Mazzotti and other federationofficials combed the rosters of U.S. major and minor-league teams in search of Spanish-sounding last names, though finding players with Spanish roots was much more difficult.
Discussions were set for Thursday and Friday between the NHL, the NHL players' association, andofficials from the International Ice Hockey Federationand the International Olympic Committee to see if it makes sense for North American professional hockey players to go to the Olympics for a fifth straight time.
The threat came on a day filled with more heated rhetoric from Department of Education and United Federation of Teachers officials, who had spent the previous 24 hours arguing over who was to blame for the demise of negotiations.