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Posted: Sat February 7, 1998 at 1:48 p.m. EST BELARUS 4, FRANCE 0 -------------------Andrei Mezin turned aside all 18 shots he faced and four different players scored goals as Belarus spoiled Herb Brooks' return to the Olympics with a 4-0 victory over France in Nagano. Brooks, who is coaching France, suffered his first loss in Olympic competition. He last coached in the Olympics in 1980 at Lake Placid, when he guided the United States to a 6-0-1 record and a stunning gold medal run. The victory puts Belarus in a tie with Germany atop the Group B standings. The two teams meet Monday with the winner moving closer to a berth in the championship round. Mezin made eight saves in the opening period and Viktor Karatchoun scored the only goal Mezin would need at the 15:06 mark. Vadim Bekboulatov made it 2-0 with 68 seconds left in the second period and Alexei Kazyuzhny and Andrei Skabelka added third period goals. Skabelka scored while Belarus had a 5-on-3 advantage with 6:50 to play. It was the only goal Belarus could manage in 13 power-play situations. France was whistled for 14 penalties, all minors, and played almost half the game one man short. Christobal Huet stopped 32 shots for France, which next faces Japan on Monday.
© 1998 Sportsticker Enterprises, LP
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