Turning the pages back... February 17, 2002 (02/16/03)

Turning the pages back...

February 17, 2002

Ukraine's third Winter Olympiad as an independent state was marked by its Olympic debut in ice hockey, and a finish that was the highlight of the Team Ukraine's performance in Utah in 2002.

With two wins and one loss in Group B of the hockey competition's preliminary round, Ukraine's record equalled that of the Belarusian team that emerged atop the group. In the end, the deciding match-up was Team Ukraine's first game, played against Belarus, which Ukraine lost 1-0. The one-goal difference turned out to be the key factor in Belarus' advancement to the next round and Ukraine's relegation to play for ninth place against Latvia.

Ukraine won its next two games against Switzerland (5-2) and France (4-2) to tie Belarus with four points at the conclusion of Group B preliminary round competition, which is played in a round robin. Belarus won its game against France (3-1), but lost to Switzerland (2-1). Thus, Belarus' victory over Ukraine allowed the Belarusians to move on to play the Russian Federation in the next round.

Ukraine determined its final standing in its first Olympic hockey competition by meeting Latvia. It turned out to be a crushing 9-2 defeat for Ukraine, and Team Ukraine completed its Olympic hockey debut in 10th place - a finish that was above expectations.

Joining Ukraine's Olympic hockey team in Utah for some of the matches were: Dmitri Khristich of the Washington Capitals, Ruslan Fedotenko of the Philadelphia Flyers and Sergei Varlamov of the St. Louis Blues. The NHL'ers were joined by Toronto minor leaguer Alex Ponikarovsky. Speaking afterwards with Andrew Nynka, The Weekly's correspondent on the scene, Mr. Khristich emphasized that he was elated just to play with Team Ukraine.

"In Olympic debut, hockey team is highlight of Ukraine's effort," by Andrew Nynka, The Ukrainian Weekly, February 17, 2002, Vol. LXX, No. 7.; and "Ukraine at Salt Lake City Games: no medals, but some surprises," by Andrew Nynka, The Ukrainian Weekly, February 24, 2002, Vol. LXX, No. 8.

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