ASTANA – Kazakhstan and Canada recently carried out a little diplomacy on ice when members of the Astana city administration and the Canadian embassy in Astana met on the ice at the Kazakhstan Sports Palace for a hockey match to commemorate the anniversary of the establishment of Kazakh-Canadian diplomatic relations.
At the beginning of the match, the players were greeted by the headof the Sports Department of Astana Berik Marzhykpayev and Ambassador of Canada to Kazakhstan Shawn Steil.
The Astana city administration team dominated the match early, pulling to a 7:0 lead after the first period. The Astana team also had a little help in the form of the play of Barys professional hockey team General Manager and former professional hockey player Nurlan Orazbayev. The Canadians were able to make it a match, however, scoring five unanswered goals in the second period.
But with home ice advantage and the skills of a former professional player, the home team ultimately prevailed 10:7. Relations between the two cold-weather nations are not reported to have suffered.
