SKA shuts out Canada. August 16 preseason round-up

On a very busy day for KHL clubs, with several tournaments underway across the nation and beyond, there were mixed fortunes for the host teams. Avangard defeated Amur, SKA beat Team Canada, but Salavat Yulaev was second best against Neftekhimik and Dinamo Riga was thrashed by Lokomotiv.

Viktor Blinov Memorial Tournament

Day 2 of this tournament in Omsk began with Barys enjoying a comfortable 4-2 victory over Ugra, followed by hosts Avangard going one goal better, posting a 5-2 win over Amur. The Khanty-Mansiysk and Khabarovsk teams now share bottom place in the standings, having each suffered two defeats in two games.

Barys (Astana) vs. Ugra (Khanty-Mansiysk): 4-2 (1-0, 3-0, 0-2)

Photo: 16.08.17. Viktor Blinov Memorial Tournament . Barys (Astana) - Yugra (Khanty-Mansiysk)

Barys head coach Evgeny Koreshkov:

“I wouldn't say that this was an easy win, as there's no such thing. We won because we stuck to our tactical plans, we pressured our opponents into making mistakes, and we made good use of power plays. These have all been factors, and we'll try to get all aspects of our game right in time for the new season.”

Goals: 1-0 Markelov (Pushkaryov, Trivino, 9.36), 2-0 Dawes (Vey, Dallman, 22.52, PPG), 3-0 Shevchenko (Savchenko, Mikhailis, 23.32, PPG), 4-0 St.Pierre (Vey, 30.37), 4-1 Ugolnikov (Vasilyev, Varfolomeyev, 52.52, PPG), 4-2 Ilyin (55.01)

Goaltenders: Karlsson – Fokin

Avangard (Omsk) vs. Amur (Khabarovsk): 5-2 (1-0, 2-2, 2-0)

Goals: 1-0 Menshikov (Gustafsson, Sundstrom, 17-49), 1-1 Kamalov (Frolov, 27-34, SHG), 1-2 Litovchenko (Frolov, Zohorna, 35-40), 2-2 Berezin (Pyanov, Mikheyev, 37-57, PPG), 3-2 Mikheyev (Medvedev, 39-55), 4-2 Sundstrom (Everberg, 40-15), 5-2 Petersson (Everberg, 46-52 PPG)

Goaltenders: Shilin – Metsola

Republic of Bashkortostan Cup

Meanwhile, in Ufa, a Nikita Filatov shootout goal gave Lada a thrilling 5-4 victory over Admiral in the early game, before the hosts, Salavat Yulaev, suffered a surprise shootout defeat in a hard-fought match against Neftekhimik.

Admiral (Vladivostok) vs. Lada (Togliatti): 4-5 SO (1-3, 2-1, 1-0, 0-0, shootout – 1-2)

Admiral head coach Alexander Andriyevsky:

“We started the match badly, maybe because we played last night. I'm glad the guys pulled themselves together and showed character. The change of goalie halfway through the game was planned in advance, but I won't comment on the performance of any individual. And no matter how well this or that player might have performed, I can't be content when we've lost two games in a a row.”

Lada head coach Artis Abols:

“We still have shortcomings in our game. We started this match well, but our opponent managed to turn things around and in the third period I would even say they outplayed us. But it's always pleasant to win, even if it's in the shootout.”

Goals: 0-1 Genoway (Filatov, 1.39), 0-2 Zernov (Gurkin, 4.03), 1-2 Alexandrov (Yakovlev, 6.05), 1-3 A. Streltsov (Akhmetov, 9.03), 2-3 Zhafyarov (Kazakov, 23.15), 3-3 Kazakov (Sayustov, 25.33), 3-4 Babenko (Belousov, 31.49), 4-4 Kazakov (40.44), winning shootout goal – Filatov

Goaltenders: Nalimov (Tretyak, 31) – Ivannikov

Salavat Yulaev (Ufa) vs. Neftekhimik (Nizhnekamsk): 2-3 (1-1, 1-1, 0-0, 0-0, shootout: 1-2)

Photo: 16.08.17. The Republic of Bashkortostan Cup - 2017. Salavat Yulaev (Ufa) - Neftekhimik (Nizhnekamsk)

Salavat Yulaev Ufa head coach Erkka Westerlund:

“Today we had quite a tough match. At times the tactics were there, but the technique was missing. I must say that Neftekhimik is a very, very good team. They will put up a real fight against the KHL's leaders, and they themselves might even secure one of the top spots in the Eastern Conference.”

