Miracle in Salt Lake - Belarus 4, Sweden 3 - 2002 Salt Lake Olympics (Original U.S. Broadcast)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 25 ส.ค. 2024
- The final minutes of one of the biggest upsets in international hockey history. Belarus upset the heavily favored Swedes 4-3 in the quarterfinals of the medal round on Feb. 20, 2002.
Belarus advanced out of the prelims (along with Germany) with wins over Ukraine and France. The Germans and Belarussians both got crushed in the final round group play, losing all three of their games. The Germans scored five goals and gave up 18 while the Belarussians scored six and gave up 22 in losses to Russia (6-4), Finland (8-1) and USA (8-1). No one gave them a chance at all in the medal round vs. top-seed Sweden, who had won all its games to that point and was a team packed with NHLers.
Belarus kept the game close despite being heavily outshot. In the waning minutes, Vladimir Kopat shots a puck on net from center ice that bounces off Tommy Salo's shoulder and trickles into the net for what would be the game winner. Belarussian goalie Andrei Mezin holds off a late Sweden attack to seal the gigantic upset.
The Belarussians already had airplane tickets booked for that evening but had to re-book as they guaranteed themselves two more games. They would promptly get trounced by Team Canada 7-1 in the semifinals two days later before falling to the Russians in the Bronze medal game 7-2 the next day.
Gary Thorne and John Davidson made the call for the American broadcast.
Tommy Salo was never the same after this. Poor guy
To be honest, if you're struggling vs Belarus at that point in the game: It's a collective failure. I feel sorry for Tommy to be the scapegoat.
my right ear appreciated this upload
@Ava Cutrona God damn this was from 7 years ago! My attitudes have changed over the years, thanks for the free content Phil! :)
Uwot
6:16 Belarus goalie might have scored if his team mate didn't stop it
The balls on Mezin to try in that moment, he was in the zone this game.
Yes, but if he missed the goal, that would have been icing and there would have been one faceoff in their zone. So great thing that his teammate stopped the puck.
@@RoyalMela Even if he did miss they would only have about 2-3 seconds to score. And it looked like it was going in anyway.
The Swedish radio commentator called it "a shame for Swedish hockey" and "the biggest fiasco since 1936", referring to the soccer game between Sweden-Japan at the Olympics where Sweden lost 3-2.
Andrei Mezin was incredible in this game. The most inspired goalkeeping display I think I've ever seen.
I think it's a bit weird that Mezin played only in the minors at North America. He was a really good goalie.
He was on the juice.
I feel so bad for Salo. It has been 12 years but still there are Swedes out there who says he should be killed and stuff like that. No one seems to remember anymore that he was the goalkeeper who saved that final shot in the shootouts in the 1994 olymppic final.
people are idiots and remeber only fails, not saves. Shame about Salo, he was very good goalie with respective career, but everyone remember only that goal from Kopat.
I thought this would have been forgiven and forgotten after Sweden won Olympic gold in 2006.
wifferste but king Henrik was their goalie then
Great! Thanks so much for posting this!
I remember. Belarus had booked flights home the day after this game because they simply were not expecting to win!
What an amazing game!
Gary Thorne!!! I wish NBC would bring him back for Olympic Hockey in 2018.
They didnt win the gold but they celebrated like they did :D Love it !
KoivuTheHab I actually do understand how big the win was.
KoivuTheHab cause the Habs suck.
KoivuTheHab 2017, but good try.
это ЛУЧШАЯ игра нашей сборной!!))) вперед БЕЛАРУСЬ!!))))
I will never forget this... coming home and turning on the game, I thought that the score was wrong on the tv. It wasn't.
one of my favourite moments in all of olympics and ice hockey both
its the worst moment in my life.
@@AlexanderStahl-sy6js good
Sundin, Lidstrom, Naslund, Alfredsson. How did this even happen??
***** Haha. Touche...
Two words, Tommy Salo. 4 goals on 18 shots.
***** The whole team collapsed, not just Salo. Everyone relied on someone else to do the work.
It's not like Salo happened, Team Sweden happened. This game should have been over way before. Sweden should have run up the score to unreachable heights before that goal.
Robert Arnott Thats about 7 words
I'll never forget this game...
