Bright start to Sochi Hockey Open

The first tournament of the summer got underway in Sochi. SKA blew a 0-2 lead and lost to Admiral, before the host team edged a 2-1 verdict over Russia U23s.

SKA St. Petersburg 2 Admiral Vladivostok 3 OT (2-0, 0-1, 0-1, 0-1)

Admiral pulled off a big fightback as the starting game of the Sochi Hockey Open turned into a thriller. After SKA made a bright start, the Sailors rallied from 0-2 to claim an overtime verdict.

Roman Rotenberg iced a youthful team for his first game of the summer. In addition, SKA has several players and members of its coaching staff working with the Russia U23s at this tournament. However, there was little sign of difficulty in the first period. Matvei Michkov, who played on loan in Sochi last season, enjoyed his return to the south with a goal and an assist in the opening frame. Moreover, the Flyers summer draft pick appeared as center on the second line, a role he has not previously played in the KHL. Linemate Ivan Demidov matched that two-point return and SKA’s prospects generally acquitted themselves well. In addition, the big summer signings, Sergei Tolchinsky and Artemy Gritsyuk, made their debuts on the first line alongside Kirill Tankov, who is returning to full fitness.

However, Admiral is out to prove that last season’s success was not a flash in the pan. And, as SKA ran into penalty trouble, the game’s path changed. Colby Williams pulled a goal back in a five-on-three power play late in the second period. Alexei Solovyov tied it up in the 48^th minute with another power play tally. Then, in the extras, the Sailors had another numerical advantage and Prokhor Korbit was Johnny on the spot to seal the win.

Leonids Tambijevs, Admiral head coach
I think we played a good game. At the start we weren’t quite matching them, but then the guys put it right. They did well, they didn’t panic. They listened and were patient. It’s important that we showed our will to win, it was a good victory to develop our team spirit. Games like this create the right kind of team identity. There’s still a long way to go, but there were a lot of things I liked. Even if we’d lost, we were still doing the right things.

Roman Rotenberg, SKA head coach
Our young guys, Ivan Demidov, Matvei Michkov, did well. But we let ourselves down with those penalties. At five-on-five we had this game. We were up against an experienced opponent playing with its strongest roster, so this was a valuable game for us.

HC Sochi 2 Russia U23s 1 (1-0, 1-1, 0-0)

Sochi has had a busy summer after last season’s struggles, and there was a new look to the roster as it started its pre-season campaign against Russia’s rising stars. Kirill Rasskazov, newly-arrived from Vityaz, captained the team, while fellow newcomers Borna Rendulic, Michal Kristof and Jesse Graham all formed part of the starting five.

The national team included two Sochi players – defenseman Roman Yuzbashyan and forward Dmitry Zavgorodny. The young Russians also selected defenseman Mikhail Gulyayev, a first-round draft pick for Colorado, on a roster coached by Nikolai Voyevodin of SKA’s VHL farm club.

However, Sochi made the faster start. The Leopards came close to opening the scoring in the second minute after a foul on Artyom Nikolayev led to a penalty shot. However, the home forward could not beat his namesake Dmitry in the opposition net and the score remained blank.

That set the tone for a lively first period, and it was surprising that there was only one goal. Rendulic, Team Croatia’s captain, was the scorer midway through the session. Sochi took a slender lead into the intermission.

Russia U23 responded early in the middle frame when Dmitry Buchelnikov, one of several SKA prospects on the team, tied the game. However, it didn’t take long for Rasskazov to restore the home lead. For much of the rest of the second period, the national team enjoyed shooting practice but could not find a way past Mikhail Berdin to tie the game once more.

In the final stanza, the picture was reversed. Now Sochi enjoyed the lion’s share of the play, keeping Russia U23 away from the danger zone and securing victory in its opening game of its home tournament.