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Radulov scores on Ak Bars debut
Oleg Znarok’s Ak Bars will face tougher tests this season, but the first challenge – posed by VHL team Neftyanik – was impressively brushed aside on Saturday. Alexander Radulov scored twice on his Kazan debut, setting up his team for a 6-1 win. In Sochi, SKA remains undefeated in the Hockey Open, with Avangard and Admiral chasing the tournament leader.
Liga Stavok Sochi Hockey Open: SKA remains unbeaten
Avangard Omsk 5 Dinamo Minsk 2 (1-0, 2-0, 2-2)
Corban Knight was on target twice as Avangard eased to victory over Dinamo in the opening game of Saturday’s card in Sochi.
In truth, the Hawks had too much offensive power in the early stages of the game, opening a 3-0 lead shortly after midway and going up 4-0 midway through the third period. Sergei Tolchinsky opened the scoring, Arseny Gritsyuk added a power play effort then Knight potted his first.
In the final frame, Fyodor Malykhin extended Avangard’s advantage before Minsk grabbed a couple of consolation goals from Ilya Shinkevich and Brandon Kozun. Igor Martynov and Ryan Spooner assisted on both. However, the final word went to Knight who scored into an empty net off Reid Boucher’s second feed of the game.
HC Sochi 1 SKA St. Petersburg 3 (1-0, 0-2, 0-1)
Winless Sochi took on unbeaten SKA, and both streaks continued. True, the Leopards gave the Petersburg team some problems, keeping the opposition at bay in the first period and grabbing the lead a second before the hooter. Nikita Tochitsky scored on the power play, with Andrei Altybarmakyan among the assists.
However, SKA’s dominance at this tournament was not going to be threatened. Early in the second, Valentin Zykov tied the scores before Artyom Fyodorov struck on the power play to give SKA the lead after 36 minutes. The 28-year-old, who joined SKA from Dynamo this summer, has scored in each of his three games in Sochi and could have had more had he not missed a penalty shot in the middle frame.
At the other end, 22-year-old goalie Dmitry Nikolayev had a solid game under pressure from the home offense. He protected SKA’s lead and Marat Khairullin completed the scoring midway through the final stanza.
Russia U25 1 Admiral Vladivostok 3 (1-0, 0-2, 0-1)
Admiral recorded its second success of this competition after coming from behind to beat Russia’s youngsters.
Matvei Kabush’s 15th-minute goal was all that separated the teams at the first intermission, but the Sailors hit back with two quick goals midway through the second. Evgeny Lisovets tied the scores before Anton Berlyov made it 2-1.
The 28-year-old Berlyov was born in Petersburg, but played much of his early hockey career outside of Russia. More recently, he represented Krefeld Penguins in the DEL before joining Admiral in search of his first chance in the KHL. A second goal in the 48th minute of this game will only boost his chances of getting involved in the big league this season.
Exhibition games: Radulov makes scoring start
Neftyanik Almetyevsk 1 Ak Bars Kazan 6 (0-0, 1-2, 0-4)
The Oleg Znarok era at Ak Bars got underway in earnest with Saturday’s warm-up game against the club’s VHL farm team. Despite the modest opposition, this was a stellar roster from Kazan with high-profile summer signings Vadim Shipachyov, Slava Voynov and Stanislav Galiyev all involved.
However, it was Alexander Radulov, back in Russia for the first time since 2016, who made the biggest impact. He opened the scoring in the 26th minute and got Kazan’s second late in the middle frame to pave the way for a convincing victory. Both goals came on the power play, suggesting that Znarok’s strategies are already bearing fruit.
Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 3 Molot Perm 1 (0-1, 1-0, 1-0, 1-0)
Lokomotiv won it first game of the summer, coming from behind to defeat opposition from the VHL. The game was played in an unusual format – four 15-minute periods, and six lines for Loko, three in each half of the game.
Amid the ever-changing group of players, young Daniil But produced an eye-catching performance. The 17-year-old has yet to play in the KHL but here he scored Lokomotiv’s first goal of the summer, and later added an assist on Pavel Tyutnev’s effort in the fourth (!?) period. Tyutnev, another youngster, also had 1+1 in the game as he looks to build on his handful of appearances in the first team to date.
