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Czechs show U.S. early exit from Olympic ice hockey
14:45 CZE 4-1 USA
18:45 CAN 4-1 KAZ
(Aqua Wing, Nagano City)
14:45 RUS 4-1 BLR
18:45 FIN 2-1 SWE
Canada downs Kazakstan 4-1
Gold medal favorite Canada rolled to a 4-1 victory over Kazakstan on Wednesday and advanced to the semifinals of the men's ice hockey tournament at the Nagano Olympic Winter Games.
In the semifinals set for Friday, Canada will face the Czech Republic for a chance to play in the gold medal final of the inaugural ''dream tournament,'' featuring the top professionals for the first time in Olympic history.
And while Canada won on Wednesday, Kazakstan goalkeeper Vitaliy Yeremeyev turned in a solid game, stopping 33 shots and preventing the score from being worse than it might have been against the North American National Hockey League (NHL) stars.
''There was a 10-minute span in the first period where we didn't play well, in the second and third period we started to play with patience and perseverance and got the puck deep into their zone. I thought the Kazaks played with grit and heart,'' said Canadian coach Marc Crawford.
Canada took a slim 2-1 lead into the second period and scored two goals within thirty seconds of each other to put the game away.
The Canadians made it 4-1 when Wayne Gretzky passed to Steve Yzerman in the slot and the Detroit Red Wing captain fired a low shot past Yeremeyev.
Seconds earlier, Yzerman's teammate with the Red Wings, Brendon Shanahan made it 3-1 for Canada when he took pass from Gretzky at the side of the crease and drove it into the open net. It was the first goal of the tournament for Shanahan.
''I had some good chances in the first two games and started to press a little bit, so it's good to get the monkey off my back. The first one is always the toughest to get,'' said Shanahan after the game.
Canada got a scare in the first period when Kazakstan's potential game-tying goal was called back as a roughing penalty had been called prior to the goal.
The game got off to a furious pace as three goals were scored within the first four minutes of the game.
Joe Nieuwendyk opened the scoring for Canada at 1:31 when he took a Theoren Fleury pass at the blue line and went in all alone sliding a shot between the legs of Yeremeyev for his second goal of the tournament.
Canada added another goal 42 seconds later when Eric Lindros stepped around a Kazak defender at the blue line, carried the puck behind the net and passed out front to Shayne Corson who fired it through the pads of the Kazak goalkeeper.
Kazakstan got on the scoreboard at 3:46 when Konstantin Shafranov drilled a wrist shot through the legs of a Canadian defender that bounced off the stick of Patrick Roy and into the net to make it 2-1.
Canada will face much stiffer competition from the Czech team on Friday in a game that will feature two of the best goalkeepers in ice hockey today, Dominik Hasek of the Czech Republic and Patrick Roy of Canada.
''There's no question that Dominik is one of the best goaltenders in the game today but ultimately it will come down to which team plays better on Friday, the best team will win,'' said Crawford. (Kyodo News)
Finland edges Sweden 2-1
Teemu Selanne scored two third-period goals and goaltender Jarmo Myllys made a series of superb saves to give Finland a 2-0 quarterfinal victory over Sweden in the Nagano Olympic ice hockey tournament Wednesday.
The victory over the defending Olympic champion put Finland, the Lillehammer Games bronze medal winner, into the semifinals against with Russia on Friday. Russia beat Belarus 4-1 earlier in the day.
Anaheim Mighty Ducks star Selanne broke a scoreless tie 4 minutes, 12 seconds into the third period when he skated in from the left side through the face-off circle and uncorked a wristshot that beat Swedish goalie Tommy Salo on the glove side.
Selanne then scored his second goal, tapping in from next to the crease through Salo's legs on a pass from Saku Koivu of the Montreal Canadiens at 11:43 to make it 2-0.
Sweden pulled one back with only 12 seconds left as Colorado Avalanche star forward Peter Forsberg drove in a loose puck from the slot, but the goal proved too little, too late.
Playing before International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Juan Antonio Samaranch, the Scandinavian neighbors played a tight first period in which Finland wasted a two-man advantage.
Superb goaltending by Myllys and Salo, who plays for the New York Islanders, held both sides scoreless through the second period in an evenly fought game.
Sweden went into the quarterfinals with a runner-up finish in the round robin competition in group D behind Canada while Finland was third in Group C behind Russia and the Czech Republic.
Wednesday's game against Finland was its first game since defenseman Ulf Samuelsson, who plays for the New York Rangers of the North American National Hockey League (NHL), was declared ineligible for the winter games because he holds a U.S. passport.
According to Swedish law, Samuelsson automatically lost Swedish citizenship after he acquired U.S. citizenship.
