• IMAGE # 1 : Sweden’s PETER FORSBERG (21) scores his first goal of the shootout against Canada’s COREY HIRSCH (1)
• IMAGE # 2 : Forsberg’s spectacular one-handed second goal
• IMAGE # 3 : The Swedish postage stamp commemorating Forsberg’s gold medal-winner at the Lillehammer Games
• IMAGE # 4 : Sweden goaltender TOMMY SALO (35) saves from Canada’s PAUL KARIYA (9) on the last shot in sudden-death

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WH presents the dramatic penalty-shot shootout (in two parts) between CANADA and SWEDEN to settle the Gold Medal Match at the 1994 Winter Olympic Games in Lillehammer, Norway :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbjbYT3mg4Q&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bar2N-8AtBw&feature=related

The shooters for SWEDEN :

• # 12 — Hakan LOOB ————- (33) – BK Farjestad Karlstad
• #   8 — Magnus SVENSSON — (30) – IF Leksands
• # 26 — Mats NASLUND ———- (34) – IF Malmo 
• # 21 — Peter FORSBERG —— (20) – Mo Do Ornskoldsvik
• # 11 — Roger HANSSON ——– (26) – IF Malmo

In order, Svensson and Forsberg handled the Swedish attempts in the sudden-death phase of the shootout.

The shooters for CANADA :

• # 93 — Petr NEDVED — (38 goals for Vancouver Canucks in 92-93)
• #   9 — Paul KARIYA — (college player of the year at Univ. of Maine)
• # 10 — Dwayne NORRIS — (25 goals in 50 AHL games in 92-93)
• # 22 — Greg PARKS — (IF Leksands of Sweden’s Elitserien)
• # 12 — Greg JOHNSON — (three-time All-American at North Dakota Univ)

Nedved, and then Kariya, took Canada’s chances in sudden-death.

KENT NILSSON would become the first Swedish player in the history of the National Hockey League to surpass one hundred points for a season with his 49-goal, 82-assist (131 pts) campaign for the 1980-81 Calgary Flames.

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At the spectacular sudden-death penalty-shot shootout which saw SWEDEN top CANADA in the Gold Medal Match at the 1994 Winter Olympic Games, the shootout’s decisive goal-scorer, PETER FORSBERG, made a confession to the reporters in Lillehammer, Norway.

The 20-year-old former Philadelphia Flyers first round NHL draft pick revealed the source of inspiration for his one-handed goal which carried the Swedes to their first Olympic ice hockey championship :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QobAlzxDdXc&feature=related

Collecting the puck onsides at center ice, former NHL scoring star KENT NILSSON (10) is off to the races for host nation SWEDEN against the UNITED STATES at the 1989 IIHF World Championships. 

Bearing in on goal, the former Stanley Cup winner for the Edmonton Oilers gets U.S. goalie JOHN VANBIESBROUCK to bit on the fake to the forehand.

With the New York Rangers netminder already committed to stacking the pads, Nilsson pulls the puck back and, with one hand, gently deposits the disc behind Vanbiesbrouck into the American goal.

Sweden, all their goals having come in the final period of play, downed the United States 4-2 at the 1989 World Championships match in Stockholm.

Nilsson, who returned to the Swedish Elitserien in the fall of 1988 to join IF Djurgarden Stockholm following a season in Italy for HC Bolzano, finished with three goals and 11 assists at the ’89 WC and tied for tops in scoring with three other players on 14 points.

A Finnish player lunges in a bid to steal the puck from the on-rushing Russian player in a historic match at the 1994 Winter Olympic Games in Lillehammer, Norway. In just their second-ever Olympic match, the Russians managed to 'accomplish' what had never been 'achieved' before by the old juggernaut from the Soviet Union.

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Including the results of the Unified Team at Albertville in 1992, the UNION of SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLICS entered ten competitions for ice hockey at the Winter Olympic Games and ended eight of those as tournament champions.

With that legacy left to serve as some sort of measuring stick, the newly re-born nation of RUSSIA sent its first-ever official Oympic ice hockey team to Norway for the 1994 Winter Games. 

At Lillehammer in Norway, Russia’s national team coach, VIKTOR TIKHONOV, had remained the same as the old Soviet Union, but the quality of the national side itself had not. For decades, the USSR had been able to access its best players all the time. However, the en masse stampede of the former Soviet skaters to sign lucrative professional contracts in the West, preferably, the National Hockey League, at the start of the 1990s had extracted too much of a toll on the talent pool available for the national team.

