The scoring power of Russia's Pavel Bure and the stopping power of Czech Republic goalkeeper Dominik Hasek set up a sensational eastern European showdown in the final of the Olympic ice hockey tournament tomorrow.
Hasek, alias the "The Dominator", thwarted all five penalty shooters when the Czech underdogs sent gold-medal favourites Canada packing, beating them 2-1 in yesterday's semi-finals after a heart-stopping penalty shoot-out.
Vancouver player Bure struck five goals, including three on elegant breakaways, when his team overcame Finland 7-4 despite being outshot 32-21.
"The Big Red Machine" v the Czechs stirs memories of amateur world finals in the 1960s and 1970s and comes as a shock to everyone who had expected a final between Canada and the United States in the professional "dream team" tournament.
But the Czechs first knocked out the United States in the quarter-finals and then went on to shatter Canada's aspirations by virtue of the outstanding efforts of Hasek, the goalie of NHL team Buffalo Sabres.
Canada and the United States had a galaxy of NHL stars to choose from. The Czech Republic have only 11 NHL players on their 23-strong roster - the fewest among the six dream teams - but they have something the others do not have - Hasek.
"There was a fantastic feeling in the locker room after the game. It felt as if we had won the Olympic gold medals already. But we have to stop celebrating soon. There is one more game to go," Czech coach Slavomir Lener said.
In that game the Czechs will come face to face with Bure, the guy they call "The Russian Rocket".
"Last night was the night of Pavel Bure," Yurzinov said yesterday after the semi-final win over Finland. The question is whether it will be Hasek's or Bure's night in the final.
Italy's ski queen Deborah Compagnoni went into the Olympic record books yesterday when she won the women's giant slalom for her third gold in three straight Winter Games.
No woman Alpine skiier has ever managed such an Olympic run. The 27-year-old Compagnoni, who won a silver in Thursday's slalom, won yesterday's race by more than a second and a half from Alexandra Meissnitzer of Austria. Germany's Katja Seizinger added to her Nagano medal tally by taking the bronze. Going first in the bobsleigh is an advantage, yet never has a British four-man bob so capitalised upon it. With the best teams grouped at the top of the start list, Sean Olsson's gleaming bob held of all the fancied challengers until the ninth starter, the second German bob came down.
In this context, GER-2 is a misnomer. Their driver is Christoph Langer who, two years ago, became the only bob driver on the planet ever to win the two-man and four-man races at both the world and European Championships. Some second string. They alone inched ahead of GBR-1, by seven one-hundredths of a second.
Rain had disrupted that first run and, when it came down more heavily, the next run was cancelled. Great Britain go into the second day of what is now a three-run championship in the silver medal position. The Irish team currently lie in 29th place.
Meanwhile, Claudia Pechstein may well have assured that Germany will finish top of the final medals table by retaining her 5,000 metre speed skating title with a new world record.
Only minutes earlier, the 25year-old had watched her veteran team-mate Gunda NiemannStirnemann set a new record. But in the end, Niemann-Stirnemann had to settle for the silver.
