"Today ... the first game in the Winter Olympics ... begins!"
The shout rings through a coterie of onlookers by a frozen pond as 12 men, in helmets and other hockey gear, take position on a makeshift rink under a pale sun and sapphire sky.
On the unscripted prompt, the referee drops the puck onto the grey, marbled ice and hurries to one side. A hunched-over forward slaps it towards his right-winger, who, alas, misses the pass — a blunder quickly exploited by the opponents.