The results were evident immediately.

Although the Russians took care of the host nation 5-1 in their first outing, Tikhonov’s troops were left red-faced shortly thereafter. The USSR and the Unified Team had played a combined 70 games over the course of 36 years without failing to score at least one goal in an ice hockey match at the Winter Games. Russia, in just their second Olympic contest ever, were summarily shutout 5-0 by their Nordic neighbors from Finland.

Later, in their fourth Group A round-robin game, Russia were defeated 4-2 by Germany. Sporting the record of sixty-seven wins and one tie, the old Soviet Union had never lost to West Germany in any match whatsoever including ’friendly’ exhibitions. For the record, the USSR never lost to East Germany, either, having won thirty-five games with one draw.

At the Lillehammer Games in 1994, the winds of change were certainly blowing and right in the Russians face, as well.

Canada's ERIC LINDROS (88) upends VYACHESLAV BUTSAYEV (22) of the Unified Team at the 1992 Winter Olympic Games in Albertville, France. The fall of the Berlin Wall in November of 1989 touched off a series of events that resulted in great upheaval for the world of international hockey that contiuned well into the 1990s.

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The SOVIET UNION having ceased to exist in December of 1991, it was the so-called “Unified Team” that competed under the International Olympic Committee’s traditional banner, a white flag bearing the five multi-colored Olympic rings, at the 1992 Winter Games in Albertville, France.

The Unified Team was a joint venture that represented six of the former fifteen Soviet republics — Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.

Officially, the Unified Team competed at the Olympics under the country code EUN, which was derived from the French term, EQUIPPE UNIFIEE. Not surprisingly, the Soviet Union’s stand-in fielded a formidable ice hockey contingent which captured the set of gold medals in the French Alps in convincing fashion.

All but two of the Unified Team’s champion pucksters were Russians; CSKA Moscow blueliner ALEXEI ZHITNIK of Ukraine and Dynamo Moscow defenseman DARIUS KASPARAITIS of Lithuania were the lone exceptions. Both players would later declare and compete internationally for Russia.

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Russia immediately took the USSR’s place at the IIHF World Championships in the spring of 1992 a few months following the Albertville Games.

The rest of the old hockey-playing Soviet republics — Belarus, Estonia, Latvia (which had declared independence from the disintegrating USSR in the spring of 1991), Lithuania (the first to declare independence in the spring of 1990), Kazakhstan and Ukraine — contested a qualifying tournament staged by the International Ice Hockey Federation in the fall of 1992 to determine entry level at the World Championships. 

Belarus, Kazakhstan, Latvia and Ukraine all earned the right to begin play at the C Pool for the 1993 edition of the IIHF’s annual event.

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The recently resurrected country of RUSSIA made its first appearance at the Olympics with the Winter Games held at Lillehammer in 1994.

Two brand new nations in the CZECH REPUBLIC and SLOVAKIA — the two entities that had comprised the one-time international ice hockey power from the former Czechoslovakia — also made their Olympic debuts in Norway that year.

The Czech Republic, like Russia, had immediately transitioned to the A Pool at the 1992 IIHF World Championships.

Slovakia, however, would not begin competition at the C Pool of the IIHF World Championships until the spring of 1994. Thus, with the Winter Olympic Games at Lillehammer, the Slovaks skated for the very first time at a major international ice hockey tournament.

Canada left wing TODD HLUSHKO (7) hits Sweden defenseman MAGNUS SVENSSON (8) head-on in the Gold Medal Match at the 1994 Winter Olympic Games in Lillehammer, Norway.

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Without question one of the hardest hits in the history of the Gold Medal Match occured at the 1994 Winter Olympic Games in Lillehammer, Norway.

Almost half way through the ten-minute overtime and shortly after the Canadians break out following a defensive zone faceoff, two-time Canadian Olympian FABIAN JOSEPH (8) steers a pass at center ice into the Swedish corner.

Sweden defenseman KENNY JONSSON (19), the Toronto Maple Leafs’ 1993 1st round draft pick (# 12 overall), retreats to retrive the puck. After having looked to his left and collecting the puck, the BK Rogle Angelholm rearguard starts to his right :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYuTQcxnXpQ

Arriving at that moment to deliver a devastating hit is TODD HLUSHKO (7), the one-time Washington Capitals 12th round draft pick (1990, #240 overall) and for Baltimore Skipjacks winger in the American Hockey League.

