The U.S. Olympic hockey team, picked in pre-Olympic polls to finish no better than fourth, rolled to a 9-4 victory over Czechoslovakia at Cortina, Italy, Saturday to end up second in the round-robin competition.
Following the American victory, a powerful Russian sextet defeated Canada 2-0 for their fifth straight win of the tourney to capture their sixth gold medal of the games.
The U.S. squad, in amassing their largest score in one game, gained revenge for its earlier 4-3 defeat at the hands of the same Czech team. Bill Cleary, ex-Harvard star, scored his third goal of the tournament during the contest.
Ikola Outstanding Goalie
Another bright spot for the American hockey team was the selection of its goalie, Willard Ikola, as the outstanding goal-tender in the Cortina competition.
The Russians, competing in their first Winter Olympics, won the most championships, six, and took unofficial team honors with 121 points. America won two gold medals and finished sixth with 54 1/2 points.
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