Hochul suspends New York liquor law to let bars open early for Olympic hockey game amid blizzard forecast

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is allowing bars to unfastened aboriginal connected Sunday for the U.S. vs. Canada Olympic golden medal hockey game. 

However, the bars that are successful counties nether the existent authorities of exigency owed to an incoming blizzard volition not beryllium allowed to unfastened early, arsenic New York City faces imaginable historical snowfall. 

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United States' Brady Tkachuk (7) celebrates aft scoring his side's sixth extremity during a men's crystal hockey semifinal crippled betwixt the United States and Slovakia astatine the 2026 Winter Olympics, successful Milan, Italy, Friday, Feb. 20, 2026.  (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

"Tomorrow, it’s a golden medal greeting I’ve directed the State Liquor Authority to suspend enforcement of intoxicant work hours from 6–10 AM truthful bars and restaurants tin unfastened aboriginal and fans tin ticker the U.S. spell for the golden together. This is only for counties not nether a State of Emergency.  New Yorkers successful exigency areas should enactment home, enactment safe, and cheer loud! Go USA!" Hochul wrote successful a statement. 

For the archetypal clip successful astir a decade, a blizzard informing was issued for New York City, with expected snowfall totaling 19 to 24 inches and upwind gusts up to 55 mph.

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Hochul declared a State of Emergency for New York City, and Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced outreach teams person been mobilized.

On Saturday, the metropolis enactment retired a telephone for exigency snowfall shovelers up of the storm. 

Sunday, the 46th day of the "Miracle connected Ice," volition diagnostic the United States against Canada, which is without a uncertainty the fiercest planetary rivalry successful each of sports, going for each the marbles.

This volition beryllium the eighth clip the United States and Canada person played for Olympic gold, and the lone clip the Americans person won was backmost successful 1960. They besides faced disconnected for golden successful 1920, 1924, 1932, 1952, 2002 and 2010. In the best-on-best format, the U.S. is 5-15-1, and 3 of those victories came successful the 1996 World Cup of Hockey.

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Brady Tkachuk (7) of the United States takes the crystal earlier the semifinal crippled against Slovakia during the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games astatine Milan Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena successful Milan, Italy, connected Feb. 20, 2026. (James Lang/Imagn Images)

These 2 teams are already precise acquainted with each other, arsenic some rosters are mostly composed of the aforesaid members arsenic past year's 4 Nations Face-Off, wherever 3 fights occurred successful the archetypal 9 seconds successful the countries' archetypal best-on-best crippled successful 9 years.

Tensions betwixt some teams and the fans were sky-high successful that tournament, arsenic it was caller disconnected President Donald Trump's "51st state" comments and tariffs against the country.

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