Belarus triumphs in first ever 3x3 tournament
Moscow hosted the world’s first international 3x3 hockey tournament as part of the Channel 1 Cup weekend. Russia welcomed Belarus, Kazakhstan and China to the competition, which was played in a single day at the CSKA Arena.
There was strong KHL representation on all three teams. Russia’s roster had a strong SKA St. Petersburg contingent, making up eight of the 14 selected players. China drew exclusively from the ranks of Kunlun Red Star, while Belarus and Kazakhstan called up several men from Dinamo Minsk and Barys Astana respectively.
This form of hockey is widely tipped to form part of future Olympic Games, so in recent months Russia has been keen to test out the format. In the summer, the KHL staged its first 3x3 competition. The Federation of Russian Hockey also held a summer tournament in Sochi. However, this was the first time national teams had competed in 3x3 action.
3x3 hockey is played on a full-size rink, but it has some different rules compared with the game we’re used to seeing. Apart from the obvious reduction in personnel, the action moves much faster. Each game consists of three seven-minute periods. In the event of a tie, it’s straight to a shoot-out. Instead of players going to the sin bin, any foul also results in a penalty shot. There are no icings, since players are encouraged to look for stretch passes to turn defense into offense. Hits are banned, because the emphasis is on technical skill rather than brute force.
Fittingly for a fast-paced variant of hockey, this tournament was played in a single day. The first puck was dropped at 1900 local time, and the trophy was presented before 2230.
Semi-finals
Game one saw Belarus take on China. This turned into a tight battle before the Belarusian scored twice in the last minute to claim a 5-3 verdict. Next, host nation Russia took on Kazakhstan. The Kazakhs jumped to a 2-0 lead, but Spartak’s Nikita Chibrikov rescued the Red Machine with two goals. However, the teams could not settle the issue in regulation time and the shoot-out went to Kazakhstan.
Bronze medal playoff
That sent Russia into a third-place playoff against China. After a slow start against Kazakhstan, the Red Machine was in no mood to repeat its failings. SKA prospect Matvei Michkov, named as team captain, opened the scoring before his clubmate Nikita Smirnov potted a hat-trick. That was 4-0 at the first intermission. China got on the scoreboard early in the second thanks to Josh Nicholls. He would later assist on a second Chinese goal for Olympian Ryan Sproul. However, the Russians kept scoring at the other end and romped to a 9-2 victory.
Gold medal game
Not many expected a Belarus vs Kazakhstan final. The teams met in full-size hockey on Thursday at the start of the Channel 1 Cup. Belarus came out on top in that one, and repeated the success in more emphatic style here. Valentin Demchenko got the only goal of the first period, but in the middle frame Belarus took control. Vitaly Pinchuk and Sergei Kuznetsov combined twice to extend the lead and take the game away from Kazakhstan. Yegor Klavdiyev scored twice, sandwiching a successful penalty shot from Yegor Chezganov before Mikhail Rakhmanov got a consolation goal for the Kazakhs. Demchenko’s second of the game made the final score 7-1 to Belarus.
