Men's Hockey (Bronze) Czech Rep. 3, Russia 0

By Ryan T. Blystone
World of Wonder Staff Writer-Editor


TURIN, Italy -- Tomas Vokoun wasn't the Dominator. He was simply good enough and got enough help from teammates Saturday night as the Czech Republic defeated Russia, 3-0, in the men's hockey bronze medal game at Palasport Olimpico.[ep

Vokoun, who stepped in and helped ease his country's fans' minds about the loss of injured Dominik Hasek early in the tournament, turned in a 28-save performance to blank the Russians. Vokoun did have to work hard for his shutout as Russia outshot the Czechs 12-2 in the third period alone.[ep

But Vokoun, the No. 1 goalie for the NHL's Nashville Predators, did his part and Nashville teammate Martin Erat had a first-period goal on a one-timer that gave the Czechs all they needed. Marek Zidlicky scored a power-play goal in the second period off assists from Jaromir Jagr and Robert Lang's second of the game --- he and David Vyborny assisted on Erat's goal. Erat later fed Martin Straka on his empty-net goal with eight seconds left in the game, cementing the team's bronze medal victory and completing a two-game skid for the Russians.[ep

Russia, which had come into the Olympics with a team capable of challenging for the gold, instead fell into the trap that arises when the talent isn't delivering. On Saturday night, it was not goaltender Evgeni Nabokov's loss as he only had to make 12 saves. It was part Vokoun making stops, Russian shots hitting the post and creative scoring chances wiped away by indecision and general carelessness on the part of the Russians, who on Friday were shutout by Finland.[ep

Two of Russia's more talented young players, Ilya Kovalchuk and Pavel Datsyuk, were assessed misconduct penalties which seemed out of character for players with supreme offensive capabilities. Kovolchuk was penalized five minutes for boarding when he hit Czech Republic forward Pavel Kubina only 3 minutes, 21 seconds into the second period. Kubina stayed down after the hit, needing to be helped off the ice by a trainer. The referees then added a 20-minute misconduct for Kovalchuk. The Czechs used the five-minute power play to take the 2-0 lead on Zidlicky's shot from just inside the blueline.[ep

Russia appeared to get its first goal in nearly six periods when Datsyuk hit the puck past Vokoun, but the goal was reviewed because Datsyuk had swatted at the puck with his stick too high in the air. Datsyuk went to the referee and argued and appeared to accidently bump him. The referee instantly gave Datsyuk a 10-minute misconduct with under four minutes left in the game. The Czechs, meanwhile, survived a major Russian offensive assault.

Nabokov was pulled for an extra skater, but Erat got a loose puck and fed it to Straka on a 2-on-1 chance with the empty net. Straka’s goal enabled the celebration to begin on the Czechs' bench.[ep

Czech Republic, which won gold at the 1998 Olympics, was able to overcome the loss of Hasek, who left after the first game here with a groin injury, and Patrik Elias, who injured his ribs. The bronze medal team finished with a 4-4-0 record in Torino, but was able to prevent Russia from capturing an Olympic medal.[ep

Russia, which finished with a 5-3-0 record in this Olympics, won bronze in Salt Lake City in 2002 and won silver in a gold-medal game loss to the Czechs in 1998. Russia also didn't medal in the 1994 games at Lillehammer.[ep