For the first time, a Belarusian club has won the Euro-Asian Friendship Hockey Cup. And it's "Vitebsk"!
In the final, our compatriots played against the Russian team "Torpedo-Gorky". "Vitebsk" scored two goals in the first period (Vyacheslav Ipatov and Evgeny Astankov). The second period was scoreless, and in the final third, the Russians scored their first reply goal. However, our team did not allow the opponent to score any more, and the game ended with a score of 2:1.
"Vitebsk" achieved what other top teams of the Belarusian championship – "Yunost", "Metallurg", and others – could not do in the history of the tournament.
We remind you that our compatriots took first place in the preliminary stage of the tournament, defeating the Kazakh "Nomad", the Russian "Khimik" from the Moscow region, and "Gomel". In the semi-final match of the decisive stage, Vitebsk defeated "Yunost".
It is worth noting that the opponent in the final includes many players with experience in the KHL (the second strongest hockey league in the world). This makes the victory of our compatriots even more valuable.
Alexander Subbotin congratulated "Vitebsk" on their victory in the Euro-Asian Friendship Cup on his Instagram account.
- Congratulations to our team, our "bears" on an amazing victory!!!! We all cheered for you and proved that we can do anything and even more!! We defeated the cyclone together, won in hockey, and I hope this is just the beginning of a winning streak for the new year!
The best players were determined based on the results of the tournament. Representatives of "Vitebsk" received recognition in three nominations. Moreover, Roman Bobariko was noted in two categories at once – he was recognized as the best goaltender and the most valuable player. Sergey Safin-Tregubov was named the best defenseman.
The team from the northern capital has won its third trophy in its history, all in recent years. Previously, "Vitebsk" won the Saley Cup twice.
Photo by the press service of the Belarusian Ice Hockey Federation.