GANGNEUNG, South Korea (AP) — Pavel Francouz never played in the NHL, let alone won six Vezina Trophies.
Yet Francouz is following in the Olympic footsteps of legendary countryman Dominik Hasek.
Twenty years after the "Dominator" stopped all five shooters to eliminate Canada on the way to the Czech Republic winning gold in Nagano, the little-known goaltender teammates call "Francik" stopped all five to beat the United States and put his country into the semifinals for the first time since 2006. As a Czech reporter said, Francouz hasn't earned "Dominator" status — yet.
He's well on his way.