Neftekhimik head coach Andrei Nazarov:

“I'm very pleased our team was invited to take part in a tournament as good as this one in Ufa... Both teams wanted to win but fortune smiled on us in the shootout. Looking at the professional way our players prepared for this game and the commitment they showed on the ice, I'm obviously very happy, and we need to keep this tempo for when our season starts on the 22nd.of August.”

Goals: 0-1 Rau (Sexton, 5-10); 1-1 Makarov (Bodrov, Lisin, 19-21); 2-1 Kulyash (Makarov, Bodrov, 25-10); 2-2 Rau (Sexton, Hanzl, 31-09); winning shootout goal: Poryadin

Goaltenders: Fedotov – Makarov

Nikolai Puchkov Tournament

The day began with a surprise win by Severstal over Jokerit. As a result, all the teams in Group B finished with one win and one loss, but Jokerit finished top thanks to their having a better goal difference than Severstal, as did SKA-Neva, and by winning the head-to-head against the Petersburg team.

Jokerit: (Helsinki) vs. Severstal (Cherepovets): 1-2 (1-2, 0-0, 0-0)

Goals: 0-1 Stransky (Holik, Rybin, 00.51), 1-1 N. Jensen (J. Jensen, 03.06), 1-2 Kazakovtsev (Kodola, 07.04)

Goaltenders: Ratilainen – Hudacek

SKA (Saint Petersburg) vs. Team Canada: 3-0 (0-0, 1-0, 2-0)

In the second game, unanswered goals from Patrik Hersley, Nikita Gusev, and a late empty-netter from Viktor Tikhonov gave SKA a 3-0 win over Team Canada

Photo: 16.08.17. The Nikolai Puchkov memorial tournament. SKA (St.Petersburg) - Canada Team

SKA head coach Oleg Znarok:

“It is by no means the first time I've achieved a victory over Canada, so the win doesn't have any extra meaning for me. It was nothing like a preseason game – they pressed us from the start and were very quick in closing off our options, but of course, we adapted to it. There were missed chances, but that's because the team has a heavy workload.”

Goals: 1-0 Hersley (Kovalchuk, Belov, 39.53), 2-0 Gusev (Karpov, Chudinov, 49.20), 3-0 Tikhonov, (58.07, empty net)

Goaltenders: Shestyorkin – Scrivens

Latvian Railways Cup

The round robin stage of the tournament ended with Lokomotiv beating the hosts 5-1 and securing top spot in the standings. The Latvians finished second and have a chance of exacting revenge on Thursday, as they will face the Railwaymen in the final. Likewise, Dinamo Minsk and Ak Bars will battle for third place, after the men from Kazan edged Wednesd ay's encounter via the shootout.

Dinamo (Minsk) vs. Ak Bars: 3-2 (0-1, 0-1, 2-0, 0-0, 1-0)

Goals: 0-1 Lander (Markov, Sekac, 09-25, SHG), 0-2 Tokranov (Glinkin, 33-24), 1-2 Kovyrshin (Klinkhammer, 49-48, PPG), 2-2 Kovyrshin (Lisovets, 57-27) 3-2 Klinkhammer (Shootout)

Goaltenders: Enroth – Bilyalov

Dinamo (Riga) vs. Lokomotiv (Yaroslavl): 1-5 (1-2, 0-3, 0-0)

Goals: 1-0 Bicevskis (Jelisejevs, Zile, 03-38), 1-1 Osipov (Polunin, Korshkov, 05-01), 1-2 Rafikov (Korshkov, Kraskovsky, 07-15, PPG), 1-3 Kozun (Nakladal, Apalkov, 34-46, PPG), 1-4 Alexeyev (Kudryavtsev, Mosalyov, 36-56), 1-5 Kudryavtsev (Kadeikin, 37-30)

Goaltenders: Kalnins – Sudnitsin