News & Events in Belarus

Belarus President’s Team win Christmas ice hockey tournament

MINSK, 8 January (BelTA) - The Belarus President's Team won the 16th edition of the Christmas Amateur Ice Hockey Tournament for the Prize of the President of the Republic of Belarus by beating Team Russia 4-1 (1-0,1-1, 2-0) in the final on 7 January, BelTA has learned.

Hockey matches between and Russia at the Christmas tournament always draw a great interest among spectators. This time the match was no exception. The host’s Aleksei Baranov opened the scoring, with Mikhail Grabovski adding in the second period. The Russians responded with a goal by Konstantin Kosyanchuk.

The third period saw the wait-and-see tactics, as hockey players of both teams tried to exclude errors in their play. However, Team Russia were more active, making more attempts on the net. But it was the Belarusians who scored on PP. Aleksander Kulakov, with assist from Igor Brikun, scored on the 16th minute of the third period. Andrei Glebov strengthened the advantage of the president's ice squad to 4-1, which was the final score in the match.

Aleksei Sergievsky of Team Russia and Igor Brikun of the Belarusian team were named best players of the final. The awards to the hockey players were presented by Belarus’ Sport and Tourism Minister Sergei Kovalchuk.

Both teams did well in the preliminary stage. The Belarusian President's Team beat IIHF Team (11-3), the United States (9-3) and UAE Team (9-5) in the semifinals.

The Belarus president team has captured the 13th title of the Christmas international tournament (2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019). Team Russia is a three-time champion (2007, 2011 and 2015).

The organizers of the tournament are the President’s Sports Club, the Belarusian Ice Hockey Federation, the Sports and Tourism Ministry, and the Minsk City Hall.

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