More than a game

President’s hockey team secures its first win of the new season in the Republican Hockey League

The President’s hockey squad opened the 19th season of the Republican Hockey League (RHL) with a victory. They defeated the Mogilev Region team by 9–3. The spectacular matchup drew a full house at the Minsk’s Olympic Arena, and while the array of sharp moments and goals kept fans on the edge, there was plenty more in store for the spectators.

President and his team                                                                                                                                                   belta

The President’s team opened the scoring in the third minute, with Aleksei Yefimenko finding the net. Two minutes later, Mogilev’s players equalised the score after Matvei Vinkevich’s precise shot, but midway through the first period Nikolai Lukashenko put the President’s team ahead again, and 15 seconds before the intermission Nikita Drozdov extended the hosts’ lead — they went to the break, up 3–1.
“We have been missing the competition immensely!” Nikita Drozdov admitted during the intermission. He revealed that during the off-season the players continued training, convening twice a week. The Presidents’ objective is serious — only victories, and the players intend to give their all.
Mogilev Region’s team forward Aleksandr Materukhin noted that playing against the President’s team is always tough: the line-up features players who have competed at a high level and are currently delivering high-quality hockey. Nevertheless, the Mogilev team was determined to put up a fight against the eminent opponent. Early in the second period, they twice found the net of the President’s team, with goals by Matvei Vinkevich and Leonid Olkhovoi. Yet, the score did not stay equal for long: first Aleksei Baranov troubled the Mogilev team’s goaltender, followed by Andrei Mikhalyov and Yaroslav Chupris, and Artyom Karkotsky added another goal at the end of the period. In the final stanza, Mogilev’s players were unable to close the gap, while the President’s squad struck twice more: first Nikolai Lukashenko came up trumps, then Oleg Antonenko set the final score.
The players from both teams acknowledged the special atmosphere at the Olympic Arena and thanked the fans for their support. For the spectators, the organisers prepared a host of attractions: performances, contests, and the first-ever drawing of a unique puck and a club bearing an autograph from the President! In keeping with tradition, after the match the crowd went home with dozens of plush toys received from players of the Head of State’s team.

    

BY THE WAY

For the Mogilev Region team, this match marks their second loss in the new season of the Republican Hockey League: earlier they had fallen to the Gomel Region’s players, with a score 2–4. Earlier in the tournament, two other matches took place: the Minsk Region team decisively defeated the opponents from Gomel Region (10–1), while the Brest Region squad routed the Vitebsk players (21–1). 

By Tatiana Pastushenko