Hockey team of Belarus’ President celebrated another spectacular victory
Matches of the Republican Hockey League are gaining an increasing popularity, and Minsk’s Olympic Arena – which hosts home matches of the President's team is always full of fans. February 15th was no exception: the squad of the Head of State met on ice with the Minsk Region’s team to eventually win in a tough struggle – 3:2.
The teams’ face-to-face confrontation followed their previous brilliant performance: each won four times in four matches. The hockey players of the Minsk Region have long established themselves as a serious force. Suffice it to recall that it was they who played against the President's team for the title of champions in the final series last April. The team of the Head of State won (5:2) in the opening match of the ‘golden series’ then, and – in their return match – the hockey players of the Minsk Region did their best but failed to defeat the favourite: the President's team was again stronger, 10:8, becoming a 15-time winner of the republican amateur tournament.
As it’s seen, this season has not changed the situation, and a keen desire of the Minsk Region’s team to take revenge led to no success. The match at the Olympic Arena was actually called ‘a behind-the-scenes final’, and it fully met all expectations. It was truly wonderful, spectacular and uncompromising. There were many attacks during the match, and the fans were happy.
The atmosphere in the Olympic Arena stands deserves special mention. They were absolutely packed: the fans enthusiastically and loudly supported both teams. As always, there were a lot of young people, they said they had come from the neighbouring districts of Minsk. Of course, they did not regret it. The fans were not bored during the breaks either: even major tournaments may envy the entourage reigning at the ice arena – with numerous shows, entertainments, and prize draws.
Prior to that match, the Minsk Region team had lost the least in the tournament: only six times in four matches. Its hockey players have filled their gates with reinforced concrete – as noted by famous commentator Vladimir Novitsky whose familiar, cheerful voice again sounded in the arena, helping the audience keep abreast of all events and not miss a single detail. The most attacking team of the championship, the President's squad, had to break into the redoubts of the Minsk Region players. Prior to that match, the team of the Head of State had hit the opponent's goal 33 times, on average scoring more than eight times per game. Amazing performance! The question of who would defeat whom haunted the hockey fans until the end of the match: no one wanted to concede.
The first half of the opening period was full of mutual attacks and high speeds. The hosts, however, immediately asserted their rights, and the guests’ goalkeeper, Maksim Shchepko, had to work hard: together with the defence, he managed to cope with all the attacks of the reigning champions for ten minutes, but the eleventh one turned out to be fatal: after the passes of Nikolai Lukashenko and Artem Karkotsky, Aleksei Yefimenko opened the score — 1:0. Before the end of the first 20 minutes, the Minsk Region team players had many chances to win back, but the goalkeeper of the President's team, Stepan Goryachevskikh, performed perfectly.
Such a match is actually a brilliant of any tournament. Waves of dashing attacks alternately rolled over both halves of the rink. Aleksandr Kudryavtsev equalised the score, but Maksim Parfeyevets (after a pass from Nikolai Lukashenko) put the hosts ahead again — 2:1. Almost immediately, Nikita Drozdov performed an incredible solo on the ice that made the audience gasp! Pavel Datsyuk's spirit seemed to have entered the striker of the Minsk Region team: he outplayed several rivals, broke through to the goal and sent the puck behind Stepan Goryachevskikh with an elusive stick movement – bringing the score to a draw again! It was only in the very last moments of the match that Aleksey Yefimenko managed to tip the scales on the side of the President's team — 3:2. The intensity of emotions was amazing!
As is traditional, the teams stayed on the ice for a long time after the match, and the fans received many soft presents from the President. The match did not leave anyone indifferent, and – while leaving the stands – people were loudly sharing their emotions, once again experiencing and savouring the most spectacular moments. However, Vladislav Kudryavtsev, an ordinary boy from Soligorsk, will remember that day and that match the most. He came to the Olympic Arena with a simple homemade poster with his dream written on: ‘I want the President's stick’. Vladislav later said that it’s his hobby to collect sticks and pucks but he hardly seriously expected that his collection on that day would be replenished with such a significant and most valuable exhibit. Aleksandr Lukashenko, when skating near the boy during the match, fulfilled his dream: the Head of State handed his stick to the young hockey fan. After the match, Vladislav held the present tightly in his hands – as if it was the greatest treasure. His face was beaming with happiness…
