Gold, Jaromir! Gold! The Czech Republic finished off its storybook journey through the Olympics by beating the Russians 1- 0 Saturday night to claim the gold medal. Petr Svoboda broke a scoreless tie in the third period and Dominik Hasek was his usual superb self in net, stopping 20 shots.

The game was a spirited contest played between two of the bitterest rivals on the international hockey scene. The Czechs are still holding a grudge from 1968, when the Russians sent tanks into the Czech homeland to squelch a rebellion against communism. It's been 30 years, but the Czechs still remember. Jaromir Jagr chose his number in honor of the 1968 Soviet occupation. Beating the Russians for the gold isn't exactly the same as driving a tank down the streets of Moscow and bustin' heads, but it's a start.

Defense was once again the theme. The game featured few quality scoring chances, as the two clubs combined for only 41 shots. The Czechs continued to roll with their left wing lock. They didn't give the speedy Russians any room to motor at center. Meanwhile, the Russians went about things a bit differently. Instead of sagging back, the men in red stepped up and met the Czech puck-carriers head on, stopping them dead in their tracks. This ploy resulted in a number of major collisions, and several damn cool near misses.

With both clubs still scoreless eight minutes into the third, it seemed like another shootout would be in the cards for Hasek and the Czechs. But then, as is the case in most close games, a faceoff made the difference.

The draw was created thanks to an errant lead pass by Andrei Kovalenko that resulted in an icing. The scene was the left wing circle in the Russian zone. Pavel Patera versus Alexei Yashin. Patera won the puck back. Left winger Martin Prochazka then swept the biscuit to Svoboda at the left point. Svoboda hesitated a moment to allow Prochazka to clear a lane and then drilled a slap shot that grazed the glove of Shtalenkov and skipped into the top right corner of the net. The goal was credited to Svoboda at 8:08 of the third period.

I say "credited" because upon further review the shot clearly hits winger Milan Hejduk in the heel of his left skate. Hejduk was trying to slow Kovalenko from getting out to Svoboda and tied him up at the top of the left circle. Hejduk saw Svoboda winding up and lifted his right leg to let the shot through, but the puck struck him in the left boot and took off high. If not for the inadvertent deflection, Shtalenkov probably would have had the shot easily. Svoboda gets the glory. Hejduk gets a footnote in history.

Svoboda's goal might as well have come in overtime. This game just had the feel of a 1-0 final from the start. The Russians still had nearly 12 minutes on the clock, but they just couldn't solve the Czech trap. Pavel Bure made a pair of dynamic individual rushes up ice to no avail. The first ended with a harmless one-armed centering pass through the crease and the second was thwarted near the right post by a diving Jiri Slegr and a backchecking Robert Lang. Sergei Fedorov made a great play of his own with 5:50 left to set up Pavel's little brother. Sergei backed the Czech defense off with speed and then circled inside the blue line along the right wing boards and waited for Valeri coming late. Bure gathered the pass and snapped a wrist shot on net that was denied by Hasek's pads. Even if it went in it probably wouldn't have counted, since Sergei Nemchinov was in the process of backing into the crease and falling over Hasek as the puck found its mark. Hey, if you aren't cheatin', you aren't tryin'...

Russia got a final ray of hope when the Czechs iced the puck with 27 seconds left in regulation. The ray didn't last long, tho', as Robert Reichel beat Fedorov clean and the puck was cleared easily. The Czechs then did that whole dog-pile thing and celebrated like mad men. Yee-haw! The Czechs won gold! Yee- Haw!

Impressive Performances

CZECH REPUBLIC

Dominik Hasek (20 saves): The Dominator stopped 149 of 155 shots in the tournament. Aw, that's just Hasek bein' Hasek. He really didn't have to come up with many spectacular saves against the Russians. He was just solid from start to finish. There are three saves that do stand out. What the hell? Let's recap 'em.

The first came early in the opening period. Valeri Kamensky was out on an extended shift and ended up on a miniature two-on-one with Yashin. The Senator center was skating in on the right side and floated a pass across to Kamensky in the left circle. The pass wasn't perfect and Kamensky had to settle it before pulling the trigger. This allowed Hasek to slide over and flop on his side, turning Kamensky's low wrist shot away with his pads.

Kamensky had another chance in the third period when the game was still scoreless. He bolted into the zone on right wing and teed up a cannon. Hasek not only made the save with his blocker, the long rebound triggered a three-on-one break for the Czechs.

Hasek's biggest save came in the second period. The Russians won a faceoff in the left circle and were moving the puck around like champs. It eventually found its way to Boris Mironov at the right point. Good ol' Boris then snapped a diagonal pass down low to a wide open Yashin at the bottom of the left circle. Yashin then drew Svoboda, who was the lone defender remaining down low, before whipping a backhand pass over to Kovalenko at the right side of the net. The Little Tank waited for Hasek to slide across and then pulled the puck to his forehand and tried to stuff a low shot inside the far left pipe. But Hasek is at his best when he's flopping and coolly reached out with his right arm along the ice and denied Kovalenko's shot with the shaft of his stick. That's clutch.

