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CSKA wins Moscow tournament
It was D-day in the capital, with the classification games for the Mayor of Moscow Cup dominating the schedule. CSKA won the trophy thanks to a 4-1 win over Kunlun Red Star, Spartak beat Amur to third place and Dynamo edged Vityaz to finish fifth. Elsewhere, Lokomotiv enjoyed a 4-1 win over Salavat Yulaev, Sochi ended a difficult week with victory and Admiral avenged its recent loss in Minsk.
Mayor of Moscow Cup: CSKA takes the prize
CSKA Moscow 4 Kunlun Red Star 1 (1-0, 2-0, 1-1)
The 15th edition of the Mayor of Moscow Cup went to CSKA, thanks to a comfortable win over Kunlun Red Star in Sunday’s final.
The two teams had different paths to the gold medal game. CSKA had to bounce back from an opening day loss to Dynamo, and got a boost when Amur defeated the Blue-and-Whites on Saturday. Kunlun, meanwhile, edged Spartak in a shoot-out and defeated Vityaz in an 11-goal thriller to top group B and earn a shot at winning its first ever pre-season trophy.
In the event, though, CSKA’s Gagarin Cup-winning experience made the difference here. The Dragons made a lively start to the game, and Alexander Sharychenkov had to be alert to pouce a testing shot from Cliff Pu in the early stages. After that, though, the Muscovites took control. Vitaly Abramov squeezed a shot over Jeremy Smith’s shoulder to open the scoring in the 16th minute, and Andrei Svetlakov doubled that lead at the start of the middle frame.
Youngster Maxim Sorkin grabbed a short-handed marker to make it 3-0 and then assisted Pavel Karnaukhov nine seconds into the third period.
Leading 4-0, CSKA gave young goalie Daniil Daryanu the last 10 minutes of the game. KRS responded with a consolation goal from Luke Lockhart and played much of the closing moments in a 6-on-3 format after the Muscovites ran into penalty trouble. But there was no way back for Greg Ireland’s team, which suffered its first defeat of pre-season.
After the game, CSKA goalie Alexander Sharychenkov was named best goalie of the tournament. His team-mate Vladislav Kamenev was selected as best forward, while Dragons newcomer Zac Leslie was nominated as top defenseman.
Spartak Moscow 2 Amur Khabarovsk 0 (1-0, 1-0, 0-0)
Amur handed a debut to Latvian goalie Janis Kalnins but lost out to Spartak in this third-place playoff. His opposite number Patrik Rybar won the goaltending duel and recorded a shut-out as the teams concluded their pre-season engagements.
It might have been different if Amur had been able to take advantage of an early 5-on-3 power play. However, the Spartak PK held firm and the danger was averted for the Red-and-Whites. Then, in the 16th minute, Alexander Khokhlachyov opened the scoring at the end of a long spell of pressure on the Amur goal.
The closest we came to a tying goal was on the Amur penalty kill. Twice, the Tigers fashioned one-on-one breakaways, but neither Sergei Lapin nor Vyacheslav Gretsky could take advantage. And, instead of 1-1, the scoreline soon read 2-0: Spartak’s power play finally got it right and Phil Varone wrapped up a classy move.
During this tournament, Amur has been noted for its willingness to drop the gloves. Today it was Gleb Koryagin’s turn. He took on Nikita Chibrikov and had the better of the clash. However, not even that could spark a fightback. Spartak controlled the closing stages of the game to secure the win.
Vityaz Moscow Region 1 Dynamo Moscow 2 (0-1, 0-0, 1-1)
Two goals from Eric O’Dell gave Dynamo the edge in this fifth-place playoff, and condemned Vityaz to its third defeat in three games at the tournament.
O’Dell opened the scoring with a power play goal midway through the first period. While Jakob Lilja screened the goalie, O’Dell showed his mastery on the slot to redirect an Andrei Mironov point shot into the net. At the other end, Tyler Graovac went close on a counter attack, but Ilya Konovalov shut the door.
It wasn’t until early in the third period that we saw another goal, and there was a certain irony about it. Roman Abrosimov spent much of the summer on a try-out at Dynamo but could not agree a permanent deal. Now at Vityaz, he popped up to tie the game.
Too often, though, Vityaz was let down by needless fouls in the O-zone. And that proved decisive when O’Dell claimed his second power play goal of the game. That was enough to give Dynamo the win in its final warm-up game before the season starts next week.
Puchkov Tournament: Sochi ends with a win
Sibir Novosibirsk 0 HC Sochi 3 (0-0, 0-2, 0-1)
The final game at the Puchkov Tournament had little riding on it. Sibir could join SKA on six points with a win, but the host team would still take top spot by virtue of a 4-2 win in their head-to-head meeting. Sochi, winless in its three games to date, had one last chance to taste victory before wrapping up its pre-season campaign.
The line-ups reflected the tournament standings. Sibir was happy to ice a mixture of first-teamers and prospects, with head coach Andrei Martemyanov resting his first line of Butuzov, Osnovin and Beck. Sochi, meanwhile, welcomed fit again Amir Garayev back into a more-or-less full strength team.
And it was Garayev who potted the opening goal of the game, scoring on the power play in the 34th minute. The goal was notable for a neat assist from Nikita Popugayev, who fed a pass between his legs to set up Garayev. Late the middle frame, Artyom Nikolayev doubled the lead on the counter.
Sibir fought back in the third and if Alexander Sharov’s effort against the piping had been on target the game might have been very different. Instead, Sochi was able to protect its lead and Nikolayev even grabbed a third in the last minute. Sibir finished the tournament in second place behind SKA, tied with Avangard and Severstal. Sochi remained in fifth.
TANECO Cup: Lokomotiv enjoys big win
Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 4 Salavat Yulaev Ufa 1 (1-0, 2-0, 1-1)
Lokomotiv’s pre-season finished on a high note with a convincing win over Salavat Yulaev, but this was a game dominated by freakish goals.
Ufa’s Grigory Panin endured a day to forget. His foul on Alexander Polunin presented Lokomotiv with a penalty shot late in the first period. Stepan Nikulin, a 21-year-old forward promoted to the first line today, converted that opportunity. For Panin, there was more to come. Early in the second period he attempted to clear the puck from behind goalie Ilya Ezhov, only to steer it into the net. Polunin was credited with the goal.
There was another unlikely marker late in the frame as Yegor Korshkov made it 3-0. His stick snapped as he fired in his shot, but that didn’t prevent him from finding the target. And Panin’s miserable day continued when his third-period error presented Daniil Tesanov with Loko’s fourth. Ivan Drozdov pulled one back for Ufa late on, but it was little consolation.
The result has little bearing on the tournament picture, with outsider Neftekhimik already assured of top spot after winning its first two games. Salavat Yulaev faces Ak Bars tomorrow in the final game of the summer.
Warm-up game
Dinamo Minsk 0 Admiral Vladivostok 2 (0-1, 0-0, 0-1)
Admiral avenged Wednesday’s loss against the Bison with a shut-out victory to conclude its pre-season action.
An early goal from Gleb Zyryanov put the Sailors ahead, but subsequently goalies Alexei Kolosov and Nikita Serebryakov were on top. There was no further scoring until the 59th minute, when Rudolf Cerveny’s empty net tally secured the win. Serebryakov made 37 saves for his shut-out.
