First win for defending champ. September 3 round-up
After losing to Ak Bars in the season opener, CSKA responded with an assured win over Admiral. Sunday’s other game saw Lokomotiv lose at home to Torpedo, with Alexei Kruchinin scoring twice.
Spirited Admiral sunk in Moscow
CSKA Moscow 4 Admiral Vladivostok 1 (2-0, 1-0, 1-1)
CSKA bounced back from defeat in the Opening Cup to record its first win of the season. The defending champion subdued a spirited Admiral team, killing the game with goals either side of the first intermission.
Goalie Ivan Fedotov, whose contract status is subject to an appeal against an IIHF ruling, was again named on the CSKA roster. However, he did not start today’s game, with Alexander Sharychenkov getting the nod from Sergei Fedorov.
The opening minutes produced little in front of goal, but CSKA fashioned a breakthrough after six minutes. Vladislav Provolnev’s timing and vision created the opportunity as he picked the moment for a perfect cross-ice pass from the left. Pavel Karnaukhov was the beneficiary, arriving at the far post to convert.
However, for much of the first period, Admiral matched the home team. The stats after 20 minutes were almost even, and Leonids Tambijevs could feel slightly aggrieved that his men were behind. That sense of grievance was heightened seconds before the break when Mikhail Grigorenko redirected Maxim Mamin’s shot into the net to make it 2-0.
The second period began with Nikita Serebryakov stealing a goal from Darren Dietz, but it didn’t take long for the Muscovites to add to their lead. CSKA won the subsequent face-off, and Provolnev launched a one-timer from the point that slipped under the glove and into the net.
Admiral continued to have a good share of the game, outshooting CSKA 12-9 in the middle frame, but already looked to be too far behind. Leonid Metalnikov pulled one back early in the third and the visitor ensured that the opposition had little chance to attack. However, game management is a big part of Fedorov’s success as head coach and there was rarely a sense that things were getting out of control for CSKA. Any lingering doubt about the result was extinguished in the 52nd minute when Prokhor Poltapov added a fourth.
Loko loses home opener
Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 2 Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 5 (0-2, 1-0, 1-3)
Lokomotiv began the season with high expectations. Igor Nikitin’s team was strong in pre-season and Yaroslavl always believes its club should be among Russia’s elite. However, the opening day visit of Torpedo delivered a reality check, possibly puncturing some of that optimism.
Igor Larionov proved last season that he has what it takes to coach in the KHL. Today, despite a less eye-catching summer, his team proved too good for Lokomotiv. A couple of early goals set the tone. Nikolai Kovalenko opened the scoring in the fifth minute, then Alexei Kruchinin doubled the lead in the eighth. Home fans may have noted that both scorers played for Lokomotiv early in their careers.
After that poor start, the Railwaymen improved. The latter half of the first period saw the home team take the initiative, although scoring chances were still at a premium (Torpedo’s two goals came from just six shots). In the middle stanza, Loko had much the better of the game and when Rushan Rafikov halved the deficit in the 34th minute, there were grounds for optimism. It wasn’t just the scoreline: Lokomotiv outshot Torpedo 20-5 in the second period, suggesting that further scoring was more likely to come from the men in red.
Thus it was untimely for Georgy Ivanov to take Yaroslavl’s first penalty of the game at the start of the third. Kovalenko set up Sergei Goncharuk to make it 3-1 and shake Loko’s momentum. Ivanov partially atoned for his foul, assisting as Denis Alexeyev pulled one back midway through the third. However, Torpedo responded a minute later and Vasily Atanasov restored the two-goal advantage. After his breakout season last time, Atanasov is looking to assert his status as top KHL player this term. And the 20-year-old added an assist to his tally late in the game as Kruchinin’s second wrapped up Torpedo’s victory.
