Boston Bruins

Bruins Players Return To Utah For First Time Since ’02 Olympics

Published

5 months ago

October 19, 2024

AP Photo/Lawrence Jackson

The Boston Bruins are going where no Bruins team has gone before as they’ll play their first-ever game in Salt Lake City, Utah, tonight, taking on the upstart Utah Hockey Club.

But even though it’s the first time the Bruins will play in Utah as a team, some of their players have been there before.

Twenty-two years ago, a few members of the Bruins played on the international stage, competing in the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City.

Bill Guerin:

Born in Worcester, Bill Guerin played for both his hometown team and his country in 2002.

Skating in his second Olympics, Guerin had four goals in six games and was the second-leading scorer for the United States.

His first goal of the tournament capped off a 6-0 USA win over Finland in the first round. He then had two more in an 8-1 victory against Belarus.

Facing Russia in the semi-final, Guerin’s goal on the power play in the first period helped the United States prevail, 3-2. But in the gold medal game, he was held off the scoresheet as the United States fell to Canada, 5-2.

In 78 games for the Bruins that year, Guerin led the team with 41 goals and totaled 66 points in what was his only full season in Boston.

Brian Rolston:

Joining Guerin on the United States roster was his Bruins teammate, Brian Rolston.

Not so much a goal scorer during the tournament, Rolston was a playmaker with three assists in six games.

He had the primary helper on Scott Young’s opening goal against Finland and then added two more against Belarus, connecting with Andy Deadmarsh for a shorthanded score before setting up Guerin for his second goal of the game.

That season was one of five that Rolston spent with the Bruins in his career. He had 31 goals and 31 assists while appearing in all 82 games.

Sergei Samsonov:

To get to the Gold Medal Game, Rolston and Guerin had to go through Bruins blue liner Sergei Samsonov, who had three points during the tournament for Russia.

It was his score that put the Russians on the board first in an eventual 6-4 win over Belarus in the first round. Then, against the United States, Samsonov had the secondary assist on Sergei Fedorov’s go-ahead goal in the third period before Brett Hull evened the tally, leading to a 2-2 tie.

Fedorov helped the Russians win bronze that year. With the Bruins, he was the team’s leading scorer, scoring 70 points with 29 goals.

P.J. Axelsson:

Playing for the Swedes, P.J. Axelsson didn’t win a medal like his Bruins teammates during the ’02 Olympics.

He also didn’t make much of an impact, failing to register a point before Sweden was swiftly eliminated from the tournament in four games.

Still, he was a vital role player for a Bruins team that won the Northeast Division that year, scoring 24 points with seven goals in 78 games.

Perhaps, though, P.J.’s performance in ’02 pushed him when he returned to the Olympics four years later in Turin, Itlay. With six points, including three goals and three assists, Axelsson and Sweden took home the gold.