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Kovalev leads 7-2 rout for bronze medal

Sunday, February 24, 2002

By Greg Beacham, The Associated Press

WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah -- 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.

But Penguins right winger Alexei Kovalev had two goals and an assist as Russia won the bronze medal in Olympic hockey with a 7-2 victory against Belarus yesterday.

Kovalev, who told NBC's John Davidson that the high altitude in Utah caused him to be fatigued throughout the tournament, produced three goals in his final two games after having no points in the first four.

And the Russians claimed their 12th medal in Olympic hockey -- a record their nation will share with Canada after the Canadians face the United States in the gold-medal game.

Still, it was a disappointing finish for Russia, which won silver in Nagano and gold in three of the previous four Olympics. Russia has eight hockey gold medals in all, more than any nation. A 3-2 loss Friday to the United States cost the Russians a chance to play for another gold.

"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. It was tough to get up for this game."

Fetisov, in the tenor of the Russian Olympic delegation's complaints about fairness in Salt Lake City, blamed the loss Friday partially on Bill McCreary, the Canadian NHL referee. When asked Friday night whether he would have pulled his team out of the game in the event of a rumored Russian boycott, Fetisov declined to answer.

Fetisov repeated his complaints yesterday after reading a letter from International Ice Hockey Federation president Rene Fasel condemning Fetisov's comments. 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 percent NHL players were officiated by an NHL staffer, in accordance with the league's agreement with the IIHF.

"He missed a few calls on the U.S. team," Fetisov said. "In a competition like that, the refereeing should be neutral. They made the agreement [to use NHL referees] before, and we're kind of hostages of this situation."

The Russians took out their frustrations on Belarus in a physical game between two teams representing nations with a long history of dislike. Belarus is a former Soviet republic.

"We hate those guys. Put it in the paper," Fetisov barked earlier in the week when asked what he thought about facing Belarus.

Yet Fetisov and Belarus Coach Vladimir Krikunov warmly shook hands afterward.

"We're very happy about our performance," Krikunov said of his team, which wasn't expected to advance from its qualifying-round group. "All of our players are in a very good mood right now. I think they've reached their maximum, not only for these games, but maybe for their whole lives."

Darius Kasparaitis -- who has one goal in 58 games for the Penguins this season -- Pavel Bure and Maxim Afinogenov also scored for Russia.