Hockey on a knife-edge

Thursday’s action came from three pre-season tournaments – and every game was a tight affair. Four out of five were decided by a single goal, and the other finished 3-1 after a last-second empty net tally. The Mayor of Moscow Cup started with wins for Spartak and Dynamo, Traktor and Avtomobilist bounced back from opening day losses in Chelyabinsk, and the Siberian derby went to Novosibirsk in the only game of the day at the Puchkov Tournament in Petersburg.

Mayor of Moscow Cup: Spartak edges opening-day thriller

Spartak Moscow 5 Vityaz Moscow Region 4 OT (2-2, 1-1, 1-1, 1-0)

The 15^th edition of the Mayor of Moscow Cup, a tournament inaugurated to open the 2007 World Championship host arena at Khodynka, got off to a lively start. Spartak and Vityaz traded nine goals, battling each other to a standstill before Dmitry Kugryshev potted the winner in overtime.

There was little sense of the tussle to come in the early stages, though, as Spartak raced into a 2-0 lead. Alexander Khokhlachyov and Maxim Tsyplakov put the Red-and-Whites on top – but not for long. A neat passing move around Patrik Rybar’s net ended with Tyler Graovac pulling one back for Vityaz; last season both goalie and forward were team-mates at Dinamo Minsk. And after allowing one goal, Spartak got nervy. Mistakes crept into the play and Jeremy Roy took advantage to tie the scores with an impressive wrister.

From that point on the teams continued to trade goals. In the middle frame Vitaly Popov put Vityaz up for the first time, only for Yegor Savikov to cancel the lead within a couple of minutes. Then, in the third, Tsyplakov’s second of the game seemed to give Spartak the confidence to close out the win. However, Vityaz killed a couple of penalties and managed to save itself at the last thanks to Vladislav Kara’s goal.

If Balashikha’s new tenants hoped to ride a wave of emotion all the way to victory, they were disappointed. Spartak produced a professional performance in overtime, rarely relinquishing control of the puck and eventually fashioning a game-winner from Kugryshev.

Dynamo Moscow 2 CSKA Moscow 1 (0-0, 0-0, 2-1)

The latest clash of these capital cities rivals went the way of Dynamo after a late goal rush. For more than 50 minutes the game was deadlocked with all three goalies in good form. Dynamo persevered with Ilya Konovalov for the whole game, while CSKA started with Adam Reideborn but replaced him with Alexander Sharychenkov midway through in a planned switch.

Konovalov was the first netminder to be beaten when Vladislav Kamenev opened the scoring in the 53^rd minute. That seemed to be the cue for last season’s Gagarin Cup winner to close out the game. Dynamo, though, had other ideas. A penalty on Yaroslav Dyblenko put CSKA on the back foot, and Eric O’Dell scored on the power play to tie the scores. Then, just 24 seconds later, Vladislav Yefremov struck to complete a rapid turnaround and put Dynamo up 2-1.

There was still time enough for CSKA to save itself, but the opportunity was wasted and a late penalty on Kamenev all but extinguished any hope for Sergei Fedorov’s team.

Governor of Chelyabinsk Cup: four teams locked on one win apiece

Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 3 Metallurg Magnitogorsk 1 (0-1, 1-0, 2-0)

Metallurg was looking to stamp its authority on the tournament after winning its opening game against Traktor. However, without import stars Philippe Maillet and Brendan Leipsic, both of whom watched from the stands, the Steelmen were shunted off course by Avtomobilist.

True, the Motormen also rested some big players: there was no Stephane Da Costa, Patrice Cormier or Jesse Blacker. Both teams deployed several youngsters, and in the early stages they made an impact. Within five minutes, Yury Platonov, son of renowned former Metallurg forward Denis, opened the scoring with a fine effort assisted by another prospect, Nikita Grebyonkin.

If that promised an open game, the reality was different. Open ice was hard to find for both teams and it wasn’t until late in the second period that Avtomobilist tied the game on a goal from Brooks Macek. Early in the second period, the Motormen went in front thanks to Danil Romantsev’s redirect on a Nikita Tryamkin shot. In all, there were just 26 seconds of game time between those markers, albeit with a 17-minute intermission to complicate the picture.

Having played in the later game yesterday, Metallurg was not quite as fresh as Avtomobilist and that hampered any attempts to salvage the result. The outcome was in the balance until the very end, but an empty net goal for Macek sealed the win for Yekaterinburg.

Traktor Chelyabinsk 3 Barys Nur-Sultan 2 (0-0, 2-1, 1-1)

Anton Burdasov was one of Traktor’s big summer signings – and today he scored his first goal for the team in 10 years. Now 31, he was a rising star back in the 2011-2012 season when he last represented Chelyabinsk. Today he grabbed the tying goal to set Traktor on the way to its first victory in the tournament – a result that leaves all four teams with one win apiece and Traktor topping the table by virtue of its point from a shoot-out loss yesterday against Magnitka.

Barys, which started with a win over Avtomobilist, took the lead early in the second period when the effective Mikhailis-Vey combination unpicked the home defense. This time it was Linden Vey who claimed the goal after Nikita Mikhailis’ double sealed Wednesday’s win.

Then came Burdasov. He tied it up with a power play goal, converting after an Albert Yarullin shot. Next, his assist helped Nikita Tertyshny make it 2-1. However, this was not just the Burdasov show. Early in the third period the home fans celebrated a third power play goal, this time from Maxim Shabanov, 21, a star in the VHL with Chelmet last season. With 10 minutes left, Vey’s second of the night – helped by a deflection off Yarullin – kept the game alive but Traktor, helped by 38 saves from young goalie Sergei Mylnikov, held on for the win.

Puchkov Tournament: First win for Sibir

Avangard Omsk 1 Sibir Novosibirsk 2 (0-1, 0-1, 1-0)

Defeated by SKA in its first game of the competition, Sibir looked to rebound against its Siberian neighbor. After four years away, Avangard’s return to Omsk breathes new life into this local rivalry. The two clubs will once again be in neighboring (at least by Siberian standards) cities. Today, though, they met far from home on the shores of the Baltic.

Although Avangard benefitted from a rest day while Sibir played yesterday, the Hawks were caught cold. Omsk spurned an early power play chance, and then conceded in the fifth minute with Vladimir Tkachyov in the box. Valentin Pyanov got the opening goal.

That lead lasted until the intermission and in the second period, Sibir’s PP struck again. Vyacheslav Osnovin found the net and his team was 2 from 2 with the man advantage. By contrast, Avangard’s special teams had failed to score on five separate occasions.

Belatedly, the Hawks improved their play with unequal forces. There were two successful PKs in the rest of the middle frame, then in the 44^th minute the power play finally got it right. Reid Boucher was the beneficiary, pulling a goal back with Denis Alexandrov in the sin bin.

Sibir had led 2-1 against SKA before falling to a 2-4 loss. And there were fears that the lead might slip again tonight when Avangard had the puck in Denis Kostin’s net late in the game. It would have been another power play goal, but the officials whistled off the play and Andrei Martemyanov’s team held on for the win.