Dragons burn Russia’s juniors, Traktor wins again

There was a startling result at the Puchkov Tournament, where Kunlun Red Star handed Russia U23 a 7-1 beating. In Omsk, Traktor finished its Blinov Cup campaign with a win over Barys and could secure the trophy if results go the right way tomorrow. Saturday also saw two high-scoring warm-up games, with Dynamo beating Vityaz while Torpedo lost out to Norilsk.

Blinov Cup

Traktor Chelyabinsk 4 Barys Astana 2 (2-1, 1-1, 1-0)

Traktor recorded its fourth victory in Omsk to move two points clear at the top of the standings. However, Benoit Groulx’s team must now hope that Barys can defeat Lokomotiv in order to deliver the cup to Chelyabinsk.

The Kazakhs, meanwhile, will go into Sunday’s game still seeking a first victory of the tournament. Today, despite icing probably their strongest available team, they were in trouble from the start and never recovered. More worrying still for David Nemirovsky, Traktor used a youthful roster featuring only a handful of leading forwards.

That didn’t prevent Traktor from jumping to a 2-0 lead inside five minutes. Mikhail Kotlyarevsky opened the scoring with two minutes played, then Sergei Telegin converted the first power play of the day to double the advantage. At the other end, young Sergei Mylnikov was not tested at all in the early stages.

It was a long road back for Barys, but there was encouragement in the 14th minute when Damir Zhafyarov pounced on Alexander Kadeikin’s misplaced pass and ran in to pull a goal back.

The middle frame saw the teams trade goals. In-form Nikita Tertyshny, elevated to the top line today, continued his streak to make it 3-1 before a five-on-three power play saw Wade Ellison get Barys back into contention before the second intermission. Zhafyarov combined neatly with Mike McLeod to present Ellison with an empty net and he needed no second invitation.

However, Barys would get no closer than that. The third period saw the Kazakh offense frustrated and in the 57th minute Charles Robinson wrapped up the win with a one-timer to make it 4-2.

Puchkov Tournament

Russia U23 1 Kunlun Red Star 7 (0-2, 0-2, 1-3)

This was a result nobody saw coming. KRS produced a battling performance against Ak Bars in its opening game in the tournament, but Russia’s juniors enjoyed a solid win over Sochi. It suggested that Saturday’s clash in St. Petersburg should be an even battle.

However, there was nothing even about this one. The Dragons seized control early in the game and never relinquished that grip. Parker Foo opened the scoring after five minutes, Jayden Halbgewachs doubled the lead in the ninth and from that point on the Russian youngsters were struggling.

In the second period, Red Star extended its lead. Chris Wilkie converted a power play, then Adam Clendenning wired a wrister through traffic to make it 4-0.

That was the end of Yegor Zavragin’s game in the Russian goal, but just 90 seconds into the third period Yury Pautov beat the new man, Denis Popov. Wilkie got his second of the night before Daniil Lazutin mustered some scant consolation for the juniors. But it took barely 30 seconds for KRS to ensure it had the final word as Luke Lockhart completed an emphatic win.

Warm-up games

Vityaz Moscow Region 3 Dynamo Moscow 5 (0-1, 3-2, 0-2)

These two teams produced a high-scoring game on Saturday, with Dynamo taking the verdict in the third period.

The Blue-and-Whites started well and had the initiative early on without seriously testing Maxim Dorozhko in the Vityaz net. Gradually, the pressure told and Anton Slepyshev opened the scoring in the ninth minute. There was more to come, with Dynamo adding two more at the start of the second period thanks to Max Comtois and Brennan Menell, with Nikita Gusev and Eric O’Dell assisting on both.

Vityaz responded by firing back two quick goals of its own: Dean Stewart and Yaroslav Busygin on target, Vladislav Tsitsyura with two helpers. Late in the third, Maxim Motorygin produced a wonder save to preserve Dynamo’s lead, but the following shift saw Vladimir Galuzin tie it up at three.

Dynamo began the third with a power play goal from O’Dell, with Gusev completing a hat-trick of assists. In the closing moments, the Muscovites were reduced to three skaters but when Dorozhko went to the bench three proved to be enough: Artyom Shvets-Rogovoi scored into the empty net to seal the win.

Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 4 HK Norilsk 5 (1-0, 3-3, 0-2)

In an entertaining game against VHL opposition, Igor Larionov opted to play with just three lines. And that short bench possibly made the difference: Norilsk rallied to win it in the third period.

The game also marked the first pre-season sightings of Slava Voynov, captaining Torpedo on his debut for the club, and Bobby Lynch. However, it was Anton Silayev who opened the scoring for the home team with a short-handed goal.

In the middle frame, the teams shared six goals. Alexei Kirillov tied it up for Norilsk and Nikita Kolesnikov twice put the VHLers up. Torpedo responded through Maxim Letunov, Lynch and Nikita Artamonov to lead 4-3 after 40 minutes.

The final stanza saw Norilsk energized as Torpedo tired. Vladislav Kaletnik, part of Metallurg’s 2016 championship team, jumped out of the box to tie it up with a solo effort. Then, two seconds before the hooter, Sergei Golodnyuk snatched the win for the minor league team.