NOTES : Goalie Follows Lead of Mentor Tretiak

When U.S. goaltender Ray LeBlanc shut out Germany, 2-0, Tuesday, it was a case of the student showing what he has learned from an Olympic teacher.

LeBlanc, who plays in the Chicago Blackhawks’ minor league system, has been tutored by Vladislav Tretiak, the goalie who led the Soviet Union to three Olympic gold medals and one silver medal, and who is a member of the hockey Hall of Fame. Tretiak is a goalie coach for the Blackhawks and has worked with LeBlanc during the team’s last two training camps.

“I want LeBlanc to do very well,” said Tretiak, who is attending the Olympics as a member of the athletes’ commission. “He has good technique. He has maybe one problem, that he’s a small guy and you can shoot over him.”

Tretiak said the team representing the Commonwealth of Independent States is not as good as the teams he played on. “It’s not bad. There are no star players,” Tretiak said. “There are maybe three, four good teams here. Sweden is good, Canada and Russia and the United States.”

George Steinbrenner, who has a financial interest in the Tampa Bay Lightning--the NHL expansion team that will make its debut next year--attended the U.S.-Germany game. “So far, so good,” said Steinbrenner, a vice president of the U.S. Olympic Committee.

San Jose Shark merchandise, the biggest seller among the NHL’s 22 teams, has made it across the Atlantic.

Gunter Swoboda, editor of a German hockey publication called “Eishockeymagazin,” wore a Shark shirt to Tuesday’s games at the Olympic Arena. Not to be accused of being trendy, he wore a Kings jacket over it. An avid fan, he bemoans the lack of hockey interest in his country. “At the top level, there are maybe 10,000 spectators at the games,” said Swoboda, whose magazine has a circulation of 40,000.

Former King Mikko Makela, who had two goals and two assists during Finland’s 9-1 rout of Poland on Tuesday, said he is eager to get back to the NHL. Makela scored only seven goals in 45 games with the Kings despite his speed and puck-handling skills.

Makela, who still has a home in New York, said he expects the Finnish team to contend for a medal. “This is a much more experienced team than the past,” he said.