Russian navy flat-top to host ice hockey game

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Published time: May 28, 2012 12:01
Edited time: May 28, 2012 16:01

The KHL’s farm division, the Major Hockey League, eyes to one-up its big brother in creativeness as it plans to hold a regular season match at a flat-top of the Russian Northern Fleet.

The league’s managing director German Skoropupov says the hosting side would be HC VMF St. Petersburg, the Russian navy’s official club founded in 2008.

“We think it would be great to justify the club’s name and organize a match at the warship, anchored in the Gulf of Finland. We could construct an ice rink right at the top and play hockey,” Skoropupov shared the idea with the Sport Express paper.

“Of course, it would be very difficult to do, and even if we succeed there would be another problem – the weather in St. Petersburg has never been predictable. But since we managed to cope with that in Krasnoyarsk during the Winter Classic we will do the same with the Baltic winds,” said Skoropupov.

When asked how the players will feel under oscillating motion he retorted that both teams will be in similar conditions.

The MHL boss said the game would be “very expensive to organize”, but it would be extremely interesting for television.

The match won’t be the first of the kind though, with the US Navy’s super-carrier Carl Vinson hosting an NCAA basketball game between North Carolina and Michigan State in 2011.