Russian under-10 youth hockey brawl lands nearly entire team in penalty box, leads to suspension of big game
If you think that sportsmanship in American youth sports is bad, clearly you've never taken in the Yamaha Cup, a youth hockey tournament held in Russia's greater Moscow region. Like the great northern expanses, they make the youth hockey brawls there bigger, too.
As noted by state-owned news English language network Russia Today, not to mention Prep Rally's brotherly hockey blog Puck Daddy, a game between two under-10 junior hockey teams devolved into a massive brawl that landed nine -- count them, nine -- players for one team in the penalty box before the entire game was suspended.
Russia Today reported that the game featured a team called the Moscow White Bears and another known as Metallurg Novokuznetsk. The two squads had entered the game with undefeated records but walked away with a rather larger amount of ignominy thanks to a brawl which has turned into a viral hit on YouTube, earning more than 500,000 views on YouTube in just four days.
The White Bears led 3-0 at the time of the massive brawl, but that matters little when it comes to sportsmanship, of course. While the fight seemed to be stoked by the Metallurg players more than their Moscovite counterparts, it was astounding how vicious both squads pummeled each other. Keep in mind, these are 10-year-olds.
If nothing else, as Deadspin pointed out, perhaps this brawl is an indication that the forthcoming generation of Russian hockey players will feature much more eager fighters than their current counterparts.
Want more on the best stories in high school sports? Visit RivalsHigh or connect with Prep Rally on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