Might be the greatest upset in hockey history
it is
This game & the USA-USSR "Miracle on Ice" game have some similarities.
a) The score of both games was 4-3
b) Both games saw a fluke goal involving a bad mistake by the goalie. In 1980, Soviet goalie Vladislav Tretiak misplayed a shot from center ice in the final seconds of the 1st period, allowing a long rebound that Mark Johnson scored on. It was a huge turning point.
c) Both games were in the USA.
d) The USSR (in 1984) and Sweden (2006) came back & won gold in the next Olympics.
This is the first time I've seen this in over 8 years - I was down for months after this happened. I was really expecting them to win this tournament. Remember, Team Sweden had a really strong team on paper and they beat team canada 5-2, the czechs 2-1 and germany 7-1 in the prelims. The star players were performing well up until this game too, with Sundin taking home the scoring title despite being eliminated this early and Lids had more points than any other defenseman as well.
What an upset
Thanks for posting, i could not find this video, great memories!!!
The biggest upset in Olympic hockey history, period.
I guess so if you don't count the U.S.A. upsetting the Russians.
No, this is bigger than the United States beating the Soviets.
NightHawk12to81 Not really, the USSR team was considered to be easily the best in the world. The USA team that beat them was a bunch of 19-21YO college kids. Sweden was not the best team in the world and the Belarus team was made up of professionals, only one player on the entire Belarus team was under 24YO
Sweden was made up of NHL players entirely, while Belarus was mostly made up of minor leaguers and had no NHL players. The only Swede who had yet to play in the NHL at the time was Henrik Zetterberg. That's a far bigger upset.
The USSR's superiority was greatly overstated by the media, who weren't paying attention at all in pool play when both Canada and Finland battled the Soviets deep into the third period with college kids of their own. The Soviets were vulnerable, and people missed it because there was no internet in 1980. It's a nice story and a big upset, but the Soviets losing to the best American college players wasn't nearly as big as it's been made to be. Thirteen of those players ended up in the NHL. Nine players total from Belarus have ever played in the NHL, as in during the country's entire history. By any unbiased measure, Belarus over Sweden is a much bigger upset.
Agreed. And I couldn't be happier that it happened. With Sweden gone, Belarus had to play Canada in the semifinals. That made our trip to the gold medal final that much easier.
Andrei Mezin is truly a tale of an underdog. He would have deserved a medal in his career but never had the team in front of him to do it.
Everyone here says they feel bad about Salo. I feel bad about team Belarus, they won the game and everybody just talked about Salo. How would you feel? Also, I wanted them to win medal after this, this could have been their last chance. Respect from Slovakia.
zaujimavy postreh.
tiez ma nieco podobné napadlo, ale Salo bol v tej dobe s Hasekom najlepsi brankár preto to bola senzácia ze taky hrac nevie ci to pustit nad bránu, ci to vyrazit hlavou ci to chytat do lapacky, tak spravil nieco medzi.
Priklánam sa na stranu tych co si myslia ze to bola Salova chyba, hoci Mezin bol tiez dost dobry.
Tommy Salo was a great goalkeeper. 0.78 goals per match in WC 1998.
as a finnish man this is still my all time favourite porn video in 2022
I watched Mezin many times, including while he helped win the 1996 Colonial Cup.
This was the begininning of the end of Tommy Salo's career. He was never the same afterward.
The Swedish coach was so confident they would beat Belarus, he scheduled a practice the morning of the game. They were tired.
As a swede, I still think about this day of national shame and tears come to my eyes
almost
Greatest hockey game I've ever seen and greatest upset in Olympic hockey history (and I'm an American). Andrei Mezin played the game of his life. Became a legend in my mind. Feel horrible for Sammy Salo watching this again though.
Tommy Salo *
😂
@Exotnik
this win was a big thrill for me, as I live in Flint, Michigan, and Andrei Mezin was our goalie for a minor league championship in 1996 - the Flint Generals.
Belarus just gave Sweden hell again the other day in the Vancouver games, with Mezin having another outstanding game. The Swedes are going to be seeing Andrei in their nightmares for years. How can they not play him every game? I have not seen Koval play nearly as well in net.
My heart is beating as fast as it did in 2002 every time i watch it
The biggest Olympic hockey upset since 1980!
Comeback is real 2021...
this is why not just hockey but sport in general is great!!! in 2006 the swiss beat my Canadian team, maybe even more an upset than this! It hurt but it was still good for the game. But yesterday we got our pride back!!!!
