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Lightning goalie Nikolai Khabibulin finally is awarded the gold medal denied in 1992.
By DAMIAN CRISTODERO, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times, published February 16, 2002
WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah -- The eyes. That is what stuck with Slava Fetisov all these years.
Nikolai Khabibulin's sad eyes after the young goalie was denied a gold medal at the 1992 Olympics at Albertville, France, because United Team coach Victor Tikhonov decided to feed his own ego rather than play by the rules.
It is why Fetisov, after being named coach of the Russian team playing in the 2002 Olympics, made it a priority to get Khabibulin his medal.
The quest came to an end Thursday when the Lightning goalie, and Russia's No. 1, was presented with the gold before practice in the locker room at the County Ice Center in Salt Lake City.
It was 10 years late, but in this instance, everyone agreed, it was better late than never.
"In the dressing room in front of the guys," Khabibulin said Friday after making 29 saves in Russia's 6-4 first-round victory over Belarus at the E Center. "It was pretty unbelievable."
"You should have seen his face," Fetisov said. "He was smiling and happy."
In other games Friday, the United States defeated Finland 6-0, Sweden beat Canada 5-2 and the Czech Republic defeated Germany 8-2.
The Khabibulin ceremony was brief and included Rene Fasel, head of the International Ice Hockey Federation who hung the medal around Khabibulin's neck, and the heads of the Russian Hockey Federation and the Russian Olympic Committee.
Khabibulin said it is a new medal, not the one Tikhonov took.
"He deserves it," said Russian forward Alexei Zhamnov, who played on the 1992 team. "It's nice to see it happen. It's great for Nik."
Said forward Alexei Kovalev, who also played in '92: "It was justice."
Khabibulin was 19 during the Albertville Games. As the No. 3 goalie for the United Team, made up of players from the liberated Soviet states, he did not play. He wasn't invited onto the ice for the celebration after the gold-medal game.
And he did not receive a medal.
Tikhonov did, even though they were supposed to go only to players. It was one of the reasons Khabibulin refused to play for Russia at the 1998 Olympics. Enter Fetisov, a legend of Soviet hockey who was charged with straightening out a team that melted down internally during the 2000 World Championships and has not won a senior world championship or Olympic medal since the 1993 World Championships.
"I think it was a great deal of justice," said Fetisov, recently fired as a Devils assistant when coach Larry Robinson was let go. "It is the last payback from the Soviet system. People can do whatever they want, but I hope it is never going to happen again."
You can't blame Khabibulin for being protective of his new jewelry. Asked what he was going to do with it, Khabibulin said, "I've got to find a safe or something."
Against Belarus, Khabibulin was just trying to find his game.
He made some spectacular saves, but three of the four goals he allowed were bad.
"It was different," Khabibulin said of the larger international ice surface. "The angles, I think, were different, but it's hard to be satisfied with my performance."
Fetisov agreed, but he joked that Khabibulin's shaky outing was the result of a summer of training with members of the Belarus team.
"I feel everything he owed to the Belarus players, he paid them back," Fetisov said.
After 10 years, Russia, too, finally paid off a debt. Something Khabibulin almost admitted made him cry.
"I don't think I had any emotions left," he said.
Fetisov knows where to find them.
"I saw the look in his eyes," he said of that day 10 years ago. "I remembered it all those years. I never forgot it."
U.S. 6, FINLAND 0: John LeClair was a bull, scoring three times from in front of the net, once during a three-goal second period. Scott Young, LeClair and Keith Tkachuk scored, the last two in a span of 1:29, to make it 3-0 at 17:45.
The United States also scored three third-period goals. LeClair got two and Bill Guerin finished things off.
Mike Dunham had to make just 12 stops through the first two periods, but some were spectacular, including a sprawling leg save on Jere Lehtinen from point-blank range 5:41 into the second. But LeClair set the tone in the second when he scored on a rebound of Brett Hull's shot after outmuscling Teppo Numminen.
SWEDEN 5, CANADA 2: In a game that will inspire much hand-wringing north of the border, Canada, which has not won gold in 50 years, was caught flat-footed.
Mats Sundin had two goals and an assist for Sweden and goaltender Tommy Salo made 33 saves.
"It's unfortunate and humbling," Canada goaltender Curtis Joseph said.
Sweden broke the game open with second-period goals by Niklas Sundstrom, Sundin, Kenny Jonsson and Ulf Dahlen. The last three came on four shots in 5 minutes, 16 seconds and made it 5-1 at 15:58.
Salo was sharp in the third, when Canada outshot Sweden 17-4. CZECH REPUBLIC 8, GERMANY 2: Jaromir Jagr had two goals and two assists and Dominik Hasek stopped 18 shots. The Czechs beat backup Christian Kunast for three goals in the first 16:18, eventually making it 6-1 on Jagr's second goal late in the second.
Germany will be without goalie Olaf Kolzig, Jagr's NHL teammate. He traveled to Utah despite an injured ligament in his knee, but German doctors determined he wasn't ready.
- Information from Times wires was used in this report.