March Madness in Russian Hockey Playoffs

Before playing in the KHL, Vitaly Kolesnik spent time with the Colorado Avalanche.

The KHL, Russia’s professional hockey league, began postseason play on March 10, and it appears Charles Oakley already needs to travel overseas to control the unruly fans.

On Monday, (brace yourself, Americans, the team names you are about to read could result in a permanent speech impediment) Avtomobilist Ekaterinburg was hosting Salavat Yulaev Ufa for the opening round of the playoffs.

Through the first three periods backup goalie Vitaly Kolesnik witnessed plenty of body checks and slap shots from the bench, but he had no idea he was about to take the worst hit of the night.

In the final period, an enraged Avtomobilist fan jumped over the protective glass boards, grabbed Kolesnik’s stick and struck him multiple times. Kolesnik was rushed to the hospital and suffered a deep gash on the side of his head, but escaped without any serious injuries.

According to the physicians, Kolesnik is fortunate to walk away alive.

“I guess I was lucky,” he said. “Doctors who treated me said if the hit was just a centimeter or two to the side, I could have been dead or left paralyzed.”

The Salavat team left the ice following the unscrupulous outburst, but later resumed play, only to suffer a 4-3 defeat.

Understandably, Kolesnik’s coach, Igor Zakharkin, was more shaken by the atrocity that took place on his team’s bench than the outcome of the game, “It looked like that mad guy kept hitting our player with a baseball bat. The blood was all over the place. We’re still in shock. Most of our players didn’t feel like playing after what had happened and our foreign players were literally scared, but we were told the game must go on. The game didn’t seem important any more. No wonder we lost.”

Zakharkin and his players seemed utterly traumatized by the gruesome and appalling scene, but were relieved that Kolesnik only suffered a concussion.

Although instances of fans physically attacking players are rare, athletes have grown increasingly more concerned over the years as fans become more shameless and bold.

The most infamous assault occurred in 1993 when a fanatical fan stabbed Monica Seles in the back during a match in Germany.

Sports provide fans with truly unpredictable entertainment. At any given moment the momentum can change sides, the confidence can be seized, the margin for error minimized. One half step too late or too early, one second too slow or too fast and the game, series or season may be lost.

Other surprise endings, such as the unforeseeable outburst of a fanatical Avtomobilist fan, remind athletes and followers that life, like sports, can be determined by a few centimeters.

Watch the attack here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itAwX1XR4x