Olympics: A family faceoff could be looming

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A family faceoff could be looming

©Associated Press
February 9, 2002

WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah -- Olympic hockey turns NHL teammates into rivals for two weeks, longtime friends into can't-be-trusted opponents.

Sometimes, it even divides a family.

When preliminary play begins today, Martin Reichel will play forward for Germany. If his team advances to the final round it could face the Czech Republic -- and Reichel's older brother, forward Robert.

The NHL says it would be the second time brothers have played on opposing sides in Olympic hockey. At Squaw Valley in 1960, Frantisek Pikal from Czechoslovakia played against brother Zdenek of Australia.

"It's very tough," Robert Reichel said Friday. " ... I played at the World Championships in 1996 against him, and 1997. Usually, we just talk after the game."

Martin Reichel has lived in Germany since the late 1980s and plays for Nurnberg in the German pro league. Robert plays for the Maple Leafs.

"He never played for the Czech Republic at any World Championships or European Cups or championship games," Robert said. "They (the Germans) offered him a chance to play for the country, and he said he would do that. He's German now, with a German passport."