Ak Bars wins the Opening Cup. September 1 round-up
The big news from Friday’s curtain raiser was CSKA’s decision to start Ivan Fedotov in goal. Fedotov is back in the game after missing last season to complete his national service, and his return to action has sparked a transatlantic transfer wrangle between the Muscovites and the Philadelphia Flyers. The Russian club insists that it signed a valid contract with Fedotov, believing that he was a free agent after his proposed move to the NHL was halted in the summer of 2022. The Flyers, meanwhile, argue that when a player is unable to fulfil his contract, it automatically rolls over and remains valid for the following season.
CSKA Moscow 2 Ak Bars Kazan 5 (0-1, 1-2, 1-3)
On the eve of the game, CSKA announced that it would appeal an IIHF ruling that banned Ivan Fedotov from playing for four months. And, when the rosters were announced, the goalie was named as CSKA’s starter.
Ahead of the game, KHL president Alexei Morozov explained that the league had no problem with Fedotov’s selection.
“CSKA named Ivan Fedotov on its roster for the game,” he said. “The KHL accepted this roster in accordance with our central database, therefore Fedotov can play. Neither the KHL nor the club agree with the IIHF’s decision, which infringes the constitutional rights of a Russian citizen to work. Russia’s prosecutor general spoke in defense of the player, and sent a message to the Russian Hockey Federation, the club and the league about the consequences of violating his right to work and insisting that Fedotov be allowed to take part in the championship.”
Morozov added that any decisions about Fedotov’s future role with CSKA would lie with the club’s coaching staff.
However, Fedotov’s involvement was ultimately overshadowed by a powerful performance from Ak Bars. The Kazan team, beaten by CSKA in last season’s Gagarin Cup final, looks even stronger this season. Today, Zinetula Bilyaletdinov’s men went some way to demonstrating that on the ice. An even first period saw the visitor get ahead in the 17th minute. Nikita Lyamkin’s stretch pass released summer signing Dmitrij Jaskin, he dished the puck off for Dmitry Kagarlitsky and the experience forward finished off the move to claim the first goal of the new season. There was a great chance to make it 2-0 just before the intermission when Darren Dietz got into trouble on the blue line and was forced into a foul to deny Kirill Semyonov. The Ak Bars forward got up to take the penalty shot, but Fedotov closed the door.
The second period began with the first implementation of a new rule. CSKA began the frame on the power play, so the opening face-off was in Ak Bars territory. However, not even that advantage could help the home team score in the 10 seconds of numerical advantage remaining. The tying goal had to wait a couple more minutes before Nikita Nesterov found the net. Officially, this came during four-on-four play, but Vadim Shipachyov was barely out of the box when the defenseman hit the twine.
Tying the game did not give CSKA a big momentum swing. Instead, Ak Bars continued to threaten. Fedotov made a big save to deny Jaskin midway through the second period, but was powerless when the Czech international potted his first for his new club in the 37th minute, stuffing home the rebound from Daniil Zhuravlyov’s point shot. Just 30 seconds later, it was 3-1 when Nikita Dynyak fired home a wrister of Artyom Lukoyanov’s feed.
In the third, CSKA grabbed a lifeline when Yaroslav Dyblenko made it 2-3. However, penalty trouble sank the defending champion. Fredrik Claesson and Vladislav Provolnev sat in the box together, and the two penalties led to a pair of Ak Bars goals from Alexander Radulov and Shipachyov.
That wrapped up the win for the visitor, which claims the Opening Cup for the third time in five attempts.
