Disappointed Russians Settle for a Bronze

Russia’s latest Olympic medal won’t be a highlight in the nation’s rich hockey history.

Slava Fetisov expected his team to earn more than bronze--and the coach still isn’t happy Russia finished its Olympic run one day early. Alexei Kovalev had two goals and an assist as Russia won the bronze medal in Olympic men’s hockey with a 7-2 victory over Belarus on Saturday.

With an uninspired but productive performance against the tournament’s most surprising underdog, the Russians claimed their 12th medal in Olympic hockey--a record their nation will share with Canada after the gold-medal game.

Still, it was disappointing for Russia, which won silver in Nagano and gold in three of the previous four Olympics. “It’s an honor to be part of that tradition,” said goalie Nikolai Khabibulin, who made 21 saves to finish with a .930 save percentage for the tournament. “We knew we couldn’t go home empty. We couldn’t lose to Belarus, but it was a tough game for us. We spent a lot of emotions last night.”

Many observers thought Russia’s 3-2 semifinal loss Friday to the U.S. was caused by the latest in a series of slow starts by Russia’s phenomenal forwards, who were outshot and outskated over the first two periods. Russia had another slow start against Belarus but picked up in plenty of time.

Fetisov, in the tenor of the Russian Olympic delegation’s complaints about fairness in Salt Lake City, blamed the semifinal loss partially on Bill McCreary, NHL referee from Canada. Fetisov claimed he has video evidence that McCreary’s calls in the second period unjustly favored the Americans.

All games in the tournament featuring more than 50% NHL players were officiated by an NHL staffer, in accordance with the league’s agreement with the International Ice Hockey Federation.

The Russians took out their frustrations on Belarus in a physical game. “We hate those guys. Put it in the paper,” Fetisov barked earlier in the week when asked about Belarus.

In truth, Khabibulin trained with the Belarusian team last summer, and Sergei Fedorov is among several Russian players who once trained in Minsk. Fetisov and Belarus Coach Vladimir Krikunov warmly shook hands afterward.

“All of our players are in a very good mood right now,” Krikunov said. “I think they’ve reached their maximum, not only for these Games, but maybe for their whole lives.”