In Sweden's defence at least they made up for this embarrassment by winning at the next olympics in 2006.
+F Dannn They lost to Slovakia on purpose to avoid Canada in the QF.
ardemua Sure, one could argue they lost on purpose in 2006 to avoid Canada, but then again Sweden beat Canada 5-2 in 2002 so you would think they would have felt good about facing Canada again in 2006. I personally don't think any team led by Mats Sundin would ever forfeit a game.
KoivuTheHab Maybe Forsberg was just admitting his effort level and how he individually didn't try, because we all know Forsberg was easily capable of taking over a game and carrying a team himself, ever think of that? perhaps Forsberg didn't try, single handily sabotaging the chemistry on the ice for the rest of his team.
KoivuTheHab Or you just being a bitter Finn looking for something to bash Sweden with?
KoivuTheHab Its speculation, Sundin was the captain of the team and the greatest forward to ever come out of Sweden, he never once said anything like that and if you asked him about that today he would laugh in your face. Forsberg has always been a drama queen, Forsberg has always been a whiner and a baby, for his entire career. He even complained about the refs in Sochi 2014 and said the only reason Sweden lost in Sochi was because of the refs, the guy was a good player on the ice, but off the ice, he doesn't have much credibility, sorry.
Just looking through some old Olympic clips in preparation for Sochi. Canada's win in 2010... Miracle on Ice 1980... Belarus beating Sweden 2002... you know, that stuff.
sweden beat canada 5-2 in 2002
+phillytheflyerable Meh, what relevance does that hold though? Canada lost in a meaningless prelim game, zero relevance. Just because they beat Canada once doesn't mean they were going to beat them again, see 2010 Vancouver Canada vs USA.
Salo played in Utah a couple of years, so it was sad he didn't play as well as he was able.
Sweden played awful this game, not only Salo but the hole fuqing team
This had to have been the biggest wtf moment for every Swedish hockey fan
Kidding mee!!! Mad as hell!
столько эмоций я не испытывала уже давно. этого куража, радости и дружного орания "Беларусь!" в нашем доме не было до этого никогда, да и после этой олимпиады поводов наши спортсмены, к сожалению, не давали.
I'm an American and I love the Swede Fin trash talking on these videos
Belarus played smart hockey this game. I actually still feel a bit bad over it now that I watch it :P . I feel sorry for Salo. Sure, he shouldn't let that last puck in, but he got so much criticism after that, it was ridiculous.
Love the goal horn at 1:07, sounds just like the New York Rangers goal horn.
This was the game that destroyed my TV...
Well it can't all be put on Tommy Salo. Sweden shouldn't be 4-4 against Belarus at that stage of the game. It's a team sport. Goalie mistakes are just more glaring but I bet all the players missed a lot of chances and lost a lot of pucks at crucial times across the whole team.
4-3 Belarus, two- twenty to go!
This was just so right for the Swedish team to wake them up. You can't play half power in crucial games. Serves you right Gladstone Ganders
I was so mad after this you can't imagine!!!!!. But if you going out to a game and think "this is a walk in the park" then youre done, no mather how good your team you have, they that they have won it before they even starting to play it. Damn..
Lightning struck twice, this time against Germany
Yea, it's fucking embarrassing!!
As a swedish hockey freak, I actually cried that day ^^
They had all match to win it. Belarus came to quarterfinal with score 3:22. They should easily lead 5:0 in The third period and smile about that goal till today.
my right ear loved this video
Tommy Salo was never the same after that
i was 9, parents let me stay up late and watch the game..... i was probably the happiest kid on earth that night
This was the day I destroyed my TV. I lifted it up and threw out of the window of my apartment on the third floor. And it wasnt a flat screen TV.
I remember this game/goal. Like what Don Cherry always says: "Just put it on the net and good things happen."
thank you.
your volume is low however, as i needed to max the speakers.
ESPN better bring back Gary Thorne.
We're stuck with Leah Hextall lmao
0:41 penalty?
"I thought he was going to cry" JD is a g
Thank you for giving Canada such an easy Bye to the finals :)
6:16 would have been goal without that belarus player catching it mid air
dude !!!!!!! WHERE DID YOU FIND THIS ? WHERE DID YOU GET THIS ENTIRE GAME?
