Mixed results for SKA, Metallurg edges Vityaz

Three more clubs started their pre-season programs on Sunday.

Two games against VHL clubs

In St. Petersburg, the Army Men began their pre-season campaign with two games against VHL opposition – both played on the same day! New head coach Alexei Kudashov went into both games with three lines and used two goalies in each game.

The pattern of play was similar both times: the outsider opened the scoring, SKA tied it up, then the opposition regained the lead. Against Khimik, the KHL team managed to snatch victory with two seconds left on the clock. Against Tambov, meanwhile, there was no way back.

SKA’s next engagement will be the Sochi Hockey Open, played on the Black Sea coast from Aug. 3-8.

Statistics

SKA St. Petersburg 3 Khimik Voskresensk 2 (1-2, 0-0, 2-0)

Goals: 0-1 Yunkov (Grishin PP, 8:28); 1-1 Yakupov (Byvaltsev, 9:49); 1-2 Karlin (Zyuzyakin PP, 15:04); 2-2 Plotnikov (Lehtera, Tkachyov 49:09); 3-2 Tkachyov (Bengtsson, Lehtera PP 59:58)

Goalies: Hellberg, Melnichuk – Skovronsky, Sinegubkin

SKA St. Petersburg 1 Tambov 2 (0-1, 1-0, 0-1)

Goals: 0-1 Gimbatov (12:31); 1-1 Barabanov (25:12); 1-2 Baskov (Popov PP, 42:55)

Goalies (SKA): Nalimov, Kochetkov

Magnitka starts with a win

Metallurg and Vityaz are practically neighbors at their summer camps. Magnitka is based in Garmisch Partenkirchen, Germany, while Vityaz is a couple of hours drive away in the Italy mountain town of Bressanone. So setting up a couple of exhibition games was the obvious thing to do. First, Vityaz came to visit Josef Jandac’s team and played out a lively game. Metallurg took an early lead, but the bulk of the action came in the final frame when Mikhail Kravets twice saw his team score through its new Finnish signings without managing to reel in Magnitka’s advantage.

Statistics

Metallurg Magnitogorsk 3 Vityaz Moscow Region 2 (1-0, 0-0, 2-2)

Goals: 1-0 Bereglazov (Antipin 6:57); 2-0 Kulemin (Dorofeyev 43:10); 2-1 Natinen (Aaltonen, 44:07); 3-1 Dorofeyev (Loktionov 45:32); 3-2 Lajunen (59:12)

Goalies: Koshechkin – Ezhov.

Photo courtesy of SKA’s official site.