Cheating is a way of life for some Russian athletes, but here we have an instance in which two band teams were each trying to manipulate the rules in their favor to try and get an easier draw in the playoffs.
Bandy is essentially ice hockey played on an outdoor rink with a rubber ball instead of a traditional puck. In a Russian Super League matchup between Baikal-Energiya and Vodnik, a scoreless tie quickly escalated into an 11-9 victory for Baikal-Energiya.
It started with a Vodnik player scoring three quick goals against his own team, creating a 3-0 deficit (a loss would allow for a more favorable draw in the playoffs). Realizing what was going on, Baikal-Energiya reacted by scoring nine straight goals against themselves, but the same Vodnik player answered by scoring eight more own-goals against his team to secure a 11-9 defeat. A Vodnik victory would have pitted the team against the league’s defending champion in the playoffs.
Not looking kindly on this whole sequence is the Russian Bandy Federation. The federation’s president says both teams involved in this scandal are now facing “very tough measures,” according to the Associated Press.
Imagine if the Philadelphia Flyers and Boston Bruins were battling for a wild card spot in the playoffs and wanted to avoid playing the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round and started an own-goal frenzy to try and avoid picking up two points in the standings just avoid being paired against Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and the Penguins.
In the grand scheme of things, if the overall objective is to win a championship, there appears to be nothing wrong with the concept of laying down and taking a loss if it means getting a better draw and path in the playoffs, but 20 own-goals is apparently a bit much and a tad overboard. You can lose a game without making it this obvious.
