Admiral wins final warm-up game

The final game of pre-season went all the way to a shoot-out before Admiral took the verdict against Dinamo Minsk. Both teams had a busy schedule in the final days of their summer program, and this was the third game in three days for each of them.

Dinamo Minsk 3 Admiral Vladivostok 4 SO (2-0, 0-1, 1-2, 0-0, 0-1)

Dinamo made the initial breakthrough late in the first period. Two goals in a minute saw Daniil Sotishvili and Vladislav Kodola put the Bison in control. That 2-0 advantage lasted until late in the second, when Maxim Chudinov pulled one back for Admiral.

The action intensified in the third period. Nick Merkley restored Dinamo’s two-goal cushion and for a time it looked like that might have won it for the home team. However, Admiral responded in the final minutes. Nikolai Chebykin pulled a goal back on 51:35, then Alexei Solovyov tied it up with four to play.

There was no further scoring and, in the shoot-out, Admiral goalie Pavel Khomchenko proved unbeatable. He stopped every Minsk attempt, while at the other end Chebykin and Tyler Graovac were on target to give the Sailors the win.

Today’s result means that Admiral finishes the summer with a winning record – five wins (three in regulation) from eight games, including victory at the Sochi Hockey Open. Dinamo ends with a losing record of three wins from seven games, although two of its four losses came after overtime. In addition, a Team Belarus roster coached by Dmitry Kvartalnov and built largely on Dinamo players had an OT win over Metallurg on Aug. 5.

Dinamo starts its KHL campaign Saturday at Neftekhimik. The following day, Admiral travels to Moscow to face defending champion CSKA.