Watching first Belarus hockey game against Finland was somewhat painful and disappointing. Belarus was unable to stop Finland from scoring and failed to create anything significant offensively, registering only 1 goal and a disappointing total of 12 shots. It seemed as though Belarus has lost all hope for making a statement during these Winter Olympic games. Belarus struggled with filling up its roster spots after injuries took out such key players as Andrei Kostitsyn who plays for Montreal Canadiens along side his brother Sergei Kostitsyn. However, Belorussian boys awoke sometime during the 3rd period of the second preliminary game when they faced Sweden. Dmitri Meleshko scored with less than 10 min left in the third period making the gap in goals to a minimum and total score of 3-2, Sweden. Just moments later Belarus kept the pressure up and rang one off the post, making Sweden take an unpleasant trip down memory lane back to 2002. It seems as though the game was taking place in Belarus as the crowed exploded with “Belarus!” chant. Belarus didn’t win that game as Daniel Alfredsson scored for Sweden during final seconds of the game making final score 4-2. However, it seemed like the first time Belarus team finally believed that they could actually compete on Olympic level even with incomplete roster.
Belorussian boys came back on ice yesterday to dominate Germany with final score 5-3 giving Belarus some light at the end of the dark tunnel. After the game Sergei Kostitsyn with a goal and 3 assists became a leader in points for the time being increasing his total to 5 points. Currently tied with Evgeni Malking after Russians lead Group B upsetting Czech republic in a 4-2 win. Aleksei Kalyuzhny scored two goals, Aleksei Ugarov and Ruslan Salei, who currently plays for Colorado Avalanche, both had a goal. Konstantin Koltsov, an ex-Penguin, registered two assists. See Belarus vs Germany highlights here.
However, there are some positive news for Belarus in the near future. Belorussian power forward Andrei Kostitsyn is allowed to return after the injury and play for his county. Andrei could be back wearing Belarus jersey as soon as February 23rd. Here is what Shawn P. Roarke of NHL.com reports:
Montreal forward Andrei Kostitsyn is being allowed to play for Belarus in the Olympics.
Many thought the Olympics were over for Andrei Kostitsyn when he injured his knee on Dec. 31 and had to undergo surgery. But, his rehabilitation is ahead of schedule and, although he has yet to play a game, he has been skating for the past week.
That is enough to convince new Montreal GM Pierre Gauthier to release Andre Kostitsyn to the Belarusian national team, where he will join his brother, Montreal’s Sergei Kostitsyn.
“He knows that he has to follow the protocol established by (team physician David) Mulder, but, if everyone goes according to schedule, he could be playing by Feb. 23 or 24,” Gauthier told Pat Hickey of the Montreal Gazette.
If that date holds, Andrei Kostitsyn would be available to play after pool play concludes on Feb. 21. The qualification round takes place on Feb. 23 and the quarterfinals are the next day.
Gauthier said part of the reason he is letting his injured player go is that he will be able to continue his rehab with the Belarusians. If Andrei Kostitsyn stayed with the Canadiens, he would not be able to take the ice for a week because of the NHL freeze that takes place after Sunday’s games.
Thanks to Liana B for this photo featuring old Belorussian national emblem.
Belarus so far with 2 medals, silver and bronze, both taken by Belorussian athletes in biathlon.
LET GO BELARUS!!!
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