LONDON -- The Ukrainian city of Lviv withdrew its bid for the 2022 Winter Games on Monday, becoming the third contender to drop out of the race for an Olympics that no one seems to want. Lviv pulled out because of the continuing political and security crisis in Ukraine, where government forces are battling an insurgency by pro-Russian separatists. Lviv officials said they would now focus on bidding for the 2026 Winter Games instead. The decision to withdraw, which had been widely expected, followed talks between Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk and IOC President Thomas Bach. "We concluded that it would be extremely difficult to pursue the 2022 bid under current circumstances but that a future bid would make sense for Ukraine and Ukrainian sport," Bach said in a statement. The announcement came exactly one week before the International Olympic Committee selects a short list of finalists for the 2022 Games. Three cities remain in contention: Almaty, Kazakhstan; Beijing, and Oslo. With Lviv out, the IOC executive board is likely to retain all three and not cut any of the candidates. The host city will be selected by the full IOC in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on July 31, 2015. "We have always said that we will only continue if we can be certain to deliver on all our promises," Lviv bid CEO Sergei Goncharov told The Associated Press. "Due to the current circumstances in Ukraine, we, however, felt that a bid for 2026 would make more sense. We remain convinced of the positive impact that hosting Olympic Games would have for the city of Lviv and the whole country." Lvivs withdrawal follows the earlier pullouts of Stockholm and Krakow, Poland. The Swedish capital dropped out in December after politicians declined to give financial support. The Polish city withdrew last month after 70 per cent of residents rejected the bid in a referendum. The future of Oslos bid also remains uncertain. The Norwegian government has yet to back the project and wont make a decision until the autumn. In addition, recent polls have shown that more than half the population opposes the games. If Oslo drops out later, that would leave only two cities standing. Almaty, commercial capital of the former Soviet republic of Kazakhstan in Central Asia, hosted the 2011 Asian Winter Games and would shape up as the favourite. Beijing, which hosted the 2008 Olympics, is bidding to become the first city to stage both the Summer and Winter Games. Beijing proposes holding Alpine events 120 miles (190 kilometres) away in the northern Chinese city of Zhangjiakou. And with Pyeongchang, South Korea, hosting the 2018 Winter Games and Tokyo the 2020 Olympics, the IOC would normally be reluctant to send the games to Asia for a third straight time. Even before the start of the official 2022 campaign, two potential serious contenders stayed away. St. Moritz-Davos and Munich cancelled proposed bids after voters in Switzerland and Germany voted "no" in referendums. The troubled race poses a crisis for the IOC, which is running out of potential sites for the games. Potential host cities, especially in Western Europe, are concerned about the financial costs of the games. Many have been scared off by the $51 billion price tag associated with Februarys Winter Olympics in Sochi. Russia spent much of the record sum on long-term infrastructure projects for the entire region. Rio de Janeiros delayed preparations for the 2016 Olympics are also a major concern. Changes to the bidding process and efforts to reduce the cost of the games are among the key issues being addressed by the IOC as part of Bachs "Agenda 2020" -- his blueprint for the future of the Olympic movement that will be voted on in December. Despite their withdrawal, Lviv bid officials have travelled to Pyeongchang this week for debriefings on the Sochi Games. 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"We were harder on the forecheck, harder at the net. ... We put a lot of pressure on that veteran group today to make sure this gets done tonight and thats why its good to see the guys do it." That veteran group was led by Joel Ward, who scored twice, and Cody Hodgson and Kevin Bieksa, who each scored once in a game that was tied 1-1 until early in the third period. Those players arent seasoned internationally, but theyve been part of plenty of NHL games and came up big when Canada was in danger of losing two straight to start this tournament for the first time since pro players started going in 1977. A lack of familiarity between teammates contributed to the loss in the opener and there was some disjointed play early on against Slovakia. But Hodgson doesnt think that should be an excuse or that the expectations should be lowered for this Team Canada. "Its not something that were used to, losing, especially early on," he said. "Were Canadian hockey players and thats what we were born to do. It shouldnt take too long to get accustomed to each other." It will take some more time before things are perfect on that front, but its a process that will continue with Mondays game against the Czech Republic and beyond. Tippett sees improvement shift-by-shift. "The players, youre starting to find rhythms, find roles," he said. "They know when theyre going out there, they know situations that they play in. So they get more comfortable, they get more comfortable with the team game." One way to make Canadas team game work is to simply play five-on-five. Through two games, this team hasnt given up a goal at even strength, but after bad penalties against France, another parade to the penalty box led to Karol Slobodas power-play goal at 12:24 of the second period. Canadda took three penalties in the second period, which was again problematic.dddddddddddd "Its definitely a different game," Ward said. "It took us adjusting for sure. Its a different style. Were not used to the wide rink." What Canadian hockey players are used to doing on the international stage is putting up goals in bunches. Ward tied the score at 1 at the 17:24 mark of the second by tipping Jason Garrisons shot past Czech goaltender Jan Laco, and his first goal in a Team Canada jersey provided a spark. Hodgson scored what turned out to be the game-winner 7:07 into the third period, taking a pass from Nazem Kadri and beating Laco with a perfect shot from between the faceoff circles. Bieksa piled on with a goal that tipped up and over Laco and in at 17:56, then Ward put the icing on at 18:49. "I think we started to get a few bounces," Tippett said. "We had some great chances early, didnt capitalize. Its nice to see things even out in the end. It gives players confidence. Everybody worked hard tonight. Its good to see players get rewarded, even though it was late." It took until the third period before this Team Canada could breathe easy, but once Laco started wearing down and goaltender Ben Scrivens stayed strong in making 23 saves on 24 shots, the floodgates opened to make it look like more of a lopsided game than it really was. "I dont think were going to blow teams out," Scrivens said. "This was a tighter game than the score showed, but we stuck with it and thats what were going to have to do all tournament, I think." By the end, Canada was having fun after a night in which it dealt with plenty of jeers from a mostly pro-Slovak crowd at Chizhovka-Arena. "Any time youre winning, its always a good time," Ward said. "Regardless if youre up by one or two or four, youre excited to be winning." NOTES — Scrivens started the second game of the tournament as planned after James Reimer played against France based on seniority. ... Sean Monahan played more in the first two periods than he did the entire game against France as he split time with Mark Scheifele as the fourth-line centre. Follow @SWhyno on Twitter ' ' '