‘94 WINTER OLYMPICS / LILLEHAMMER : NOTEBOOK

Russia’s assistant hockey coach, Igor Dmitriev, defused German press reports claiming that Coach Viktor Tikhonov had been replaced by a third coach who appeared behind the bench for the final period of Monday’s 5-0 loss to Finland.

The additional coach is Vladimir Yurzinov, who coaches a team in Turku in the Finnish League. He joined Tikhonov and Dmitriev behind the bench again Wednesday, for Russia’s 9-1 rout of Austria, but Dmitriev said Yurzinov’s presence does not signal Tikhonov’s exit.

*

Canada’s scouting report for tonight’s game against the United States should be especially insightful. Canadian winger Paul Kariya played at the University of Maine with U.S. goalies Mike Dunham and Garth Snow, defenseman Matt Martin and forward Peter Ferraro.

“It’s tough seeing them go down the ice when you’re used to cheering for them and for Dunny and Snowy,” Kariya said. “In practice I could tell you where everyone shoots on them or where I shoot on them. But it’s not like situations like that will come up in a game.”

Said Canadian assistant coach Dany Dube: “We expect them to play tough on him. (Brett Hauer) is always all over Paul. They’ll probably play really dirty.”

*

Canadian right wing Chris Kontos, who counts the Kings among his NHL stops, compared Kariya to another King.

“He’s very Gretzky-like,” Kontos said. “He sees the ice very well and does amazing things with the puck. I’ve really enjoyed playing with him and with Petr (Nedved). They’ve given our team a lot more dimensions.”

*

Jeff Lazaro provided an unexpected moment of mirth during practice when he crashed through the protective plexiglass at Kristin Hall. He had difficulty getting back onto his feet, but only because he was laughing uncontrollably.

“I was just going to bounce off the boards,” he said. “I didn’t bounce, it gave way.”

Said Snow: “It must be awful weak glass because I know he’s not that strong. Or else, he should lose some weight.”

*

Finland’s 3-0 start, Russia’s 2-1 record and Sweden’s 1-0-1 performance have made the hockey seedings nearly irrelevant, says Chuck Grillo, vice president and director of player personnel for the San Jose Sharks.

“We’ve seen it happen too many times, that the Russians started off badly and ended up playing for the gold, but maybe this is the year that it won’t happen,” he said. “From all things I’ve seen, it looks like they could have big problems.

“What it does is, it throws the tournament open to the emotional efforts of everyone else. The game is still played with emotion. You can X and O the hell out of it, but it’s still played with emotion, and the team that realizes that could end up winning the whole thing.”