Russian President Vladimir Putin nets shootout winner in post-inauguration hockey game (VIDEO)
Then-Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin promised to better his ice skating skills after his country's victory at the 2011 World Junior Championships. Over a year later, he showed off his improvements, displaying them in a gala game as part of the presidential inauguration festivities to celebrate his third term.
On Tuesday, playing on a team with amateur players against a squad of Russian hockey legends such as Slava Fetisov, Putin earned first star by scoring on his first shift, assisting on the game-tying goal and then going backhand top shelf for the decisive tally in a shootout:
That is some top-class goaltending, No. 20.
Putin entered the game in the third period as his team was behind 4-3 and that's when the miracle comeback began.
It's not the first time Putin has dominated on ice. In November he suited up wearing his No. 11 against a team of Russian stars and showed off his skills during an exhibition where he scored a couple of times thanks to some not-so-sharp goaltending.
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