Russia got smoked by Canada, 6-1, in yesterday’s final of the IIHF World Championship, the most prestigious annual tournament in hockey. (The U.S. took the bronze). The Russian players stuck around for the medal ceremony, but left the ice before Canada’s national anthem was played:
According to Russian reporter Slava Malamud and others, the Russians were waved off the ice by former NHLer Ilya Kovalchuk. (Alex Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin, on the other hand, were among those trying to keep the team on the ice.)
Rough sportsmanship, and IIHF president Rene Fasel says the Russians should expect to be sanctioned for it.
“The IIHF has its own protocol and some sort of punishment will be handed down.
“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.”
The Russians might have better off if they had dressed Vladimir Putin, who scored eight goals in a celebrity all-star game. The Canadians will just have to console themselves with the gold, and with a boozy three-day weekend.