The International Youth Hockey Tournament in memory of Sergey Ostapchuk will be held in Novopolotsk

September 7, Minsk /Sergei Vishnevsky - BELTA/. The Sergei Ostapchuk International Youth Hockey Tournament will be held in Novopolotsk from September 9 to 11, reports BELTA correspondent. Sergei Ostapchuk, a product of Novopolotsk hockey, died on September 7, 2011, along with the Russian team Lokomotiv in an air crash near Yaroslavl when a Yak-42D aircraft crashed during takeoff. As reported by the official website of the Novopolotsk hockey club Khimik-SKA, the international tournament for boys born in 2001 will feature the teams "Ledinka" (Kyiv, Ukraine), DLS (Daugavpils, Latvia), "Snegiri" (Roslavl, Russia), and "Khimik" (Novopolotsk, Belarus) from September 9 to 11. The city administration of Novopolotsk and the hockey player's mother, Svetlana Ostapchuk, have been invited to the opening ceremony of the Sergei Ostapchuk Memorial Tournament. Tournament Schedule: September 9. "Ledinka" vs. "Snegiri" (start at 15:30). Opening Ceremony of the Tournament (17:15). "Khimik" vs. DLS (17:45). September 10. DLS vs. "Ledinka" (9:00), "Snegiri" vs. "Khimik" (12:30). DLS vs. "Snegiri" (17:00). "Khimik" vs. "Ledinka" (19:00). September 11. Match for 3rd place (8:30). Final (10:30). Closing Ceremony of the Tournament (12:15). Sergei Ostapchuk was born on March 19, 1990, and is a graduate of the Novopolotsk Children and Youth Sports School of Olympic Reserve in Hockey named after L.V. Novozhilov. At a young age, he moved to Russia to hone his skills. From 2006 to 2008, he played for Lokomotiv-2 Yaroslavl in the third-tier division of the Russian Championship, and in the 2007/08 season, he also tested his abilities with the main team of the Yaroslavl club, playing three matches in the Russian Super League. Ostapchuk spent the 2008/09 season in North America with the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, scoring 63 (29+34) points in 61 regular season games and 4 (1+3) points in the playoffs. He was also named to the league's All-Rookie Team. Sergei began the 2009/10 season with Lokomotiv, but did not get enough playing time there, playing only eight games in the KHL Championship. He also played three games in the MHL for Loko, scoring 3 (1+2) points. After that, the forward returned to Canada, earning 37 (21+16) points in 38 regular season games for Rouyn-Noranda and adding 8 (2+6) points in 11 playoff games. In the 2010/11 season, Ostapchuk had practically secured a spot in the main roster of Lokomotiv. He played 28 games in the KHL regular season, scoring 3 (2+1) points, and appeared in seven playoff games. He also earned 9 (6+3) points in 11 MHL Championship games for Loko. Before the past season, Ostapchuk was being considered for the main roster of Lokomotiv, but the air crash prevented these plans from materializing. The head coach of the Belarusian national team, Kari Heikkilä, who knew the young forward from their time together at Lokomotiv, also counted on Sergei Ostapchuk. Shortly before the crash, the Belarusian Ice Hockey Federation had practically resolved all legal issues that hindered the player's participation in the national team. -0-