In Minsk started the 7th Christmas International Tournament of Hockey Amateurs for the Prize of the President of the Republic of Belarus. Finland and Germany came as the first teams on ice at the Sports Palace and Slovakia and Switzerland - in the Minsk Ice Palace.

Finland and Switzerland played in the bronze medal game last year and were considered to be the favorites in their competing pairs.

However, the German veterans were not frightened by the titled of Finns and organized "blitzkrieg" in the first period. Just three and a half minutes passed in the Sports Palace and the score has already turned to 2:0 in favor of black-red-yellow team. Attempts of Finns to change the course of the match have been unsuccessful for a long time and only on the last minute of the period they were able to get the puck into net, behind the German goalkeeper Constantin Bertet.

In the second period German team could not compete with fast and skillful Finns. Ice hockey players from Suomi country scored four goals in the second period and Marco Poulsen organized three of them. Finns confidently controlled the rest of the match and successfully finished it with victory - 8:4.

 Marco Poulsen got four points (2 goals + 2 assists) and Kim Ahlroos made a "hat-trick". German Christian Curth scored the double.

The best players of the game were named: Marco Poulsen (Team Finland) and Konstantin Bertet (Team Germany).

In the Minsk Ice Palace Team Switzerland played in a draw with Team Slovakia - 4:4. It was the day of goalkeepers. Only one(!) of the fifteen penalty shots was successfully finished by the players. No surprise, that Martin Richtarčík (Team Slovakia) and Beat Kindler (Team Switzerland) were recognized as the best players of the match.

In a short time will begin the opening ceremony of the tournament, followed by the games of the main favorites of tournament: Austria - Belarus (Sports Palace) and Ukraine - Russia ( Minsk Ice Palace).

 Organizers of the 7th Christmas International Tournament of Hockey Amateurs for the Prize of the President of the Republic of Belarus:

- Republican State and Public Association "President`s Sports Club"
- Ministry of Sports and Tourism of the Republic of Belarus
- Belarus Ice Hockey Association
- Minsk City Executive Committee

The partners of the tournament are:
- Belarusian Potash Company
- Convex company
- Sport-pari

General sponsors of the championship:
- Company "BT Telecommunications" of the closed joint stock company "Beltechexport"
- Priorbank

General information partner:
- National State TeleRadioCompany of the Republic of Belarus.

Press office of the
Republican State and Public
Association "President`s Sports Club"