Tolchinsky at the double as Phoenix wins 3x3 prize
The OLIMPBET KHL 3x3 Tournament reached a dramatic conclusion in Mytishchi on Thursday. After nine days of action, the eight competing teams were poised for the decisive games on June 30. And the players delivered another game day full of goals and drama, culminating in Phoenix grabbing a last-gasp equalizer in the final before taking the trophy in a shoot-out.
Final thrills
The final of the KHL’s 3x3 tournament turned out to be a thriller. Phoenix and Orion battled it out at Arena Mytishchi, tying 5-5 in regulation before Phoenix took the verdict in a shoot-out.
The opening frame was hard-fought, with Vladislav Kamenev’s (CSKA) opener for Phoenix cancelled out by a penalty shot from Ansel Galimov (Neftekhimik). In the second period, Orion’s Neftekhimik connection delivered two goals in the space of 10 seconds, with Ruslan Petrishchev and Rafael Bikmullin on target. But Phoenix stayed in contention: Kamenev deftly redirected an Alexander Nikishin shot past Vsevolod Skotnikov, then the Spartak defenseman converted a penalty shot in fine style. The frame finished with Orion up 4-3, and Zlobin extended that advantage in the third stanza.
Skotnikov, unusually, played the full game and made several highlight-reel saves. However, he could not keep Phoenix at bay. Avangard ace Sergei Tolchinsky turned the game around in the closing minutes, scoring twice to take us to a shoot-out. Tolchinsky’s tying goal came just 17 seconds from the end – high drama until the very last moments.
In the shoot-out, Skotnikov was unable to save Orion. Kamenev and Vladimir Bryukvin were both on target for Phoenix, while young CSKA goalie Kirill Samsonov stopped all-comers at the other end. The Firebird blazed bright, and Phoenix lifted the KHL’s inaugural 3x3 trophy.
Sergei Tolchinsky, Phoenix
Of course we wanted to win, why bother coming here otherwise? That’s why when were down by two in the third period, everyone gave it all they had, yelling at each other to keep concentration, to keep it tight on defense.
Manoeuvrability is vital in this game. Everything plays in tight circles, you need to be able to stop quickly. Of course, it’s a bit hard on the legs. Now I’ll rest for a few days, then fly to Omsk for training.
Vladimir Bryukvin, Phoenix
It was an interesting format. Everything is quick, there’s not much space and lots of shots. That changes the way you think about your game. Everyone was happy to come and play here. You can’t replicate gametime in the gym, so it’s good preparation for us.
Bronze goes to Perseus
Team Perseus, drawn from Belarusian players, won the bronze medal game against Centaurus – but only after a big fightback in the third.
Everything seemed straightforward for Perseus after two periods when Vitaly Pinchuk scored a hat-trick and 18-year-old goalie Anton Dyukov proved unbeatable between the piping. However, Centaurus hit back in the third. A team built around youngsters from Vityaz managed to tie the game, with Stepan Starkov getting a goal and an assist, Ivan Zinchenko finding the net and Vycheslev Sarayev tying the scores.
However, the fightback was not quite enough. Yegor Chezganov, a 20-year-old forward on his way to Admiral for the coming season, grabbed the winner for Perseus.
Goal glut in the placement rounds
Earlier on the final day, the battle for seventh place produced a goal rush. Dragon defeated Eridan 20-12, the highest scoring game in a tournament full of goals. With the pressure off, both teams could go for all-out offense and the result was something akin to an All-Star game. Anton Nazarevich scored six goals, moving to 26 for the tournament to lead the goalscoring race. His brother Anton potted four more in Dragon’s triumph.
The other game in placement round saw another six-goal haul, this time for Scorpion’s Mikhail Zheleznov. That helped seal an 11-6 success against a short-benched Pegasus, which missed Traktor prospect Artyom Udot who returned to Chelyabinsk to sit an exam.