The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) ruled Tuesday that Samuelsson was ineligible to play for Sweden in the tournament, a ruling that was later upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). (Kyodo News)
Russia downs Belarus 4-1
Russia, heir to former Olympic ice hockey powerhouses from the Soviet Union, overpowered former Soviet republic Belarus 4-1 in the quarterfinals of the Nagano Olympic tournament Wednesday.
Russia went ahead 1 minute before the end of the first period as Valerie Kamensky of the Colorado Avalanche beat Belarus goalie Andrei Mezin with a wristshot from the slot.
Edmonton Oilers forward Andrei Kovalenko flicked in a bouncing puck from close range to make it 2-0 at 1:31 of the second period as Russia increasingly put Belarus on the defensive
Pavel Bure of Vancouver Canucks and Alexei Morozov of Pittsburgh Penguins scored goals in quick succession early in the third period before Sergei Erkovich gave Belarus a consolation goal to make the score 4-1.
''I was a little bit surprised at their motivation and they were well prepared for this tournament,'' Russian head coach Vladimir Yurzinov said of Belarus, which reached the quarterfinals in its Olympic ice hockey debut.
Belarus won its preliminary group, although drawing with Japan 2-2, but finished at the bottom of group D with three losses to ice hockey powerhouses Sweden, Canada and the United States.
Russia, powered with a number of stars from the North American National Hockey League (NHL), breezed into the quarterfinal matchup with as the Group C winner. (Kyodo News)
Czechs show U.S. early exit from Olympic ice hockey
Dominik Hasek stopped 38 shots and Jaromir Jagr scored and had an assist as the Czech Republic downed the United States 4-1 in the men's ice hockey tournament at the Nagano Olympic Winter Games on Wednesday.
The Czechs were outgunned 39-19 at the Big Hat ice arena in Nagano but Hasek repeatedly thwarted the Americans attack and showed them a quarterfinal exit the from Olympic tournament.
The victory advances the Czech Republic to the semifinals of the playoff tourney, dubbed the ''dream tournament,'' featuring stars of the North American National Hockey League (NHL) for the first time in Olympic history.
Offensively, the Czechs came up big with three goals in the second period which was enough for Hasek, who stopped nearly everything that thrown at him by the frustrated pre-tourney favorites.
''This was a big win for us, we beat one of the best teams in the world. The Americans played well but they just couldn't score. One goal is not enough to win and we we're able to score three goals and that made my job a lot easier,'' said Hasek.
Down 1-0 in the second period, the Czech Republic drew even on shot by Vladimir Ruzicka, formerly of the Boston Bruins, who picked up a rebound off a Jaromir Jagr shot and banked it in off the pad of Mike Richter at eight minutes into the period.
Jagr of the Pittsburgh Penguins made it 2-1 one minute later when he gained possession of a lose puck on the boards, skated right into the slot and fired a low wrist shot past Richter, who minds the nets for the NHL New York Rangers.
''In this tournament anyone can win. There is so much pressure on Canada and the U.S. and the fact that we have less pressure gives us an advantage,'' said Jagr.
The Czechs went up 3-1 at 16:35 when Martin Rucinsky of the Montreal Canadiens picked the puck up at center ice and fired a wrist shot from several steps inside the blue line that got by Richter.
The loss was a bitter disappointment for the Americans, winners of the World Cup of Hockey last year who were expected to challenge for the gold medal.
The U.S. team, however, never got on track since arriving in Nagano scoring only three goals in losses to Sweden and Canada in the round-robin competition.
American hopes that they could have a breakout game received a lift in the first period when the team was able to score against Hasek, known among the Buffalo Sabres faithful as ''The Dominator,'' at 16-12 of the first period.
Mike Modano of the Dallas Stars took a slick feed at the side of the crease from the Chicago Blackhawks' Tony Amonte on a 2-1 and flipped a high backhander over a sprawling Czech goalie.
Hasek, however, slammed the door shut the rest of the way he turned away 14 shots on goal in the second period and 15 more in the final 20 minutes.
Jiri Dopita closed out the scoring with only 39 seconds remaining when he stole the puck in front of the net and fired a high slap shot to the top corner beating Richter.
Richter, who had been the most valuable player in the inaugural World Cup of Hockey in 1996 won by the U.S., gave up 14 goals in four games in Nagano.
''I'm very disappointed with the loss. We came here to win the gold. It was a frustrating game because we had so many chances but I think people have to respect some of the talent on the teams other than Canada and our team,'' said U.S. coach Ron Wilson. (Kyodo News)
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Copyright 1998 The Shinano Mainichi Shimbun