Viktor Konovalenko
Viktor Sergeevich Konovalenko 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.
Konovalenko played his entire career from 1956–72 for Torpedo Gorky ; he never won a national title, and once placed second. 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.
