Playoffs of the President's Hockey Cup start in Minsk

Already in the first round, fans can expect the "Belarusian clasico" — a meeting of the two most titled teams in the country: Yunost and Neman. Minsk residents have eleven championship titles, Grodno residents have seven. The capital's club won the regular season with a big advantage, the red-blacks were 37 points behind. The rivals have met four times this season and won two home victories each. Six teams directly advanced to the quarterfinals — Yunost, Shakhter, Vitebsk, Lida, Slavutich and Metallurg. Gomel and Grodno Neman became the holders of the remaining places in the qualification.