Metallurg hits the front in Kazakhstan

Day two of the President of Kazakhstan Cup saw Metallurg post its second victory and move clear at the top of the standings. Barys moves to second after posting its first win of the summer.

President of Kazakhstan Cup

Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 1 Metallurg Magnitogorsk 2 (0-2, 1-0, 0-0)

Avtomobilist began this tournament with a thrilling overtime win over host team Barys, but could not find its goal touch against Magnitka. On the plus side, Nick Ebert’s debut for the Motormen seemed to help the defense settle down: after allowing three goals yesterday, Avto conceded just two today and went more than 40 minutes without giving Metallurg a goal.

However, the Steelmen built on their opening win over Neftekhimik thanks to a pair of goals in the opening frame. Philippe Maillet grabbed an early marker and Semyon Koshelev doubled the lead on the power play. Nikolai Goldobin assisted on both plays.

Early in the middle frame, Vasily Filyayev pulled one back for Avtomobilist. The same player then made a big save to help out Johan Mattsson when Koshelev seemed certain to score his second of the game.

In the third, Avto tried to find a way through the Magnitka defense, which had veteran goalie Vasily Koshechkin as its last line for the first time this summer. However, a team that tied up its previous game no less than three times was unable to repeat that trick today and fell to a 2-1 verdict in regulation.

Barys Nur-Sultan 3 Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 0 (0-0, 1-0, 2-0)

Barys rebounded from that loss against Avtomobilist to blank Neftekhimik and record its first win of the summer. Goalie Andrei Shutov got the shut-out, while promising young Kazakh skater Batyrlan Muratov took his place on the roster as one of five changes from Tuesday’s defeat.

Neftekhimik also made changes, with import defenseman Johann Auvito and experienced forward Denis Parshin among those rested.

The first period was evenly-matched but produced no goals. Neftekhimik threatened to change that early in the second with a dangerous power play, but Barys held on and took the lead shortly after with a PP goal of its own. Muratov had an assist as Mikhail Rakhmanov opened the scoring.

The game remained in the balance until midway through the third, when two quick goals put Barys in complete control. Linden Vey made it 2-0, then another power play saw Dinmukhamed Kaiyrzhan make it 3-0. Kaiyrzhan, 19, made his KHL debut last season and potted his first goal for Barys during that campaign. He’s another with hopes of making a breakthrough this term.

Warm-up game

Dynamo Moscow 2 Vityaz Moscow Region 0 (2-0, 0-0, 0-0)

Dynamo played at its home arena for the first time since March and delivered its first win of pre-season. The Bue-and-Whites set a blistering pace from the start and took control of the game in the first period.

Goals from Bogdan Trineyev and Nikita Buruyanov opened a 2-0 lead in that opening frame. Both youngsters are hoping that the new-look Dynamo will offer them chances to build their careers. Trineyev, 20, featured in a couple of playoff games with Hershey Bears in the AHL at the end of last season but has been loaned back to Dynamo to continue his development in a familiar environment. Buruyanov, 19, is looking to make the step up to the KHL this season after getting a taste of VHL action with Dynamo’s farm club.

There was no further scoring, although Nikita Goncharov came close for Vityaz when he hit the crossbar in the third period.