Russian hockey team wins second-straight championship, goalie immediately drops the trophy
If I say it once, I’ve said it a thousand times: Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League couldn’t be more like the weird NHL.
Over the years we’ve encountered dogs attacking players after ceremonial matches, men dropping cell phones on ice, and coaches sporting downright absurd haircuts.
Now, it looks like they have the heaviest trophy in all of sports; This is evident from the fact that a goalkeeper fell over when he tried to lift it.
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Yaroslavl Lokomotiv goalkeeper Alexei Melnichuk had a tough time lifting the KHL’s championship trophy, the Gagarin Cup. (Photo: Maksim Konstantinov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Teams in the KHL play for the Gagarin Cup, which is of course named after Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin.
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This is a terrible thing, by the way. Hey, US leagues, you all missed an opportunity by not naming the cup after an astronaut.
Anyway, the winner of this year’s Gagarin Cup was Yaroslavl Lokomotiv, who won their second consecutive championship by defeating Ak Bars Kazan in the 6th game of the final.
Just like the Stanley Cup in the NHL, the players pass the Gagarin Trophy to each other and skate around a bit.
When it was Lokomotiv Neminder Alexei Melnichuk’s turn to skate in the Gagarin Cup, he had some trouble.
After swinging the trophy over his head, he appeared to underestimate how heavy the trophy was, and at one point gravity took over.
It was very nice of Melnichuk to use himself to break the Gagarin Cup slide.
Luckily, the mug was still in one piece after that tumble, and I’m sure it was only 20 minutes away from being filled with beer.
Or let’s be real, vodka.
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The Gagarin Cup is the top prize in Russia’s Continental Hockey League. (Photo: Mihailicenko Sergey/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
Melnichuk has played three games with the San Jose Sharks during his career, and there are a few names on the Lokomotiv roster that will be familiar to NHL fans.
Richard Panik, who played in more than 500 NHL games, and former Montreal Canadiens and Dallas Stars forward Alexander Radulov, who brought points to the team this season, are also on the team.
