Rustam Minnikhanov takes part in gala game of the National Amateur Ice Hockey Teams' Festival

On May 10, Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov took part in a gala game of the III National Amateur Ice Hockey Teams' Festival of the Night Ice Hockey League at the Bolshoi Ice Palace in Sochi. Rustam Minnikhanov played in the NHL’s Stars team led by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Minister of Defense Sergey Shoigu, outstanding hockey players Vyacheslav Fetisov, Aleksei Kasatonov, Pavel Bure, Valeri Kamensky, Viktor Shalimov, world boxing champion Natalia Ragozina and famous businessmen also took part in the game.

During the game, Vladimir Putin scored six goals, and the game between the NHL’s Stars team and amateur players of the Night Ice Hockey League ended 20:5 in favour of the NHL’s Stars team.

"We want this event to bring us more closely together and arouse people’s interest in sports, make them go in for sports," Vladimir Putin said during a break after the first period of the meeting.

The tournament was held in Sochi from May 3 to 10 at three arenas, including the Bolshoi and Shaiba that hosted the Olympic Games in February. The festival brought together 114 teams from 55 Russian regions and 12 other countries.

The Night Ice Hockey League was founded in 2011 on the initiative of Vladimir Putin under the auspices of the Russian hockey veterans. Its main tasks were to attract adults to do sports, promote the ice hockey in Russia, as well as create an amateur ice hockey community, uniting all regions of the country.