Members of Russia's political elite took to the ice on Sunday with some of the NHL's biggest stars for a hockey game in support of children affected by this summer's devastating wildfires.
The teams were captained by Alexander Ovechkin, the Washington Capital's two-time NHL MVP, and Ilya Kovalchuk, who has just signed a $100-million-dollar contract with the New Jersey Devils.
Ovechkin's team included famed Soviet goalie Vladimir Myshkin, Philadelphia Flyers winger Nikolai Zherdev, Russian Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev and Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin, while on Kovalchuk's side were the legendary Soviet defenseman Vyacheslav Fetisov, Czech goalie Dominik Hasek and center Evgeni Malkin of the Pittsburgh Penguins, as well as Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's economic adviser, Arkady Dvorkovich, and Emergency Situations Minister Sergei Shoigu.
The three 15-minute periods of regulation ended 9-7 to Ovechkin's team, but fans in the Russian capital were treated to an overtime period and the game ended 13-13.
After the game, the organizers presented a check for 13.7 million rubles ($450,000) to go towards helping children affected by the fires. Kudrin gave assurances that although the process for distributing the aid had not been finalized, it was certain to reach the children.
The fires that ravaged the European part of Russia in August killed more than 50 people and destroyed at least 2,000 homes.
MOSCOW, September 5 (RIA Novosti)
