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Where there is no law, but every man does what is right in his own eyes, there is the least of real liberty
Henry M. Robert

Ukrainian National Team Without Khrystych?

30 March, 1999 - 00:00

By Serhiy MAKHUN, The Day, Kyrylo STADNYCHENKO
The success of the National Hockey League club Boston Bruins, where Ukrainian
Dmytro Khrystych is the top player, has two implications for our ice-hockey
enthusiasts.

We are glad, of course, that Khtystych has become the Bruins' true leader
this season, but the playoffs are around the corner, and the Boston players
have more and more chances to get there. However, this means the Ukrainian
national team will be playing without Khrystych at the coming world championship
in Norway. Moreover, the International Hockey Federation has banned Khrystych
and Buffalo Sabers' Oleksiy Zhytnyk from playing for Ukraine's national
team. The Ukrainian team management has turned to the IIHF for an explanation.
However, the situation with Zhytnyk is clear even now: he was scheduled
to play for the Russian national team. In an excruciating home match against
San Jose (2:2), Khrystych assisted in scoring a goal. As a result of this
match, he got a plus one ranking.

And on Sunday, the Bruins trounced Washington's Capitals in a road game
(4:1), and are now four points ahead of the Florida Panthers in the struggle
for the playoff series. But Khrystych kept silent in this game, which is
not typical for him.

The semifinal matches of the East European Hockey League are drawing
to a close. Our fans are most of all interested in Ukrainian Sokil (Falcon)
and Berkut (Golden Eagle) teams. The two Kyiv clubs lack three matches
to identify a finalist. Berkut won a sensational bullet victory in the
first game. But the next day in the second game Sokil took revenge 4:2.
The teams played a third game on Monday.

The match began with powerful attacks by coach Oleksandr Seukand's pupils.
And as early as in the third minute, Viktor Honcharenko scored a goal for
Sokil bringing the score to 1:0. This happy beginning calmed the Sokil
players, who only managed to consolidate their success at the end of the
second 20-minute period with a goal scored by Valentyn Oletsky. In the
final period, the baby falcons completely washed out their rivals. At first
Andriy Mazhuhin brought the score to 3:0, and then Oleksandr Markovsky
gave the final touch - 4:0. A few seconds later, Andriy Nikolayev managed
to score a consolation goal for Berkut, bringing the final score to 4:1
in Sokil's favor. The overall three-game score is 2:1 with Sokil in the
lead.

 

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