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Robert Reichel News Conference from Feb. 8, 2002Posted: Friday February 08, 2002 3:26 PMRobert Reichel is playing in his 11th NHL season after spending two years in the Czech Republic playing for Litvinov. In 56 games with the Maple Leafs he has 12 goals and 21 assists for 33 points. The three-time World Champion will be competing at his second Olympic Games in Salt Lake City. In 1998 in Nagano, he was a member of the Gold medal-winning Czech Republic team and scored the only goal in the dramatic shootout win over Canada in the semifinal game. There is also the possibility that Robert will be competing against his younger brother Martin in Salt Lake City. Martin plays for the German Olympic team, who are participating in the qualification tournament starting tomorrow night. If Germany advances to the Group of Eight, it will be the second time in Olympic history that brothers have competed against each other in the Olympics in hockey. The other time was in 1960 at Squaw Valley when Frantisek Pikal from the Czech Republic played against brother Zdenek Pikal who competed for Australia. Q: Can you speak about the possibility of playing your brother, how the situation came about, how unusual that might be if you see him in a game? Reichel: Well, it's very tough. I don't know if they will make that second group. You know, it's not the first time I've played against him. You know, I played at the World Championships in 1996 against him, and 1997, too. I've played him a few times. Usually, you know, we just talk after the game. Otherwise, you know, I'm concentrating on my game and hopefully my team is winning. Q: How did the situation come about, him playing for Germany? Reichel: He's been living in Germany for I would say 13 or 14 years. He's German. He's using a German passport. He never played for Czech Republic at any World Championships or European Cups or championship games. That's why he decided to play for Germany, because they offered him to play for the country, and he said he would do that. He decided to play for Germany. Q: A general question on how you feel the Czech Republic will do based on winning the Gold in 1998, if there's a lot of pressure on you or do you feel the pressure might be any different this time around? Reichel: Well, you know, everybody said that at the World Championships, too. We're under pressure, but I'm very positive. You know, our team is very strong. We have good goaltenders. We have a chance to win any medal. There are six teams that could win the Gold medal, but we are one of them. I'm very, very strong, positive going to the tournament because we have lots of players who play on winning teams, on the big ice, too. They just want to win one more time.
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