Putin’ on the skates and helmet …and heading to the ice

Just a few hours into his presidency, Vladimir Putin wasted no time in putting his skates on and swapping the political arena for the hockey rink.

He took up a hockey-stick to slug it out in a friendly match between his team of so-called amateur players – and the legends of the sport here in Russia.But the experienced players failed to hold the Putin team back, as the president first scored during normal time, and later netted the winning puck during the penalty shootout.The final score, 6-5, all in a day’s work for the Russian president.