GANGNEUNG, South Korea (AP) — With the nation's most accomplished hockey player standing behind the bench as coach and curator of the moment, South Korea celebrated the first Olympic men's hockey game in its history Thursday night in front of a flag-waving crowd cheering nearly every moment.
Hosting the Olympics was step one of a long process of getting Korean hockey up to par to even play at this tournament, which was the job of two-time Stanley Cup-winner Jim Paek. The Seoul-born Paek, who moved to Canada when he was 1, expected to be filled with every possible emotion at reaching this stage.