The force of the blow left Jonsson temporarily unconscious and Sweden’s coach, CURT LUNDMARK, enraged.

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Todd Hlushko later skated 79 National Hockey League games (8 go 13 as, 21 pts, 84 pim) for the Philadelphia Flyers, Calgary Flames and Pittsburgh Penquins over the course of six seasons before finishing his career with five years in the German elite league competing for the Cologne Sharks, Mannheim Eagles and Hannover Scorpions.

Left : HAKAN LOOB holds the trophy after Sweden’s triumph at the 1987 IIHF World Championships in Vienna, Austria.

Right : former Montreal Canadiens Stanley Cup left wing, MATS NASLUND. 

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In 1986, the very same year that the International Ice Hockey Federation formally ratified the use of professional players at the Olympics, the International Olympic Committee voted to cease the practice of the Summer and Winter Games competing in the same calendar year and instead decided to separate the two events.

The new policy was formally enacted with the XVII Winter Olympic Games held in Lillehammer, Norway, in 1994.

The Lillehammer Games also marked the only time in modern history that an Olympics was staged within two years of a preceding event as compared to the normal four-year break.

It was approaching a decade since professional ice hockey players were welcome at the Winter Olympic Games when the Lillehammer Games got underway. As had been the case since the Calgary Games in 1988, the competing countries staffed their national teams with as many ex-NHLers as they saw fit. Once again, many former NHL players participated at Lillehammer in 1994, including one-time elite-level skaters such as Sweden’s HAKAN LOOB and MATS NASLUND as well as PETER STASTNY for Olympic debutants Slovakia.

However, once again, the National Hockey League clubs refused to release their players en masse for Olympic participation.

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The new nation of Slovakia competed at the Winter Olympic Games for the very first time at Lillehammer in 1994. Chosen to carry the flag, always a great honor for any athlete of any sport for any nation, on behalf of Slovakia was 37-year-old PETER STASTNY. The captain of the Slovak ice hockey team, had defected from his club team Slovan Bratislava while playing in Austria seven months after skating for Czechoslovakia at the 1980 Winter Olympics at Lake Placid.

Stastny signed with the Quebec Nordiques and quickly established himself as an impact player in the National Hockey League. The 6’1″ 200 lb center scored 100 or more points his first six seasons in the league and was chosen to play for the title-winning host nation at the 1984 Canada Cup. Only mega-star Wayne Gretzky totaled more points totaled more points than Stastny for the decade of the 1980s in all the NHL.

Stastny retired from the NHL’s New Jersey Devils at the conclusion of the 1992-93 campaign but was convinced by hockey authorities to skate for Slovakia at the Lillehammer Games in the end.

With the aging veteran leading the way, Slovakia upended eventual silver medalist Canada 3-1 and went unbeaten in the round-robin. However, the Slovaks would fall to Russia 3-2 in overtime at the quarterfinal hurdle. Still, Stastny did more than just wear the sweater and provide inspiration for his country’s national team.

Five goals and nine points in eight games earned Stastny a place on the tournament all-star team in Norway.

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PETER STASTNY is the only hockey player in history to represent three different countries at major international events:

• 6 app – 50 ga – 25 go – 29 as – 54 pts — Czechoslovakia
• 1 app — 8 ga —- 1 go — 2 as — 3 pts — Canada
• 1 app — 8 ga —- 5 go — 4 as — 9 pts — Slovakia

Stastny also played for Slovakia at the B pool of the IIHF World Championships in 1995. There, the 38-year-old tallied eight goals and eight assists for 16 points in just six games to steer Slovakia to the title and promotion. Slovakia have remained in the A pool at the World Championships annually since 1996.

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Peter’s son, PAUL STASTNY, will represent the United States at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver next month.

Left to right : HAKAN LOOB, MATS NASLUND and TOMAS JONSSON for Tre Kronor at the 1994 Winter Olympic Games in Lillehammer, Norway.

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If the shootout in the Gold Medal Match at the 1994 Winter Games in Lillehammer, Norway, did not break enough new ground for an Olympic tournament, the result certainly left three Swedish players in uncharted territory for the history of all ice hockey.

