Polytechnik ice hockey team of South Ural State University has become bronze medalist of the Student Ice Hockey League in the season October 2017 ‒ March 2018.
In December 2017 an All Stars Game of the Student Ice Hockey League was held. Two players of Polytechnik ice hockey team were included into the Eastern Conference team: team captain Nikita Vasilyev, and Maksim Antoshkin. The head coach of Polytechnik Artem Pletnev became the team's coach as well. The team became confident winners in the match that was held.
Also, the team's players Nikita Vasilyev, Maksim Antoshkin, Georgy Yulsky, Adil Kuchyukov, and coach Artem Pletnev participated in the team of Russia in the Student Ice Hockey League in the World Cup among university ice hockey teams held in Slovakia in January 2018, and won that competition.
The team became bronze medalists of the Chelyabinsk Region Championship among men's teams in the season of October 2017 ‒ March 2018. 15 teams from 13 cities of Russia took part in the Championship of the Student Ice Hockey League. As a result of the competitions, Polytechnik team took the 2nd place in the Eastern Conference, and became bronze medalist of the Student Ice Hockey League Championship in the play-offs.
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Thу Minister of Physical Education and Sports for the Chelyabinsk Region Leonid Oder shares on great achievement of the SUSU hockey players:
"It started with Traktor this season that Chelyabinsk ice hockey has been bringing bronze medals. This means good level of training. Next year Polytechnik team will celebrate its 70th anniversary, and together with SUSU Rector Aleksandr Shestakov we have already planned our joint program on development of student sports. Student hockey players are charged by hockey, their training sessions are very emotional and show high technical level. I was immensely pleased to see what the guys were demonstrating at the competitions."
Also, the Minister shares on supporting young athletes during the next year:
"The Ministry of Sports supports student sports in three fields: regional Universiade, games of teams in student leagues of various types of sports, and participation in all-Russian Universiades. Next year we will increase financing of our teams, which are leaders in student leagues of Russia in this or that sport."
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SUSU Rector Aleksandr Shestakov awarded medals to the athletes and explained why the Polytechnik's victory is important for the university:
"I believe that a university should comprise four main components: science, education, sports and culture. A university without sports cannot be a real university. The fact that Polytechnik ice hockey team successfully competes in the tournaments is very important for the university's life. We have been following the team's results over the course of the season. The Ministry of Sports is helping Polytechnik, the team is obviously on the rise at the moment. We have a very good coach and great guys who play hockey. Decent results! This gives us confidence that we have organized everything in a right way, and that we will be seeing more good results."
The head coach of the SUSU's Polytechnik ice hockey team Artem Pletnev gives his assessment of the passed hockey season and shares his plans of the future:
"When you step onto the ice, your only wish is to always win, so of course, you feel disappointed when you loose. When some time passes, we analyze everything and we can say that this season was quite a successful one, we made a step forward. Now, it's important that the guys pass their exams well, take a break, and start training for the new season in August."
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Brief Information
SUSU's Polytechnik ice hockey team was formed in 1949 and was called Polytechnik ChPI back then. Over all these years the team has never skipped a season and kept participating in various competitions, and the following results were achieved: an overall champion of the city of Chelyabinsk in 1961; three-time winner of the Championship of the Russian Council of Burevestnik Student Voluntary Sports Society; participant of the All-Soviet Union Universiade 1990 in Krasnoyarsk; four-time champion of the Chelyabinsk Region; Champion of Russia among the teams of League 2 of Class А in the region of the Urals and Western Siberia of the Russian Hockey Federation; winner of the Cup of the Chelyabinsk Region; silver medalist of Moscow Games 2016 International Festival. The head coach of Polytechnik team was honoured worker of physical education of the Russian Federation Vladimir Lyapkalo, from 1985 through 2014. And from 2014 the team's head coach is Associate Professor of the SUSU Department of Self-perfection in Sports, Candidate of Sciences (Biology) Artem Pletnev.