Jaromir Jagr: The Russians clearly came in with the plan to run Jagr. They consistently tried to step up and punish the Czech Wonder Kid. Alexei Zhitnik absolutely crushed him with a clean shoulder check in the final minute of the first period. Jagr had just entered the Russian zone and was warding off Alexei Morozov when Zhitnik lowered the boom. Jagr never saw it coming. Sonny Liston couldn't have hit him harder. Jagr was all woozy as he made his way to the bench and then sat there for a few moments with his face in a towel before making his way down the runway to the dressing room. Yet he emerged in the second period fresh as a daisy. And them daisies are fresh. Spring time fresh. Pavel Bure made another assassination attempt on Jagr in the second only to barely miss and crash into Nemchinov instead. Yet through it all Jagr didn't let up. He kept playing his game. That's special.

Petr Svoboda: Svoboda was questionable for the game because of an injured right elbow. Despite the pain, Svoboda came through and played another great defensive game and even delivered the gold-medal winning goal. That's the very definition of impressive.

The Rest of the Team: The Czechs were the best team in the tournament. There were no passengers. Everyone did their part. They played some of the best team defense ever witnessed by man or chimp.

RUSSIA

Pavel Bure: Bure was terrific. His skating was simply awe-inspiring. Make no mistake about it, Pavel Bure is the fastest skater... IN THE WORLD! While his skating alone would have garnered him a mention, Pavel was also dishing out some serious hits. He set the physical tone for the game early by belting Jaroslav Spacek behind the Czech net. Spacek was swinging behind the cage from the left and Bure rocketed in from the right. So what if he left his skates? Spacek won't remember. He'll be lucky if he still remembers his name.

Darius Kasparaitis: This was a perfect game for Kasparaitis. He was given the green light to step up on the Czech forwards and he took it. He went buckwild early on, rattling every Czech in sight, including good buddy Jaromir Jagr. He even flipped Jiri Dopita head over heels along the boards with one of his patented hip checks. Darius was matched up most of the game against Jagr and kept him under wraps. Jagr only had one real scoring chance. It came in the second period when he roared into the zone and rang a wrist shot off the right post. But Kaspar wasn't on the ice. If he had been there would be some more paint left on the pipe. Because Jagr would have had a tough time shooting the puck from his back.

Mikhail Shtalenkov (20 saves): Shtalenkov played a solid game. Like Hasek, he really wasn't called upon to make the big save too often. He did manage a couple big saves. Both came in the third period.

The first came as a result of the aforementioned Hasek save on Kamensky's heavy slapper. Jagr picked up the rebound in the Czech slot and stormed the other way on a three-on-one. Jagr moved the puck to Josef Beranek on left wing early and then drove to the net on the right side. Jagr was bucknaked for a return pass, but Beranek elected to blast away. It's not easy to stand your ground and stay square when you know Jagr is open on your left, but Shtalenkov hung in there and made the big save. He then got a little help from his best friend when Dmitri Mironov and Sergei Gonchar both overskated the rebound, leaving Beranek alone in front. The Czech winger waited patiently for Shtalenkov to make the first move and then pulled the puck to his backhand and clanged a shot off the right pipe. Hey, those posts are there for a reason.

Shtalenkov's second big save came in the seconds immediately following the Svoboda goal. The Czechs caught the Russians flat- footed and busted into the zone three-on-two following the center ice faceoff. Martin Straka and Vladimir "Rosie" Ruzicka worked a give-and-go in the slot, with Straka ending up free on the left side. Marty looked the net over and tried to snap a shot five- hole, but Mikhail read the play nicely and was in perfect position to stick the shot away. It was a huge save. Without it, the remaining 12 minutes would have been meaningless.

Dmitri Mironov: Dmitri gets listed for a bit of hustle in the second period. The Russians were working the power play when Alexei Zhamnov tried to go point to point with Mironov. Pavel Patera read the play like a Stop Bedwetting pamphlet and swiped the pass. He appeared to be in home free from the Russian blue line, but Mironov didn't give up on the play. As Patera got in on Shtalenkov and prepared to pull the puck to his backhand, Mironov reached in and hooked his right arm, causing Patera to fan on his shot. A short-handed goal there would have been devastating. That's nice work by Dmitri.

Lines

Czech Republic: The Czechs went with the same old lines.

OFFENSE (lw-c-rw)

Straka - Ruzicka - P. Bure
Lang - Reichel - Rucinsky
M. Prochazka - Patera - Hejduk
Beranek - Dopita - Morovec

DEFENSE

Slegr - Smehlik
Svoboda - Hamrlik
Kucera - Spacek

POWER PLAY

Beranek - Patera - Prochazka - Reichel - Svoboda
Hejduk - Ruzicka - Jagr - Hamrlik - Smehlik

SHORT-HANDED

Patera - M. Prochazka - Slegr - Smehlik
Lang - Straka - Spacek - Kucera

Russia: The Russians also kept things steady. No sense changing things now. Although, Pavel Bure and Fedorov were double-shifted late in the third, taking turns replacing Sergei Krivokrasov on the fourth line.

OFFENSE (lw-c-rw)

Kamensky - Zhamnov - P. Bure
Fedorov - Yashin - Kovalenko
Zelepukin - Titov - Morozov
V. Bure - Nemchinov - Krivokrasov

DEFENSE

Kasparaitis - B. Mironov
Gusarov - D. Mironov
Zhitnik - Yushkevich
Kravchuk - Gonchar

POWER PLAY

Kamensky - Zhamnov - P. Bure - Zhitnik - D. Mironov
Fedorov - Yashin - Kovalenko - Kasparaitis - B. Mironov

SHORT-HANDED

Yashin - Fedorov - Kasparaitis - B. Mironov
Zelepukin - Titov - Gusarov - D. Mironov

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