Dave Lewis’ trainees celebrated two victories across two matches. At the start of the tournament Belarusians defeated their rivals from France — 5:2 — and beat the national team of Germany in the tough struggle on the final day of the competitions. At first the hosts of the ground took the lead 2:1 but then Germans managed to equalise the score in the middle of the third period — 2:2. After the missed puck the Belarusians needed less than a minute to set up the final score 3:2, with the goal scored by Alexander Pavlovich. The national ice hockey team of Belarus has won the Cup of Three Nations, followed by Germany and France.
Dave Lewis’ trainees primed for victory in Olympic qualification
The tournament became an important preparation stage for Dave Lewis’ trainees before the Olympic qualification — due to take place at Minsk-Arena from September 1st-4th. Four squads in Group D — Belarus, Slovenia, Poland and Denmark — will compete for a single ticket to the 2018 Winter Olympic Games.
The national ice hockey team of Belarus took part in the Olympics three times (in 1998 Nagano, in 2002 Salt Lake City and in 2010 Vancouver). Meanwhile, the national team performed four times in the Olympic qualifying tournaments: in 1997 and in 2001, Belarusians secured their berth in the Olympic Games of 1998 and 2002 while, in 2005 and in 2013, they finished second, thus losing the right to perform at the Olympiads in Latvia and Slovenia.
By Kirill Karin
