Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, February 24, 1994 TAG: 9402240202
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: From Knight-Ridder/Tribune and Los Angeles Times reports
DATELINE: LILLEHAMMER, NORWAY LENGTH: Medium
The dream is dead, but at least it didn't linger.
Whatever hope remained that the inexperienced, overmatched United States hockey team could somehow catch fire in the Olympic tournament was quickly and soundly dispelled by Finland on Wednesday night.
There will be no Miracle on Ice this time around. There won't even be a Darn Nice Try on Ice.
The 6-1 loss to Finland that eliminated the United States from medal-round contention left the team with a 1-2-3 record in the games that counted.
Finland (6-0) will go on to a semifinal matchup against Canada on Friday. The Americans must push themselves through two games to determine fifth through eighth places.
Canada beat the Czech Republic 3-2 in overtime, Sweden beat Germany 3-0, and Russia defeated Slovakia 3-2 in overtime in later quarterfinals.
So say goodbye to the notion that college kids and borderline pros cans still compete for a medal in the Olympics. Right or wrong, the 1998 Games in Nagano, Japan, almost will certainly be played during a break in the NHL schedule. The United States will be hard-pressed to win under those conditions, too, but at least the ratings will be better.
"My opinion is that Olympic athletes should be dedicated to performing their best in the Olympics," said Tim Taylor, the Yale coach who dedicated a full year to putting this team together. He selected his small, quick players last summer and stuck with them. "I don't think this should be an exercise in some sort of vacation from their regular season. To come over and play eight games, then go back to their regular season, I don't like that idea. I don't think that's what the Olympics are all about, and I think something would be lost from Olympic competition if that happened."
Taylor's opinion appears to be in the minority, however, and, if results are the criteria, it is a difficult one to defend.
"For the development of hockey, I think the best players in the world should be here," said Curt Lindstrom, the Finland hockey coach. "Most of the top players are in the NHL, so that's the way I hope it will be in the future. Real hockey people want to see the best."
Lindstrom, a Swede who owns a betting parlor in Stockholm, may be coaching the best Olympic team in this tournament.
The Finns are undefeated and untied after six games, and they attacked the United States' weaknesses with such precision and tenacity that the outcome was never long in doubt Wednesday night.
The Americans missed some good early chances that goalie Jarmo Myllys turned aside, and they never recovered.
By the end, the United States would resort to the kind of chippy play that doesn't wash in international competition. Finland scored four of its goals on power plays, including the final three, moving the puck to the open man crisply and beating Garth Snow again and again. The penalties were for charging, roughing, crosschecking and tripping. All of them were unnecessary and the product of youthful frustration.
"It's been preached to us all year that penalties would kill us," said Brian Rolston. "Against a team with a power play like Finland has, that's exactly what happened."
Said Taylor, "I'm disappointed in the penalties we took. The way we died tonight hurt."
The lone bright spot for the United States came early in the second period when David Sacco scored on a shorthanded give-and-go sequence with Jeff Lazaro to cut the Finns' lead to 2-1.
But Finland came back on goals by Mika Nieminen, his second of the game, and a power play goal by Hannu Virta to hold a 4-1 lead entering the third period.
That is an extremely dire circumstance against a goalie who has given up just three goals on 67 shots during the tournament and against a team that can control the puck as well as Finland.
The task became nearly impossible when Marko Kipruso scored early in the final period. And the rest of the game was given over to shoving, posturing and a capping score from Janne Ojanen on yet another power play.
"There's not much more we could have asked of the coaches as far as preparing us," said Snow. "We were ready, but it's a game of hockey and things can happen. We gave 100 percent, but that doesn't mean you're going to win every game."
by CNB