Red Star returns to the ice

Sunday’s solitary warm-up game saw Vityaz get its first win of the summer. But the big news was that Kunlun Red Star is back on the ice.

Vityaz Moscow Region 4 Kunlun Red Star 3 SO (0-0, 1-0, 2-3, 0-0, 1-0)

It’s been a tough summer for Kunlun. China’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak forced the team to relocate from Beijing to the outskirts of Moscow, while cross-border bureaucracy has made it impossible for the club to bring back its North American-based players and coaching staff. The players, for now, are waiting for the paperwork to enable to the join the team, while Alexei Kovalev has stepped up to coach the team in enforced absence of Curt Fraser.

Photo: 16.08.20. Friendly match. Vityaz (Moscow Region) - Kunlun Red Star (Beijing)

Kovalev’s first challenge is simply to assemble a roster, come what may. The response has been to summon up Russian players without contracts and offer them a try-out with Red Star. Those who survive the cull at camp will then get the chance to prove their worth when the imports finally become available. Today’s game in Podolsk was the first step down that path.

And the Dragons did a good job. True, they didn’t have quite enough to win it — a tying goal from Vityaz nine seconds before the end enabled the host to escape a fourth successive pre-season defeat. But, from resolute defense in the first period to a big fightback in the third, Red Star provided some reasons for optimism.

Vityaz iced a strong line-up and got its rewards when summer signing Justin Danforth opened the scoring. Alexander Semin, veteran orchestrator of the offense, doubled the lead midway through the third and the game seemed safe. But the hastily-assembled Dragons hit back. Ivan Nikolishin — his father, Andrei, is working as a consultant with Red Star — pulled a goal back, former Traktor and SKA forward Alexei Kruchinin tied the scores. When Andrei Maximov, veteran of just two KHL games in three seasons within the Chinese organizations, scored in the last minute, it looked like Red Star might have stolen an improbable win.

That wasn’t to be. Vityaz hit back late to tie the game and won it in a shoot-out. But the big news was that the Dragons are in flight once again.