There was a feast of hockey talent on the ice in Moscow last night. Washington Capitals captain Alexander Ovechkin and the New Jersey Devils Ilya Kovalchuk led two teams packed with celebrities.
The charity game raised over $ 500,000 for a Russian orphanage.
The line-ups comprised several high-profile officials including presidential aide Arkady Dvorkovich, Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliev, Emergencies Minister Sergey Shoigu, a number of former Soviet and Russian ice hockey stars, the world’s former tennis number one Marat Safin, as well as Lokomotiv Moscow striker Dmitry Sichev.
Sichev actually scored a couple of times, while Safin missed a penalty.
And of course the likes of Ovechkin, Malkin and Kovalchuk added a fair few.
It ended, like all good charity games, in a high-scoring draw – 11 goals each.
The Sokolniki arena was sold out and the spectators’ enjoyment was palpable.
However, the main purpose was to raise money for a local orphanage for deaf and blind children. After the game one of the organizers, Ilya Kovalchuk, said he hoped this kind of event would become a tradition.
Click Here For More Pictures and The Box Score From The Charity Game