Big Red Gets Its Ice Act in Gear

The era of Soviet domination of international hockey is over, never to return. The republics that used to funnel players to the big red machine are independent now, with each fielding its own national and Olympic team. The best players have long since fled to the NHL for big money.

Even Russia, which supplied most of the players on the great Soviet Olympic and world championship teams, has gone through hard times in hockey terms since the splintering of the Soviet Union. But there are many reasons to believe better days are ahead--and in fact already have arrived.

Third-period goals 10 seconds apart by Valeri Bure and Alexei Zhamnov--the second a brilliant shot swatted past Dominik Hasek after Zhamnov had been pulled to the ice and was on his stomach--and superb goaltending by Mikhail Shtalenkov helped Russia rally for a 2-1 victory over the Czech Republic on Monday at Big Hat and win Group C with a 3-0 record. The triumph brought Russia more than a good seeding in the quarterfinals Wednesday against Belarus--it helped reinforce players’ pride in their hard-earned hockey renaissance.

“Any victory is important for us,” defenseman Igor Kravchuk said, “and any victory can show that Russian hockey is improving rapidly, though it has sometimes been forgotten.”

Its improvement was obvious Monday, when it wrested control of the game from a talented and defensively sound Czech team. Shtalenkov made 23 saves, including two on right wing Jaromir Jagr to preserve the lead in the third period.

“I think winning the group was really important,” said Shtalenkov, whose green-tinged Mighty Duck mask clashed with the bright white and red of his Russian jersey. “This team is like a brand-new team. We need to know each other more.

“I’m glad we won the game. It’s better for us to play Belarus instead of the USA.”

Instead, the Czechs (2-1) will face the U.S. (1-2). Not that they’re worried, according to Hasek.

“I believe we can beat that team.” he said. “Team USA is better than the team from Belarus [whom the Czechs would have faced if they had won Monday], but of course we don’t go there just to play. We go to win, and I think it’s possible.”

They very nearly defeated the Russians, long their most bitter rival. With Russian forward Andrei Kovalenko in the penalty box serving an interference penalty, Robert Reichel’s shot from the high slot deflected en route to the net and skipped past Shtalenkov at 11:53. Hasek, the NHL’s most valuable player last season, was his usual acrobatic self, frustrating the Russians until the third period.

That’s when Kravchuk spotted Bure--younger brother of Vancouver right wing Pavel Bure--and sent a diagonal pass ahead to the speedy winger. Using defenseman Jiri Slegr as a screen, Bure unleashed a wrist shot that beat Hasek to the glove side at 3:27, a goal that sent him leaping into the air in joy. “That was the payoff for the hard work we put in during the first two periods,” Bure said.

Zhamnov won the ensuing faceoff and got the puck back to his defensemen while he dashed toward the Czech zone. With Petr Svoboda and Roman Hamrlik all over him, he managed to lift a shot over Hasek for the game-winner.

“It’s my first goal in the last six years with the national team. I’m very excited,” said Zhamnov, who plays for the Chicago Blackhawks. “I didn’t have too much chance because I was already on the ice. I just tried to get it at the net.”

It got into the net, past a surprised Hasek. “It was a great move from him,” Hasek said. “Both shots were good shots. I’m disappointed with the first goal. It was catchable.”

No one could catch Russia on Monday. “There’s a big difference between the World Cup and the Olympic Games,” Zhamnov said, referring to the infighting that marred Russia’s 1-2 showing and semifinal loss to the U.S. in the 1996 tournament. “This is a strong team and a good atmosphere inside the dressing room. All the guys have a good feeling and you can see it on the ice. We play very disciplined.”