I remember hearing this on radio and thinking just wow, who would of thought.
@jazzguitar2010 if this wasnt a miricle then i dont know what is
If we knew before the game Belarus would score one lucky goal we would still expect Sweden to win .Don't blame Salo.
The goalie would of scored with 3 seconds left.
No, the miracle is that Finland even made it to the quarterfinals in olympics 2002.
Man, Gary Thorne, couldn't ask for a better announcer in this situation.
I'm watching this 2014 and still can't believe it. what is sundin and alfredsson doing playing box play???
Well we learned something after this, Quarter final all that matters and forward. 2006 we lost the two opening games and got home with the gold. Sad for Salo he made so many good games for Sweden before this one, in the WC final 1998 he did not let in an single goal in the two Final games.
I'm from Belarus and I live in Sweden, moved over here in March 2002... xD the worst year of my life!!!
Belarus' own Miracle on Ice. :D
Salo the goalie got the blame, no one remembers that Salo got sweden the gold in 1994. But this is what people here remember him for. I was looking for clips from the games that sweden won in this tournament and then i stumbled upon this. Its still very very painful for me as a swede to watch it.
Biggest upset in hockey history. Period
4:28 WTF what guy doing on tribune!!!
The team definitely should've played better as a whole. A fluke goal like that against Belarus shouldn't be decisive. it was so unfair to pin all the blame on Salo.
"citizen773": There's something I noticed about Sweden in Olympic hockey (I'm Canadian, by the way). The last five consecutive olympics (maybe more) Sweden has either lost in the quarter finals or won gold.
The Soviets may have been a bigger force in 1980 than Sweden was in 2002 (remember though that Sweden went very strong in the group stage, even beating the becoming champions Canada), but then they also met a stronger side than Belarus. By the time the U.S met that great Soviet team things had happened in the first group stage that you wouldn't have expected either, so that whole "a bunch of college players" thing is obviously slightly tweaked to fit the typical Hollywood way of seeing things. Had this been a semi or a final where Belarus had previously sent through other big teams, then yes, it wouldn't have been as huge of a historical upset. But they just barely made it to the quarterfinals and that was as far as they could go. The U.S is one of the biggest hockey nations in history, and though they were not as good back then as nowadays they were still not a mickey mouse team. Belarus kinda was. So I think this clearly wins the "title" as the biggest upset.
Couldn't agree more with you and I'm an american.
Mezin the best!
Recently, largest media here in Swe (Aftonbladet) had big interview with Salo.
He still suffer from this.
Seriously, actually.
why is it a day of shame? Belarus is a Soviet school strong hockey team. They won as brave men.
Happy anniversary!!!!
I was seven years old when this happened. I swear to god this game wiped out the love for hockey for countless young Swedish talents. I would be in the NHL today if not for this game. This tournament should´ve been a gold, easily one of the greatest rosters in the history of sports. This made it an even greater upset
Henrik Nilsson "I would be in the NHL" lol fuck off
***** I respect your honesty
Looking at the replay: If Salo doesn't jump, does that puck go top shelf?
wow thanks!
10 years ago every Finn lolled
Biggest upset since Lake Placid.
All he had to do was let the shot go past and hit the glass but no, he tried to catch it...
No jo, ale jak mohl Salo v ten okamžik ze svého pohledu s určitostí odhadnout,kam přesně to nahození míří ? Nám na tom videozáznamu se to kouká...
Always forget.
ALWAYS. FORGET.
Salo is still one of the best Swedish goalies ever. Sure, he fucked up in this particular game, but so did the rest of the team - and if Salo had made that mistake with Sweden being up 5-0 or something towards the end of the 3rd period (which before the game seemed far more likely than 3-3, a result indicating a sub-par performance by the whole team and not just the keeper) nobody would have given a damn. It was just the worst timing ever.
Put the blame on salo all you want but just remember they had sundin, alfredsson, naslund, and lidstrom all out on the ice at one point. They still couldn’t score…
i cried that day! :O
God this is epic.
Touchy touchy...
I did cry for Team Sweden :'(.
Tommy Salo has watched this twice.
He got dazed for a second by a hard slapshot in the head.
1:00- Salo fails on a shot from center ice
@abatch12 and what was the first?
hmm, not sure why that happened. I see what you mean though.