Russian Aircraft Carrier to Host Hockey Game

28.05.2012 In his interview to Sportexpress, managing director of Major Hockey League German Skoropupov told about an idea to arrange a regular hockey game on board aircraft-carrying cruiser Admiral Kuznetsov. Date of the game has not been set so far.

Skoropupov said it was planned to place a hockey rink on the carrier's deck. Answering the question how one can play at sea rolling, the Major Hockey League director said all participants would be in the same conditions, so there would be no problem. According to Skoropupov, the weather will be the biggest problem in the game.

He said that Navy Hockey Club would definitely take part in the game to justify its name. The managing director pointed out that the coming hockey game would draw great attention worldwide which would help to cover expenses required to arrange such game.

Admiral Kuznetsov is the only Russia's aircraft carrier. The ship was launched in Dec 1985 and joined the Navy six years later. Through her history, the carrier changed several names. Being designed, she was called Sovetsky Soyuz, during the keel laying the carrier had the name of Riga, when being launched she was named Leonid Brezhnev, and then renamed into Tbilisi when passing trials. The carrier obtained the current name in 1990.