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Belarus
upsets Sweden in quarterfinals WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah — The shot couldn’t possibly go in, but it did. Sweden couldn’t possibly lose, but it did. And the kind of upset that couldn’t possibly happen with NHL players now dominating the Olympics is a reality.
Vladimir Kopat scored on a 70-foot shot that bounced wildly off goalie Tommy Salo’s head with only 2:24 remaining and Belarus scored one of the greatest upsets in Olympic history Wednesday, beating Sweden 4-3 in the hockey quarterfinals. “It’s unbelievable. It happened accidentally. Our last goal was lucky,” said Belarusian forward Vladimir Tsyplakov. “Then again, our team played pretty well too. We deserved to win.” In a stunning game reminiscent of the United States’ “Miracle on Ice” over the Soviet Union in 1980, Belarus — outscored 16-2 in its previous two games and listed as a 10-million-to-1 shot to win the gold medal — pulled off one of the greatest team upsets in any sport in any Olympics. “I don’t understand how we could lose today against this team,” Swedish captain Mats Sundin said. “We give away three of their four goals and you can’t win that way, it doesn’t matter who you’re playing.” As the game ended, the stunned Swedes — easily the best team in the Olympics until now — stood silently at their end of the ice as the Belarusian players swarmed goalie Andrei Mezin, who stopped 44 shots. Mezin has played for five U.S. minor league teams, but has never come close to playing in the NHL. “It’s a devastating loss for us and our country,” Swedish forward Markus Naslund. “I give them credit, they played smart. Their goalie was outstanding.” But Belarus, as improbable a semifinalist as there as ever been in Olympic hockey, will play the winner of Wednesday’s Canada-Finland game on Friday. |
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TCU Daily Skiff © 2002 |
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