MINSK, 17 February (BelTA) – Belarus President’s Team beat Grodno Oblast Team, 10-4, at Olympic Arena in Minsk on 17 February to extend their winning streak to five in the Belarusian Extraleague, BelTA has learned.
The visitors started well with a number of quick attacks, but it was Belarus President’s Team which opened the scoring through Artyom Antonenko. Maxim Parfeyevets added one more just before the first hooter.
Early in the middle stanza, the tournament's top scorer Andrei Kostitsyn scored the third one, with an assist from Aleksandr Lukashenko. A little later Andrei Kostitsyn, again with an assist from Aleksandr Lukashenko, scored his second of the game. Then Artyom Karkotsky completed his solo run with an accurate shot, and only after that Vyacheslav Lisichkin got a chance to put Grodno Oblast Team on the scoreboard. Just a little later Nikolai Lukashenko put another one in to extend the advantage to 6-1.
The final period saw the teams trade seven more goals. Andrei Kostitsyn, Nikolai Lukashenko, Aleksei Shantyka and Oleg Antonenko scored for the winners, while the Grodno team responded with goals by Vyacheslav Lisichkin, Maxim Skiba and Alexander Kovshik.
Artyom Karkotsky and Maxim Skiba have been recognized the best players of the match. The prizes were presented by the 2004 Olympics bronze medalist, eight-time world champion in track cycling, Honored Master of Sports Natallia Tsylinskaya.
During the breaks between the periods the audiences were entertained by Belarusian pop singers. The most active fans took part in exciting competitions on the ice rink. The winners were awarded the prizes from the Presidential Sports Club. Traditionally, after the end of the game, the fans received dozens of toys from the players of Belarus President's Team.
This season, the presidential squad defeated Brest Oblast Team (7-2), Minsk Oblast Team (9-4), Gomel Oblast Team (12-6), and was also stronger than Mogilev Oblast Team (8-4). The top scorers list is led by Andrei Kostitsyn, who has 15 points (9 goals and 6 assists).
The presidential team is a 14-time winner of the national amateur ice hockey tournament. Gomel Oblast Team and Minsk Mogilev Oblast Team have one title each. In the final last season, Belarus President's Team beat Minsk Oblast Team twice 6-1 and 6-4. Bronze medal went to Brest Oblast Team who defeated Gomel Oblast in the third-place match 5-3.
The organizers of the national amateur ice hockey tournament are the Presidential Sports Club, the Sport and Tourism Ministry and the Minsk City Executive Committee.
