Bronze Medal In Minsk Belarus!!!

What can I say about Minsk Belarus..... It’s very interesting. It’s just….. different. Don’t get me wrong, different isn’t bad, its just ….different. I got a bit of a taste of what my buddy Ryan Vesce is dealing with in Russia (best of luck). I mean I’m all about trying new things and seeing new places, but eating fried fish for breakfast and getting spaghetti served with ketchup for dinner isn’t really me. I lost 8 pounds during the 4 day trip, mostly due to the hard work paying hockey of course.

The city of Minsk has about 2 million people and the country reminded me of Hungary lots. It was really difficult trying to speak to locals, they wanted no part of speaking English. Everywhere I went locals asked where I was from I quickly spit out I’m Canadian. I’m mean lets me honest here not too many people like American’s but for some reason everyone loves Canadians. So I was Canadian for the weekend when people off the streets asked where I was from. It was defiantly an experience to remember from our hotel rooms that were straight from the 60’s (no joke) to our police escort to every game from the hotel to rink. When we arrived to the rink for the first time it was like looking at an NHL arena. It was unreal!!!! The rink is better than the Nassau coliseum on Long Island, but then again that’s not saying much. The rink was amazing and everything was run very professional. I was impressed!!

The Tournament started Friday where we played the host from Belarus and lost 2-1. It was a really close and exciting game but in the end we couldn’t sneak out a win. On Saturday we played Salzburg Red Bull. This organization is one of the best clubs to play for in Europe. They are treated like NHL players. I mean they chartered a flight to Minsk while we debated taking a 30 hour bus. We flew thank god (not charter). Well we lost to Salzburg the next game 3-2. Once again playing really well against a top team, but we couldn’t manage a “W”. It was frustrating knowing that we were playing really well and still could muscle a win out. The final and 3rd game against a team from France, we won 3-2!!!! Winning this game, we (Denmark, Sonderjyske) made history. It’s the first time that any team from Denmark has finished 3rd in the Continental Cup. It’s a big accomplishment for the club. Coaches and Management were proud with our performances. 

Here is an article talking our team.

http://www.iihf.com/de/home-of-hockey/news/news-singleview/article/soenderjyske-grabs-bronze.html?tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=187&cHash=24c3c0ccc8
Overall, it was a great experience and it’s another place I can check off in my book. Minsk Belarus (check).

The rink we played in!!! Minsk Belarus