Yesterday three different countries punched their ticket to the 2018 Winter Olympics hockey tournament. Those countries were Norway, Slovenia, and Germany.
Norway beat France with a late third period goal to win 2-1.
Slovenia defeated Belarus in a shootout.
Germany defeated Latvia with a late power play goal by somebody that should be familiar to Penguins fans. It was Tom Kuhnhackl who played hero and scored the game winning goal
Here is the goal he scored on the doorstep to end Latvia's streak of playing in the Olympic games at three.
Another former Penguins was also happy with the result.
So proud! What a team effort! #Olympics2018 here we come 🇩🇪🇩🇪🇩🇪 #OlympicQualification @DEB_eV @DELoffice @DOSB pic.twitter.com/9w6eZ4DCLP
— Christian Ehrhoff (@TheRealHoff10) September 4, 2016
The strange part about Tom's achievement is that he may not bear the fruits of his labor. The NHL has yet to commit to sending its players to the 2018 games.
While Tom Kuhnhackl will never put a dent in his father Erich's scoring numbers for Germany (76 GP, 47 goals, 90 points) he will always be able to say that it was his goal who returned Germany back into Olympic action after missing out in 2014.
Thanks for reading!