NBC prime time shows the women's figure skating competition's grand finale, plus women's halfpipe skiing and men's ski cross.

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