Russians gonna be Russians
On Monday, IIHF president Rene Fasel had some choice ? and ominous ? remarks for Team Russia, which left the ice before Canada?s anthem was played following Sunday?s 6-1 loss in the World Hockey Championship final.
?The IIHF has its own protocol and some sort of punishment will be handed down,? Fasel told TASS, per Reuters. ?When I saw what had happened, I was very upset. In the 29 world championships that I have had the honor of attending, this is the first time I have seen something like this. What the Russian team did was completely out of order.?
Canada routed the Russians on the strength of four goals in a 10-minute span between the first and second periods. The Canadians eventually pushed the lead to 6-0, before Evgeni Malkin scored a consolation marker for the Russians with under 10 minutes to play.
Following the game, the Russian team stayed out for the medal ceremony and individual award announcements, but left the surface prior to ?O Canada? being played.
According to various onlookers, former NHLer Ilya Kovalchuk reportedly waved his teammates off the ice (here?s a video from Russian sports writer Slava Malamud.) It?s worth noting that Washington captain Alex Ovechkin was trying to keep his Russian mates on.
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