Russia U17 in China. An exchange of sporting experiences

The under 17 Russian national team's third day in Harbin begun with a cultural program. Early in the morning, the team left for an excursion around the Harbin's Children's Palace Artistic Center. Created in 1955, it is one of the best artistic centers in China. Many world-renowned art and cinema figures learned their trade there. After inspecting the venue, the center's managers gathered the Russian delegation around a table. In their welcoming speech, they stated that the center is one of the best places for young people to share experiences, and as a result, the Russian delegation have witnessed Chinese culture for the first time at the center. 

The event's hosts prepared a fascinating concert program. There was a mosaic of Chinese culture formed of songs, dances and games on national musical instruments. In their final piece, the Harbin choir performed a special version of the "Kalinka" song in Russian.

With the second part of the day dedicated to the exchange of experiences, Russian and Chinese junior players trained together. It was a Russian master-class for the hosts. Players and coaches of both teams took part in the hour-long training session.

Later in the evening, the tournament's second match took place. The teams played three fifteen minute periods. Interestingly, Russia and China agreed to swap goalkeepers for this game. Daniil Isaev and Maxim Artemyev switched to China's team, while in turn, two Chinese goaltenders played for Russia. The Chinese netminders didn't have much to do, but the Russians certainly did. Daniil Isaev started off between the pipes, before he was swapped for Maxim Artemyev midway through. Russia's goalkeepers made save after save, drawing applause from the home fans. Nevertheless, Russia still ran out 10:0 winners. Maxim Denezhkin was named the match's star player.

Match protocol:

China U17 - Russia U17 - 0:10 (0:4, 0:5, 0:1)

Goals:

0:1 Brinkman (Koreshkov, Nesvetaev), 01.27

0:2 Denezhkin (Zinovyev, Knyazev), 02.09

0:3 Babintsev (Denisenko), 05.27

0:4 Zhabreev (Kalinichenko, Kotkov), 07.43

0:5 Sokolov (Gizatullin, Denezhkin), 15.51

0:6 Solopanov (Kotkov), 16.12

0:7 Sholgin (Misyul), 20.53

0:8 Denisenko, 27.10

0:9 Gizatullin (Sokolov), 28.59

0:10 Sokolov, 40.27

Penalty minutes: 2 - 2

09.12.2016. China.

Russian Ice Hockey Federation