Salavat Yulaev snatches trophy with late rush

The Republic of Bashkortostan Cup had a dramatic finish as Salavat Yulaev grabbed the honors in its home tournament. Needing to beat Avtomobilist to claim top spot, Ufa trailed 1-3 with five minutes to play but rallied to win 4-3. Metallurg came second after a big win over Dynamo earlier in the day. In Kazan, Traktor qualified for tomorrow’s TANECO Cup final with a shoot-out win over Lokomotiv. Traktor will face Ak Bars, which comfortable beat Barys. The Lada Cup was settled on Saturday, but Khimik denied champion Kunlun Red Star a perfect record. Lada secured second place ahead of Neftekhimik with a 3-2 victory in the final game of the competition.

Republic of Bashkortostan Cup

Dramatic finish gives host team the prize

Metallurg Magnitogorsk 7 Dynamo Moscow 2 (2-1, 2-1, 3-0)

With all four teams going into the final day of this tournament level on points, winning was vital to win the competition. Moreover, to maximize the chance of coming out on top, it was important to win well. Metallurg certainly took that lesson on board, powering to an emphatic victory over Dynamo.

Magnitka lost 2-5 to Salavat Yulaev in its previous game, and head coach Andrei Razin changed things up. Grigory Dronov and Danila Yurov returned to the team; Nikita Mikhailis, Denis Zernov, Yegor Yakovlev and Robin Press made way. Dynamo made fewer changes despite a 0-3 loss to Avtomobilist in the previous game.

The Blue-and-Whites opened the scoring, with Ilya Kablukov grabbing a shorthanded goal after seven minutes. But after that, Metallurg soon took control. It took just five minutes for Dmitry Silantiev to tie the scores – the 23-year-old forward played last season in the VHL and is looking to stake a claim to a KHL spot this term. Pavel Akolzin gave Magnitka a lead to take to the intermission, and the second period brought a goal and an assist for Nikita Grebyonkin to extend the lead to 4-1. Late in the middle frame, Dynamo got a 5-on-3 power play and Nikita Gusev pulled a goal back.

But there would be no recovery in the third. Instead, Metallurg added three more goals in the last 10 minutes. Grebyonkin was on target again before Roman Kantserov and Semyon Koshelev completed the rout.

Salavat Yulaev Ufa 4 Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 3 (0-2, 1-1, 3-0)

The tournament host left it late, but three goals in the last five minutes was enough for Salavat Yulaev to win the cup. Metallurg’s win over Dynamo earlier in the day opened the door for Viktor Kozlov’s team to finish in top spot: a regulation-time win over the Motormen would put Salavat Yulaev level with Magnitka, but ahead on the head-to-head result between the teams.

However, home hopes of securing silverware looked forlorn for much of the game. Avtomobilist jumped to a 2-0 lead in the first period. Nikita Blendov, a 19-year-old forward who featured in eight regular season games last term, opened the scoring on the power play midway through the session, then Danil Romantsev doubled the lead late in the frame.

Ufa responded with a power play tally from Alexander Sharov midway through the second period, but Anatoly Golyshev restored the two-goal cushion late in the middle frame to keep Avto well on top.

With the tournament on the line, the home team struggled to find a way back for much of the third period. However, Kozlov was willing to bet the farm on turning the game around. In the 55^th minute, he withdrew goalie Alexander Samonov in favor of an extra skater. Within 25 seconds, Daniil Ogirchuk made the most of the 6-on-5 format to make it 2-3. Salavat Yulaev continued to press, forcing Avtomobilist to call a time-out in a bid to calm the storm. That didn’t work: on 56:59, Dinar Khafizullin tied the game. Then, two minutes later, Vladislav Yefremov made it 4-3 to the home team, completing a dramatic, trophy-winning turnaround.

Viktor Kozlov, Salavat Yulaev head coach
We turned the game around thanks to hard work, character and dedication. We were at our highest level in the third period, we began to play more aggressively. It was very important to win this tournament in front of our home fans. On Sunday, lots of people came to the game. They roared us on in the third period, they forced us to keep going forward. The crowd could really be heard tonight.

TANECO Cup

Traktor advances to final, Loko faces Barys for bronze

Traktor Chelyabinsk 2 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 1 SO (1-0, 0-0, 0-1, 0-0, 1-0)

Traktor booked its place in tomorrow’s TANECO Cup Final against Ak Bars after edging a shoot-out verdict against Lokomotiv. While the tournament host was already assured of playing for gold, both of these teams had the chance to secure a top-two finish and a shot a lifting the cup.

