After the false start to the Olympic gold mission in Pyeongchang, Russia’s former ice hockey star Ilya Kovalchuk did not want to slip for a second time.
The neutral jersey that the record world champion has to wear because of the state doping at the winter games in Sochi is “beautiful”,”I like it”, said the former NHL goalscorer – and he didn’t give a damn.
The 2:3 (2:2,0:0,0:1) defeat against Slovakia was bad enough. The 34-year-old did not want to risk a fight with the International Olympic Committee. The white jersey with the number on its chest, without the insignia of Russia, was not to blame for the fact that the top favourite stumbled in the first game.
“Our powerplay was bad. That’s one thing we definitely have to improve,”Kowaltschuk said, next to 39-year-old Pavel Dazjuk, who was the most prominent ice-hockey player in Pyeongchang after the NHL’s rejection:” They scored an overwhelming number of goals, we didn’t, that was the difference.
The fact that the Russians have to play under the Olympic flag is not a bad omen. They had won their eighth and last Olympic gold medal in 1992 under the sign of the five rings – after the collapse of the Soviet Union as a united team. This time she was called “Olympic Athletes from Russia”by the stadium spokesman, and at her goals the 60s hit “Those Were the Days” was recorded, the melody of which goes back to a Russian folk song.
The approximately 1,000 fans of the Sbornaja among the 4025 spectators were not impressed by the Olympic spell: numerous national flags and jerseys dived the ranks in white, blue and red,”Rossija”-calls rang through the arena. After a quick 2-0 lead by Wladislaw Gawrikow (3rd) and Kirill Kaprisow (5th), Peter Olvecky (17th), Martin Bakos (18th) and Peter Ceresnak (49th) turned the game around.
Dazjuk, who finished his NHL career in 2016 after 1110 games and two Stanley Cup triumphs with the Detroit Red Wings, showed his class in some scenes at the age of 39. The five years younger Kovalchuk, who is flirting with a return to the NHL, was disappointing all along the line.
The USA, with second-league defender James Wisniewski of Kassel Huskies, also missed a 2-0 lead by Brian O’ Neill (18th) and Jordan Greenway (33rd), the first African American in their Olympic ice hockey team. Blas Gregorc (46.) and Jan Mursak (59. /61.) made the second surprise of the day perfect.