MINSK, 27 December (BelTA) – Twelve teams will take part in the 15th edition of the Christmas amateur ice hockey tournament for the prize of the President of Belarus in 2019, BelTA learned from the press service of the Belarus Ice Hockey Federation.
The preliminary stage will see the teams split into four groups of three apiece. The group winners will qualify for the semifinals. The Belarus president team in Group A will play two matches. On 3 January it will face IIHF Team which will include some NHL players, the world champions Andrei Nikolishin and Dmitri Khristich. The next day, 4 January, the hosts will play take on the Baltics Team which will comprise Lithuanian Dainius Zubrus, one of the most famous defenders who played more than 1,000 matches in the NHL.
The national junior ice hockey competition Golden Puck will be co-located with the Christmas tournament. It will feature eight teams in the older age group: six will represent the regions and two Minsk. The final will take place on the small ice rink of Chizhovka Arena on 7 January.
The young players will attend the opening ceremony of the Christmas amateur ice hockey tournament. Winners and prizewinners of the Golden Puck tournament will receive awards from the ice hockey legends during the closing ceremony. The kids will also attend the matches involving the Belarus president team and the KHL games of HC Dinamo Minsk vs Saint Petersburg SKA (4 January) and CSKA Moscow (6 January). They will also visit the Museum of the Great Patriotic War. “We would like to thank General Director of HC Dinamo Minsk Dmitry Baskov who has provided us this opportunity to attend the matches of Minsk Dinamo vs SKA and CSKA. The President Sport Club will traditionally prepare gifts to all the participants and coaches of the Golden Puck tournament,” said Pavel Egorov, an assistant to the head of the President Sport Club.
The participants of the Christmas tournament will take part in the charity event and visit children's home No.7 in Minsk. The institution has already been donated Br32,000. The organizers of the event are the President Sport Club and the Ice Hockey Federation of Belarus.
The Belarus president team is the 11-time winner of the Christmas international tournament (2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2018). Team Russia is a three-time champion (2007, 2011 and 2015).
The participants:
Group A
Belarus
Baltics Team
IIHF Team
Group B
China
Balkans Team
UAE
Group C
Russia
Switzerland
Slovakia
Group D
Germany
Finland
Czechia
Schedule:
3 January
12.30 – Slovakia vs Switzerland (small ice rink)
13.00 – UAE vs Balkans (big ice rink)
17.30 - Opening ceremony(big ice rink)
18.30 – Finland vs Germany (small ice rink)
19.00 – Belarus vs IIHF Team (big ice rink)
4 January
12.30 – Switzerland vs Russia ( small ice rink)
13.00 – China vs UAE (big ice rink)
18.30 – Germany vs Czechia (small ice rink)
19.00 – Baltics Team vs Belarus (big ice rink)
5 January
13.00- Balkans Team vs China (small ice rink)
13.00 – Russia vs Slovakia (big ice rink)
18.30 – Czechia vs Finland (small ice rink)
19.00 – IIHF Team vs Baltics Team (big ice rink)
6 January
Playoffs
The group winners will play in the semifinals at 13.00 and 19.00 on the big ice rink.
7 January
13.00 – Bronze-medal game
18.00 - Final
