Former Soviet Union Olympic hockey coach Viktor Tikhonov died Monday. He was 84 years old.
According to the Russian Hockey Federation, Tikhonov died in a Moscow hospital after a long illness.
Tikhonov led his teams to three Olympic gold medals, but may best be remembered as the coach of the Soviet team that lost to the "Miracle on Ice" United States squad at the 1980 Olympics and wound up with a silver medal in Lake Placid.
Known as the "Red Machine," the Soviets won Olympic gold under Tikhonov in 1984 and '88, then again in 1992 as the Unified Team following the breakup of the Soviet Union.
Tikhonov's teams also won eight World Championship titles from 1978 through 1990, and also beat NHL stars in the 1979 Challenge Cup and 1981 Canada Cup tournaments.
[SportsNetwork.com]
