When the 2002 Winter Olympics open in Salt Lake City, the ice-hockey big-timers will be watching with some apprehension for the arrival of a big hockey team from a small European country.

They will remember the 1998 Nagano showdown, where the Czech Republic with their 'sheet-of-plywood-with-a-mask-on' goalkeeper won the gold and stunned both the U.S. and Canadian NHL`s All-Star Teams, before going on to defeat the Russians in the finals.

But, there is more behind this triumph of Czech hockey than meets the eye. Only veterans of the sport and the older generations are familiar with the dramatic stages this sport had to endure in that sorely-tried country from the heart of Europe.

The true story goes like this:

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