Viktor Konovalenko

Viktor Sergeevich Konovalenko (11 March 1938 – 20 February 1996) was a Soviet ice hockey goaltender. He led the Soviet team to the Olympics gold medals in 1964 and 1968, to the IIHF World Championships title in 1963–1968, 1970 and 1971, and to the European title in 1963–68 and 1970. He was named the most valuable player in the Soviet league in 1970 and was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2007.[1]

This article is about the hockey player Viktor Konovalenko. For the Ukrainian/Russian gem sculptor, see Vasily_Konovalenko.

Viktor Konovalenko
Born	(1938-03-11)11 March 1938 Gorky, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Died	20 February 1996(1996-02-20) (aged 57)
Height	5 ft 6 in (168 cm)
Weight	163 lb (74 kg; 11 st 9 lb)
Position	Goaltender
Caught	Left
Played for	Torpedo Gorky
National team	Soviet Union
Playing career	1956–1972
Medal record Representing the  Soviet Union Olympic Games 1964 Innsbruck Team 1968 Grenoble Team World Championships 1961 Switzerland Team 1963 Sweden Team 1964 Innsbruck Team 1965 Finland Team 1966 Yugoslavia Team 1967 Austria Team 1968 Grenoble Team 1970 Sweden Team 1971 Switzerland Team

Konovalenko played his entire career from 1956–72 for Torpedo Gorky (now Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod); he never won a national title, and once placed second (in 1961). As a goaltender of the Soviet team he replaced Nikolai Puchkov, and in 1971, he was succeeded by Vladislav Tretyak. In retirement he worked as a goaltender coach with Torpedo Gorky and later became director of the Torpedo Gorky sports arena, which was renamed to the Konovalenko Sports Palace after his death.[1]

References

1. Viktor Konovalenko. sports-reference.com

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics from Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com
• Viktor Konovalenko at CCCP International
• A to Z Encyclopedia of Ice Hockey

Preceded by Anatoli Firsov	Soviet MVP 1970	Succeeded by Anatoli Firsov