Hockey: Russian Superleague Roundup 12/12

BOULDER, Colorado --

Tretiak Announces Ban on Foreign Goalies for 08-09 Season

December 12 -- Russian Hockey Federation President Vladislav Tretiak announced that foreign-born goaltenders will be banned from playing in any of Russia's professional leagues in two years, RIA-Novosti reported. Currently teams can pay a tax of 4.5 million rubles (US$170,000) to keep a foreign goaltender on their roster, but Tretiak believes the tax is not working to foster development of homegrown talent. "It's not about the money. We'd be prepared to eliminate the tax entirely if clubs would stop signing foreign goalies," he said. "We're not thinking about the money that's coming in. We're thinking about Russian hockey. We haven't won a world championship since 1993, and the goaltender position - one of the most important - has been a real vulnerability for us."

Salavat Yulayev Bans Traktor Fans, Receives Fine

December 12 -- Salavat Yulayev Ufa has decided that fans of Traktor Chelyabinsk are no longer welcome at their stadium. The announcement came after a December 6th incident in Ufa when a person, identified as a Traktor fan by Salavat Yulayev officials, tossed a smoke grenade onto the Ufa bench during a game. The fan was immediately arrested and charged. Salavat Yulayev has also begun comprehensive searches of all persons and their belongings entering the stadium, and fans expressing support for Traktor will not be allowed to attend any games. Salavat Yulayev officials stated that they held Traktor entirely responsible for the incident, but the Russian Hockey Federation still fined the home side 300,000 rubles (US$11,500), because according the federation rules, the home team is responsible for the behavior of all fans in their arena, regardless of their leanings.

Russia Celebrates 60 Years of Hockey with Game on Red Sqaure

December 9 -- Some of the biggest names in the history of hockey took the ice Saturday at one of the world's most famous landmarks, Moscow's Red Square. The veteran All-Star game pitted stars of the NHL against some of the greatest Soviet players. In addition to the legendary unit of Sergei Makarov, Igor Larionov, Vladimir Krutov, Andrei Kasatonov and Vyacheslav Fetisov, goalie Vladimir Myshkin and the nephew of Vladislav Tretiak, Maxim, took to the ice. For the NHLers, Paul Coffey, Jari Kurri, Tomas Sandstrom and the Stastny brothers, Peter and Anton, were among the star-studded lineup. The game was organized to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Soviet national team, the 50th anniversary of that team's victory at the Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo, and the 25th anniversary of their Canada Cup win. But no old bets were settled in this matchup, as it ended in a tie, 10-10.

Khimik Continues Climb Up Standings

December 9 -- Khimik Moscow Region continued to climb up the Superleague standings, moving into third place with a win over Severstal Cherepovets. Khimik sniper Sergei Mozyakin scored his 14th goal of the season in the 4-2 victory. Khimik, with 63 points, now trails only Avangard Omsk (67) and defending champs Ak Bars Kazan (70).

Scores

December 6

Lada Toliyatti 1:3 Metallurg Magnitogorsk
Amur Khabarovsk 4:3 CSKA Moscow
Avangard Omsk 3:2 Severstal Cherepovets
Khimik Moscow Region 4:2 SKA St. Petersburg
Krylya Sovetov Moscow 1:4 Vityaz Chekhov
Salavat Yulayev Ufa 5:1 Traktor Chelyabinsk
Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 4:3 Sibir Novosibirsk
Ak Bars Kazan 7:4 Dynamo Moscow
Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 3:0 MVD Tver

December 8

Ak Bars Kazan 6:5 MVD Tver (OT)
Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 3:1 Metallurg Novokuznetsk
Krylya Sovetov Moscow 3:1 CSKA Moscow
Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 4:2 Dynamo Moscow
Lada Toliyatti 2:1 Traktor Chelyabinsk
Amur Khabarovsk 3:2 Vityaz Chekhov (OT)
Avangard Omsk 6:2 SKA St. Petersburg
Salavat Yulayev Ufa 1:1 Metallurg Magnitogorsk

Decmeber 9

Khimik Moscow Region 4:2 Severstal Cherepovets