With a de facto semi-final in prospect, Traktor brought Nikita Soshnikov back into the first line alongside Semyon Der-Arguchintsev and Anton Burdasov, with Vitaly Kravtsov dropping to the second alongside Vladimir Tkachyov and Nikita Tertyshny. Loko, however, rested import defenseman Martin Gernat and started with teenager Sergei Murashov in goal.

Lokomotiv had an early power play chance but could not take advantage. Soon, Murashov was in the thick of things as his team had to kill a 3-on-5 penalty. The 19-year-old stood up to that challenge well, but he was finally beaten late in the frame when Viktor Antipin opened the scoring.

For a long time, that looked like it might be the only goal. However, with barely a minute left, Loko tied the game on a power play goal from Maxim Shalunov. That proved a temporary reprieve: Traktor settled the outcome in the shoot-out with Tkachyov potting the decider.

Ak Bars Kazan 5 Barys Astana 2 (2-0, 1-0, 2-2)

This game could do nothing to change the tournament standings. Ak Bars was already assured of top spot in the group stage after winning its first two games; Barys, beaten twice, was destined to finish fourth.

In Sunday’s action, the tournament host tuned up nicely for Monday’s gold-medal game with an impressive win. Zinetula Bilyaletinov continued with a strong roster, clearly feeling that momentum was worth preserving in his home tournament. And he was rewarded with a strong start that saw his team score the first four goals of the game.

Stanislav Galiyev broke the deadlock after 13 minutes, then penalty trouble cost Barys a second before the intermission. Galiyev turned provider as Slava Voynov converted a 5-on-3 power play and Ak Bars was in control. Midway through the second, Artyom Lukoyanov extended the lead and Kirill Semyonov made it 4-0 with a shorthanded tally at the start of the third.

Barys managed to convert the same power play, then one minute later Arkady Shestakov repeated that trick on another PP to record his, and his team’s, second of the game. However, Ak Bars had the last word. Vadim Shipachyov quickly made it 5-2 and that’s how it finished.

Lada Cup

Khimik clips the Dragons’ wings, Lada edges Neftekhimik to claim second place

Kunlun Red Star 2 Khimik Voskresensk 5 (0-2, 2-1, 0-2)

After winning the cup on Saturday, Red Star came abruptly back down to Earth on Sunday with a heavy loss to Khimik. The VHL team got its first victory of the tournament thanks largely to a pair of quick goals midway through the first period.

Just 23 seconds separated tallies from Nikita Susuyev and Arseny Paramonov as Khimik opened a 2-0 lead. And, despite Kunlun’s attempts to fight back in the second period, the KHL club was unable to recover.

The middle frame saw two Chinese goals, coming from Spencer Foo and a penalty shot by Brandon Yip, but in between Gleb Kozhemyakin’s effort ensured that Khimik remained in front.

Then, in the third, a steady string of KRS penalties disrupted any hopes of saving the game. Instead, goals from Vladislav Dzhioshvili and Danil Pivchulin sealed a convincing win for Khimik.

Lada Togliatti 3 Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 2 (1-0, 1-1, 1-1)

Lada finished its home tournament with a win to take second place in the standings. On the final day of the tournament, Oleg Bratash rested some of his leading players: the Kugryshev-Fisenko-Babenko line was absent.

However, Andrei Altybarmakyan, a young player who could blossom into a major star on this team, continued his impressive form. He opened the scoring in the fourth minute, maintaining his goal-a-game record in the competition, then added an assist as Sergei Shumakov doubled the lead early in the second stanza.

Neftekhimik found a way back into the game when Alexander Dergachyov made it 1-2 in the 34^th minute. Then came something of a reprieve for the visitor after Vladislav Chervonenko failed to convert a penalty shot. Lifted, the Wolves tied the scores early in the third thanks to Dmitry Zhukenov.

However, the fightback would be in vain. A couple of minutes after that tying goal, Lada regained the lead. Donat Stalnov, who played VHL hockey in Togliatti a couple of seasons ago, potted what proved to be the gamewinner. The 24-year-old center, previously with Lokomotiv and Torpedo, is back at Lada on loan from HC Sochi and will be looking to make the most of his chance to establish himself in the KHL.