Sweden’s triumph over Canada courtesy PETER FORSBERG’s spectacular one-handed goal gave Tre Kronor its first-ever Olympic gold medal and completed an extraordinary as well as unprecedented trio of titles for three Swedish players.

Aging veterans TOMAS JONSSON, HAKAN LOOB and MATS NASLUND became the first men to ever capture a Stanley Cup championship, an International Ice Hockey Federation World Championships title and an Olympic gold medal over the course of a playing career.

Jonsson, who had made his Olympic debut for Sweden at the 1980 Lake Placid Games as a 19-year-old, became with the New York Islanders just the third European-trained player (joining teammates ANDERS KALLUR and STEFAN PERSSON) to lift the cherished Stanley Cup. The diminutive defenseman later garnered a gold medal at the 1991 IIHF World Championships.

Loob became the first Swedish player to score 50 goals for a single National Hockey League season in 1988 with the Calgary Flames and hoisted the Cup one season later. A year prior to his record-setting season with Calgary, Loob led Tre Kronor with five goals at the IIHF World Championships as Sweden took the title in Vienna. Loob later added another gold medal from the 1991 IIHF WC.

Naslund, who netted a bronze medal with Jonsson for Sweden at the 1980 Lake Placid Games, was a member of the Montreal Canadiens’ 1986 Stanley Cup-winning side. Two seasons later, Naslund became the first Swede to secure a major individual NHL award with his selection for the Lady Byng Trophy. Later, after leaving Montreal to sign with HC Lugano in Switzerland for the 1990-91 season, the Little Viking was victorious at the 1991 IIHF World Championships with Tre Kronor.

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NOTE — Hakan Loob and Mats Naslund each took turns for Sweden in the penalty-shot shootout phase of the Gold Medal Match versus Canada at Lillehammer. Both failed with their attempts, however.

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One of the most dramatic and pressure-packed goals in the annals of the ice hockey tournament at the Winter Olympics coincided with the Gold Medal Match between Canada and Sweden at the 1994 Lillehammer Games in Norway. 

After MAGNUS SVENSSON (8) scored on a blast for Sweden from the point on the power play with less than two minutes remaining, the game itself ended in a 2-2 draw. Ten minutes of overtime produced nothing and so a shootout was required to resolve matters. Even after five rounds of a shootout, which included a goal by the defenseman Svensson, the score still stood deadlocked.

And so in the seventh round up stepped Sweden’s PETER FORSBERG (21). The 20-year-old Mo Do Ornskoldsvik star, who had provided Svensson the drop pass for his tying-goal and also had already tallied in the shootout’s first round, promptly secured his name in the Olympic history books with a most spectacular and skillful one-handed goal that defies description :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3yNIuoUjfk

Another “live” television broadcast view of Forsberg’s golden goal opposite Canadian netminder COREY HIRSCH, this interesting footage shot from behind the goal. 

Also including in this clip is the Canadian second round follow-up attempt from PAUL KARIYA, who had scored to put Canada ahead 2-1 in the third period of regulation play. Again from vantage point of behind the goal, the University of Maine All-America’s shot is turned away as Sweden goalie TOMMY SALO goes down early and stacks his pads :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5sEzu1njoA&feature=related

Sweden celebrated the first Olympic gold medal in their country’s history with the triumph at Lillehammer in 1994 and, ultimately, Forsberg’s goal was commemorated with a Swedish postage stamp.

Technically, Forsberg’s historic shootout goal is not included in the former Philadelphia Fyers 1991 first round pick’s scoring totals in Norway. Forsberg, who had six assists in eight games at Lillehammer, scored his lone goal for the tournament in Sweden’s 7-1 round-robin victory over France.

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Interesting to note with this year’s Olympics being held where they are that Canada’s Lillehammer ’94 goaltender COREY HIRSCH played 101 National Hockey League games between the 1995-96 and 1998-99 seasons for the Vancouver Canucks.

STEVE KARIYA, Paul’s brother and another University of Maine product, played 65 NHL games (9 go 18 as) for the Vancouver Canucks between 1999-2000 and 2001-02.

LEIF ROHLIN, a 1988 2nd round draft pick of the Vancouver Canucks, was on the 1994 Lillehammer gold medal squad for Sweden. Rohlin later played two seasons for Vancouver in the NHL.