MINSK, 21 March (BelTA) – Belarusian president’s team has become the first finalist of the current season of the Republican Hockey League (RHL), BelTA has learned.
Today, on 21 March, at the Olympic Arena in Minsk, the head of state’s squad defeated the Brest Oblast team in the semifinals, 3-1 (2-1, 1-0, 0-0).
Following a draw in the regular season match (5-5), both opponents were eager to win and advance to the final. The president’s team was the one who managed to do so. The hosts took control from the start of the first period, and Oleg Antonenko gave them the lead at the 6th minute. But less than a minute later, Nikolai Mironchik leveled the score. Still, the president’s team went into the intermission ahead: Pavel Volchek scored to make it 2-1, and early in the second period, Maksim Parfeyevets extended the advantage to 3-1. Despite efforts from both sides in the final period, the scoreboard did not change.
The best players of today’s match were the winners’ goalkeeper Stepan Goryachevskikh and Brest Oblast defenseman Yaroslav Maslenikov.
In the second semifinal game, the hockey players of Minsk Oblast will face off against the Gomel Oblast team.
In the preliminary stage, the president’s team secured victories over the hockey players of Mogilve Oblast (9-3), Gomel Oblast (12-2), Grodno Oblast (10-5) and Vitebsk Oblast (12-6), while two other games ended in draws with identical scores of 5-5: against the teams of Brest Oblast and Minsk Oblast.
Last season, the head of state’s squad won the competition for the 16th time, defeating the hockey players of Minsk Oblast in the final series. The teams of Gomel Oblast and Minsk Oblast have one title each.
The organizers of the amateur hockey tournament are the President’s Sports Club, the Sports Ministry and the Minsk City Executive Committee.
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