Dragons win Lada Cup

In Togliatti, Kunlun Red Star secured top spot with a day to spare following a big win over Neftekhimik. Lada defeated Khimik in the other game in its home tournament. Spartak won Saturday’s only warm-up game, beating Amur 5-2.

Lada Cup

Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 1 Kunlun Red Star 6 (0-4, 0-1, 1-1)

Kunlun followed up an opening victory against the host with a crushing demolition of Neftekhimik. In doing so, the Chinese franchise secured first place in the Lada Cup – an improvement on the runners-up spot the Dragons clinched in advance of their first ever KHL season back in 2016-2017.

Both teams rested big players. Nail Yakupov sat this one out for Neftekhimik, while Brandon Yip, Red Star’s much-respected captain, was also absent.

In the first game of the tournament, KRS scored twice inside two minutes. Today’s start was not quite as fast, but ultimately proved even more effective. By the midway stage of the first period, the Dragons were up 4-0 after a devastating burst of scoring. Cliff Pu broke the deadlock after eight minutes, then triallist Ivan Lisin extended the lead and Devin Brosseau notched twice.

The second period saw Neftekhimik’s efforts to get back into contention undermined by regular penalties. However, the fifth goal for Kunlun came at equal strength with Spencer Foo finding the net midway through the session. At the other end, the Wolves had their chances but could not beat Alexander Lazushin.

In the 44^th minute, Bulat Shafigullin deprived Lazushin of a shut-out, but nothing could stop Red Star romping to victory. Pu completed the scoring with his second of the game as the Dragons took the cup with a game to spare.

Lada Togliatti 3 Khimik Voskresensk 2 (1-0, 0-1, 2-1)

Red Star’s win was not confirmed until the evening game. If Khimik could defeat the tournament host, then the VHL representative would have a chance of snatching gold in a showdown with Kunlun on Sunday.

However, Lada was also out to prove a point after its loss on Friday, and duly did so. That tournament opener saw Oleg Bratash’s team give up two early goals. Today, it went in front in the fifth minute when Ivan Romanov converted the first power play of the game.

In response, Khimik tried to seize the initiative, but could not find a way back into the game until late in the second stanza. Much of the middle frame was forgettable fare until Lada captain Mikhail Fisenko’s fight with Lev Starikov got pulses racing. In the 35^th minute, Alexander Belyayev’s hopeful effort surprised home goalie Nikita Bogdanov to tie the game.

Lada regained the lead early in the third through Nikita Lisov, but again could not hold the advantage. Nikita Susuyev tied it up, but this time it took just 90 seconds for Andrei Altybarmakyan to restore Lada’s lead. This time, the home team was able to close out the remaining 10 minutes and seal the win – handing the cup to KRS in the process.

Warm-up game

Spartak Moscow 5 Amur Khabarovsk 2 (1-1, 2-0, 2-1)

Nikolai Goldobin scored his first goal for Spartak as the Red-and-Whites enjoyed a comfortable win over Amur. Ivan Morozov, who joined Goldobin on the top line, weighed in with three points and Slovak defenseman Michal Cajkovsky was also on target.

The Tigers struggled with discipline early on, taking two minor penalties in quick succession and allowing Morozov to open the scoring on the power play. He got to the back door to convert a Matvei Zaseda feed. However, Spartak also found it hard to stay out of the box, and just seconds after an Amur power play came to an end, the visitor tied it up thanks to Stanislav Bocharov.

In the second period, the Tigers thought they had the lead but a bench challenge wiped off a goal. Then Spartak scored twice at the other end, with Goldobin on target for the first time since his move from Metallurg. That was followed by Cajkovsky scoring on a delayed penalty.

And the Muscovites continued to impress in the third. Vladislav Barulin pulled one back for Amur, but Daniel Usmanov converted a one-on-one break and Morozov potted his second of the game to wrap up the win.