Snow chilled out season in Russia

Former University of Maine goaltender Garth Snow has played for five teams in 11 NHL seasons.

But to stay in game shape for what he had hoped would be at least a partial NHL season, Snow’s travels took him to St. Petersburg, Russia, for five months.

He played for St. Petersburg SKA in the Russian Elite League beginning last August before returning home to Wrentham, Mass., for Christmas and to be with pregnant wife Erica (Pelletier), who is due with their first child on April 18.

Playing in Russia was an eye-opening experience for Snow.

He said it reminded him of the layout of America 40 years ago.

He also said, “It was hard to communicate with people because their language is so different. I was the only American in the league. There were two Canadians.”

However, he figured there were at least 60 NHL players.

There were constant checkpoints in which he would have to produce identification.

“It isn’t a free country. If you were going two miles, you’d get pulled over five times and have to show documents. Even if your paperwork was in order, it would cost you seven bucks each time. The police only make 100 bucks a month.”

However, he said he had a “really nice apartment similar to a two-bedroom [brownstone] you’d see in Boston.”

He had three television stations to choose from “so I’d watch soccer all day long.”

The cuisine, which was also much different, resulted in him losing 17 pounds.

“It was really hard to get substantial protein in your system. The chickens were all skin and bones,” said Snow who added that the steak wasn’t appetizing, either. “One of the Russian players said we have slaughterhouses in America, but because the farmers are so poor in Russia, the livestock and chickens starve to death.”

So he ate lots of “breads and pasta.”

The winter was more severe than any he had previously encountered and “you only have four and a half hours of light.”

There was a lot of pollution “because the cars don’t have catalytic converters.”

He enjoyed the hockey, but had to adjust to the Olympic-sized ice sheets.

“They don’t take shots from the blue line or take wide-angled shots. They try to penetrate the front of the net. As a goalie, you have to be a lot more patient. You get lulled to sleep at first. You don’t get a chance until it’s a point-blank chance. And you don’t come out of your crease. You spend the whole game in the paint.”

However, when he did come out of the paint to play the puck, it was much easier.

“It takes that much longer for the forechecker to get to you so you have extra time to play the puck. You can make a pass,” said Snow.

He was pleased with the way he played in a league with a lot of highly skilled players like Jaromir Jagr. He said there were usually good crowds and they received a lot of media coverage.

“The guys on the team were great to me,” said Snow who was paid well but wouldn’t disclose his salary.

The 35-year-old Snow has 348 games of NHL experience under his belt and is sporting a 131-134-43 record with a 2.74 goals-against average and a .902 save percentage.

He played in 39 games for the New York Islanders in 2003-2004 (14-15-5, 2.80, .899) and is an unrestricted free agent who hopes to continue his NHL career when the owners and players association solve their work dispute.

“But I won’t be a replacement player. I’m firmly behind the players association,” said Snow.

Larry Mahoney can be reached at 990-8231, 1-800-310-8600 or by email at lmahoney@bangordailynews.net.