Belarus, Russia advance to final of Christmas ice hockey tournament in Minsk

      Teams of Belarus and Russia scored two victories in the first two games of the preliminary in Groups A and B at the 11th Christmas Amateur Ice Hockey Tournament for the Prize of the President of Belarus and advanced to the final, BelTA reports. Team Belarus defeated Slovakia 5:1 and the United Arab Emirates 12:4. Regardless of the outcome of the final game of the preliminary round against Switzerland in Group A, Belarus is in the final. Russia, the other finalist, celebrated victories over Finland 5:4 and Germany 12:0. Team Russia will play Latvia in the third game of the preliminary round in Group B.
      Meanwhile, athletes from eight countries participating in the XI Christmas International Amateur Ice Hockey Tournament handed gifts and tickets to the matches of the tournament to families from the Children's Village during a charity action called "Christmas tradition".