When the puck drops at the Salt Lake Olympics, there will be a familiar face on the bench of the home team. Herb Brooks, who coached the 1980 U.S. men's team to one of the most improbable upsets in Olympic history — maybe sports history — returns to take the reigns again. But unlike the team of budding amateurs that miraculously defeated a seemingly invincible Soviet squad, Brooks leads a team of standouts from the National Hockey League into the 2002 Games.

Know the rules
There are some notable differences between Olympic ice hockey rules and NHL rules.

1. Icing
Icing occurs when a player sends the puck from his or her side of the center line to the other goal line. In the NHL, icing is waived off if the player's teammate touches the puck before the other team. In the Olympics, icing is called as soon as the puck crosses the goal line. Play resumes with a faceoff in the defensive zone of the team that iced the puck.

2. Rink The Olympic hockey rink is wider than NHL rinks and has more room between the goal line and the boards.

3. Zero tolerance for fighting
Don't expect to see NHL-style brawls. In Olympic hockey, fighting is penalized with automatic ejection.

Just back off
Maybe the most important distinction between Olympic hockey and NHL hockey is in the crease.

Ones to watch
Canada has dominated women's ice hockey, winning all seven world championships. At the 1998 Nagano Olympics, however, it was the Americans who prevailed, with a stunning 3-1 victory over Canada in the gold medal game. The U.S. team has enjoyed recent success in the rivalry, stringing together five straight wins over the Canadians in 2001. The teams enter the Salt Lake Games as the clear favorites to battle for the gold.

Sources: International Olympic Committee; U.S. Olympic Committee; Salt Lake Organizing Committee

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS