US skipper Knight calls for adaptation on short pitches

US captain Hilary Knight said players must be willing to adapt to shorter playing surfaces at the Milano Cortina Games, with the women's ice hockey tournament set to begin on Thursday.

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The men's and women's tournaments were expected to take place on surfaces measuring 200 feet (60.96 metres) by 85 feet (25.91 metres), in accordance with NHL standards, as the league permits its star players to compete in the Games for the first time since 2014.

But the sport's global governing body IIHF confirmed in December that players would play on ice measuring 196.85 feet (60 m) by 85.3 feet (26 m) at both the Milano Rho Ice Hockey Arena and Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena.

"You can tell when everything's a little different when you're used to a certain set up," said Knight, who plays for the Seattle Torrent in the Professional Women's Hockey League, which also uses NHL-standard playing surfaces.

"But we're at the Olympics, you've got to make it work."