MINSK, 14 February (BelTA) – For the second time, the Belarus President’s team have drawn a match in the Republican Hockey League (RHL), BelTA has learned.
Today at the Olympic Arena in Minsk, the head of state’s squad tied with the Minsk Oblast team – 5-5 (0-1, 4-3, 1-1).
The clash between the two finalists of last season was, as expected, very tense and kept fans on the edge of their seats until the very last seconds. Less than a minute after the start of the game, Sergei Kostitsyn found the back of the net against the President’s team. However, despite the efforts of both sides, no more goals were scored before the break. But right after the start of the second third of the match, the elder of the Kostitsyn brothers, Andrei, levelled the score at 1-1. After that, the opponents took turns scoring and went into the second intermission with the score tied at 4-4. In the final period, neither team was willing to give in, and the sides exchanged goals: Artem Antonenko first gave the hosts the lead, but with four minutes left on the clock, Aleksandr Lukashevich leveled the game to make it 5-5.
Andrei and Sergei Kostitsyn were named the best players of today’s encounter.
In the previous games of the current season, the President’s team defeated opponents from Mogilev Oblast with a score of 9-3, then played a draw with hockey players from Brest Oblast 5-5, then beat the squads from Gomel Oblast 12-2 and Grodno Oblast 10-5. The President’s team now has 8 points, the same number as the Gomel team, who have played one game more.
Last season, the head of state’s squad became the winner of these competitions 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 Presidential Sports Club, the Sports Ministry, and the Minsk City Executive Committee.
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