Emelin’s big debut

Alexei Yemelin scored twice on his Dinamo Minsk debut as the summer action continues with two games in Belarus.

Dinamo Minsk 3 Sibir Novosibirsk 2 (1-2, 1-0, 1-0)

Alexei Emelin’s move to Minsk gives Dinamo one of the most effective Russian defensemen of his generation. And the new arrival wasted no time in making an impact in Belarus, having a hand in all three goals on his debut for the Bison.

The three-time Gagarin Cup winner got the opening goal in Thursday’s warm-up game against Sibir, had an assist as Vitaly Pinchuk tied the scores in the second period and then popped up with the game-winner six minutes from the end. Earlier in the game, Sibir’s Alexander Sharov and Denis Alexandrov gave the visitor a 2-1 lead at the end of the opening stanza. The game was also enlivened by a fight between Shawn Lalonde and Evgeny Chesalin, with the latter identified as the instigator.

Dinamo included Nikolai Zherdev in its team as the talented yet unpredictable forward works through a try-out contract in Minsk. Lalonde was the only home import to play, while Sibir’s Slovak defenseman Michal Cajkovsky was the only foreign player in the visitor’s ranks.

Admiral Vladivostok 3 Vityaz Moscow Region 1 (0-1, 2-0, 1-0)

Dinamo wasn’t the only team to play at Arena Minsk today. After that match-up against Sibir, there was a second game in the Belarusian capital as Admiral took on Vityaz. Both teams are holding a pre-season camp nearby, with Vityaz staying for another week and playing two further warm-up games. Admiral, meanwhile, is about to move on to Sochi and participate in the first summer tournament starting on Aug. 3. Neither team named any imports in today’s rosters.

Admiral was one of the first teams to start its pre-season program, assembling on July 13, and that extra sharpness helped Leonids Tambievs’ team to victory in its opening game. However, the Sailors had to come from behind after Ivan Zinchenko potted the only goal of the first period. Admiral responded in the second when Evgeny Lisovets converted a 5-on-3 power play and Mikhail Belyayev made it 2-1. Semyon Ivanov’s empty-net goal put the outcome beyond doubt.