European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - February 22, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Dream Dies hard last period goals sink . Despite Leblanc s 50 saves the stars and stripes february 22,1992 c Page 28 by Mike Nadel Meribel France apr Ray Leblanc had the russians exactly where everyone expected them to be. Everywhere. Ana even he  Stop them from being where they always Are a the olympic Gold medal game. The Guys from the sex soviet Union were lurking to his left. Ready at his right. Always always in front of him. Occasionally even behind him anxious to pounce in Case a rebound got through. Slap shots. Quick wristers. Deflections fifty five shots in All. Fifty a count Mem 50 a saves. A we got the same Effort out of him today that we got every Day a Jim Johannson said after fridays 5-2 semifinal loss to the unified team quashed the . Hockey teams dream of a third olympic Gold medal. A we did no to expect anything  Leblanc did no to disappoint. Almost 51 minutes into the game the career minor league goalie who bottles soft drinks in the of season kept soviet shooters ice cold. It was still a 2-2 game. But in the end the Best goalie in the games simply  beat the Best team in the olympics All by himself. The unified team 6-1 advanced to sundays Gold medal game against Canada a 4-2 Winner Over Czechoslovakia. The United states 5-1-1which had been the last undefeated team in the olympics will meet the czechs in saturday nights Bronze medal game. A i did All right a Leblanc said. �?o1 did my Best and i gave an honest Effort and that is All i can  except perhaps for a Little help from his friends. A i liked the Way the United states goalie performed in this game a unified team assistant coach Igor Dmitriev said. A but the outcome of the game is based on a whole team not just the  several american players cried foul saying swedish referee Sven Erik sold got Back at them for tying Sweden in an intense bloody game last monday. The unified team spent 6 minutes 52 seconds on the Power play in the third period. It would have spent More but scored Early on two Power plays including Andrei Keomou Tovy a go ahead goal with 9 05 to play. A the swedes bad mouthed us the whole tournament and then we get a swedish referee a . Captain Clark Donatelli said. A a it san absolute shame when an official can determine the whole third period. Hey the swedes got the Best of us this time. Their team  beat us but their referee did. Its just a shame that the game had to end like  actually the whole game looked like one big unified team Power play. A this is the Best team that we played yet and we did no to have the puck that much a . Forward . Young said a a they re  added american coach Dave Peterson Quot we played with a lot of emotion and when you do that you get some penalties. I think we lost to a very Good team. A team today that was better than we  it seemed like old times for the team without a country and without a name. But these were the russians the ones who won seven olympic Gold medals in their nine tries and yes the ones who were stunned by the Miracle on ice americans in 1980. Except a dare one say a this team might be even better. A blend of old and Young tradition and Youthful enthusiasm. A the soviet team that performed in 1980 had More experience and More Well known players. They overestimated their abilities a Dmitriev said. A in this team see dream on Page 27 Gold medal Winner Kristi Yamaguchi of Fremont calif., soars during her free skating program  hits Gold but misses perfection by Wendy Lane the associated press Albertville France a Kristi Yamaguchi of the United states Wasny to perfect but her routine earned her an olympic Gold medal Friday night. Yamaguchi the . And world Champion completed five triple jumps falling on a triple Loop late in her four minute program but she Drew 5.9s from eight of the nine judges for her artistry. She is the first american woman to win the Gold since Dorothy Hamill in 1976. Yamaguchi of Fremont calif., won the original program Worth one third of the total score wednesday night. Japan a Midori Ito fell on her first triple Axel but hit a second one near the end of the routine and got the Silver. She entered the night in fourth place after falling on a triple Lutz on wednesday night. Nancy Kerrigan of Stoneham mass., in second place after the original program fell on a triple toe Loop and flubbed another jump to wind up with the Bronze medal. Americans Tonya Harding hit the ice on a triple Axel and finished fourth. Frances surya Bonaly attempted a quadruple but it appeared that she did no to make the full four rotations. A fall put her out of medal Contention in fifth place. She entered the free skate in third. All of France was watching Bonaly skate. They got what they expected a lots of triple jumps in the 41-minute free skate from Bonaly Yamaguchi and Kerrigan along with Ito and american Tonya Harding. The Competition was Yamaguchi a to win or lose. If she finished first or second in the free skate the Gold was hers. She finished first All around a i knew the . Had a Strong team coming in and that anything could happen a Yamaguchi said. A it depends on How everyone will do on Friday and Well have to  inside sports sonics extend lakers Streak a Page 22 Spring training gets under Way a Page 26 Sembach women Lead Safe Page 26 nil gives Olaf a boost a Page 27 Walker less sled stands ninth Albertville France a Germany jumped out to the first Day Lead Friday in the four Man bobsled Competition when Wolfgang Hoppe the 1984 Champion and 1988 Silver medallist piloted his sled to a two run time of 1 minute 56.52 seconds narrowly ahead of teams from Austria and Canada. Usa i bolstered by top notch push offs from the last minute replacement for nil running Back Herschel Walker was .76 seconds behind in ninth despite nearly crashing in the first heat. Driver Rand Friday at the games will said fridays excellent Start times a tied for the Best on the first run second on the second run a justified his decision to replace Walker. The top . Sled tied for the third fastest second run but remained a considerable .57 seconds out of third in its quest for the americans first medal since 1956. Usa ii was 14th going into saturdays finals. Elsewhere Italy already buoyed by an unprecedented five medals in nordic ski ing and four in Alpine three of them Gold Friday won Only its second Cross country Gold Ever. Stefania Belmondo attacking at the finish As hundreds of Flag waving italians cheered beat triple Gold medallist Lyubov Egorova of the unified team to win the 30-Kilometer race. Two russian skiers got their fifth medals. Egorova finished the five women a nordic skiing events with three golds and two silvers. Elena Valbe took a fourth Bronze to go with her Gold from the relay team