The crowd roars as Russian President Vladimir Putin heads to the ice in Sochi.
After the opening fanfare -- a moment of silence for those killed a day earlier in the eastern Ukrainian port city of Mariupol.
The game begins.
It's a Night Hockey League game -- where dignitaries and former athletes face off in a league created by Putin to keep athletes competing past the age of 40.
The crowd couldn't be happier.
(SOUNDBITE) (Russian) RUSSIAN PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN SAYING:
"We don't have winners and losers. It's a friendly game. It's a show and all of us enjoyed it."
Putin later joins teammates for photos as Russia is locked in its gravest confrontation with the West since the Cold War.
