Sad news ... South Korean hockey player Cho Min-ho -- who scored the first-ever goal for the country's Olympic team in 2018 -- has passed away after battling cancer.
He was only 35.
The International Ice Hockey Federation confirmed Min-Ho's passing in a statement on Wednesday -- saying the forward died at a Seoul hospital after an eight-month battle with lung cancer.
"The Korean ice hockey family will remember him not only as a great player," IIHF officials said, "but also as a great human and leader on and off the ice.