Great goaltending can go a long way toward Olympic hockey gold. How far? Consider this comment, made Monday by American coach Herb Brooks: "As far as the goalkeepers, I'm just going to grab the goalie coach (Warren Strelow) and say, 'Don't screw up.' " That in mind, a glance in goal for the final eight men's teams still in medal contention:
BELARUS: Hot Russian Leaguer Sergei Shabanov stopped 39 of 40 shots in Belarus' first two games, lifting the former Soviet republic into the finals.
CANADA: NHL stars Martin Brodeur (New Jersey) and Curtis Joseph (Toronto) will both go for Canada, with Dallas' Ed Belfour the emergency No. 3. Canadian defenseman Chris Pronger: "All three of those guys have played well in the past. . . . I'm confident they'll be ready to go."
CZECH REPUBLIC: Detroit's Dominik Hasek is why the Czech Republic won at Nagano in 1998. American captain Chris Chelios: "Everybody saw what Dominik did. Not to take anything away from (Canada's) Patrick (Roy), but I've never seen a goalie play that well. You hope you don't run up against a guy like that."
FINLAND: Never known as a goalie factory, Finland has NHL backups Jani Hurme (Ottawa) and Jussi Markkanen (Edmonton) and minor-leaguer Pasi Nurminen. Finnish forward Sami Kapanen: "A tournament like (this), you're counting on the goaltending — and we need to have solid goaltending by Hurme."
GERMANY: German Leaguer Marc Seliger has carried surprise finalist Germany, allowing only three goals in three prelim games; Washington's Olie Kolzig's knee injury may keep him from playing. Seliger: "We're just hot right now. We're on fire."
SWEDEN: Edmonton's Tommy Salo led Sweden to gold at Lillehammer in 1994, and is back for his third Olympics.
RUSSIA: Tampa Bay All-Star Nikolai Khabibulin is the hottest NHL goalie at the Games. Canadian captain Mario Lemieux: "Very sound technically. He's always in the right position. Doesn't give bad rebounds, which is the key for a good goalie — all the rebounds go in the bad areas, where you have to regroup and start all over again."
UNITED STATES: The international resume of three-time Olympian Mike Richter of the New York Rangers is strong, but Nashville's Mike Dunham is performing quite well lately; Carolina's Tom Barrasso may also play.
