Dancing and sleeping

Army Men’s double glory
It was the final day of the Mayor’s Cup in Moscow, and for the second year running it was CSKA who celebrated victory. Second place went to Dynamo, followed by Spartak and finally Atlant, for whom Alexei Kovalev played the entire game. For all four teams, Sunday’s games were their last before the new KHL championship gets under way.

Presentation
Vityaz presented new players to their fans today, and for the first time the event took place not at the arena, but at a Chekhov bowling club. Supporters of the team were given the chance to ask the players questions and get their heroes’ autographs.

Barys players also met their followers today, and forward Jiri Novotny promised them the team would win the Gagarin Cup this season. Captain Kevin Dallman (pictured) was in particularly fine form. When asked how the Astana men celebrate victories, he replied, “we go back to the changing room, congratulate one another, dance, have a meal, and go home to sleep.”

In the coming days both Avangard and Severstal will also meet their fans.

Metallurg’s excursion
Metallurg Novokuznetsk players spent their Sunday visiting a foundry, the Western Siberian Metallurgical Complex. A tour was organized for the players, and they saw with their own eyes how the metallurgy industry works.

Resounding victory
Lev played another game in their preseason preparations and inflicted a 5-1 defeat on fellow Slovaks Banská Bystrica. On target for Lev were Sigalet, Huna, Pilar, Nagy and Novotny.

Injury blow
Dinamo Riga attacker Janis Sprukts will miss the start of the regular season. The forward injured a finger in Riga’s final game of the recent tournament in Donetsk and the doctors have prescribed a week’s rest.

Half dozen
No fewer than six players have just signed contracts with Avtomobilist. Joining the Yekaterinburg club’s roster are Sergei Stupin, Albert Polinin, Mikhail Churlyayev, Andrei Rychagov, Dmitry Tsyganov and Denis Kazionov. Curiously, Stupin played for Avtomobilist last season, but only now has the club decided to offer the defender a full contract.

Conflict resolution
The dispute between Spartak and the owners of the rights to the famous Spartak emblem is on the verge of being resolved. According to club president Vyacheslav Starshinov, all the formalities are set to be concluded in the next few days: “We have the full right to have the diamond on chests of our players and for the club to play under the Spartak emblem. We are now already at the agreement stage and I think we will solve this problem during the week. The diamond emblem has already been sewn into the jerseys.”

Quote of the day
“I need to prove I’m just as good as Vanya Kasutin. I hope today’s game will help me gain confidence,” – Spartak goaltender Alexei Yakhin, after his shutout against Atlant.

Alexei Shevchenko, special to khl.ru