An overview of the Ice Skating Arena where some ice hockey matches of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics will take place, in Rho, outskirt of Milan, Friday. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

MILAN (AP) — Hockey, one of the premier events at the Winter Olympics and one that is welcoming NHL players back for the first time in more than a decade, will take place on ice that is shorter than NHL-regulation size.

Men’s and women’s games at two arenas will be played in rinks that are 60 meters long by 26 meters wide, or 196.85-by-85.3 feet. NHL dimensions are 200 by 85 feet (60.96 by 25.908 meters), so the Olympic ice will be slightly wider and more than 3 feet shorter.

The International Ice Hockey Federation approved the Milan rinks, which fit one of the governing body’s standard sizes and was used b

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