Metallurg abandons game, Traktor and Amur set up showdown

There was drama at the Romazan Memorial tournament in Magnitogorsk where Metallurg refused to finish its game against Neftekhimik. The host team was up 2-1 when Daniil Vovchenko sustained an injury. There was no penalty on the play, and head coach Andrei Razin responded by sending his team back to the locker room. Meanwhile, at the Chelyabinsk Governor’s Cup, Traktor and Amur picked up their second wins in successive days. They will now play for the trophy in Friday’s game.

Romazan Memorial

Salavat Yulaev Ufa 3 Magnitka (VHL) 2 SO (1-0, 1-2, 0-0, 0-0, 1-0)

After losing its tournament opener to Metallurg last night, Salavat Yulaev returned for the early game on Wednesday with a much-changed line-up. Facing VHL opposition, Viktor Kozlov turned to his youngsters, with forward Evgeny Sorokin the only player born before 2001. There was still room for Chmelevski on the team, but instead of the well-known Alexander, today we saw his younger brother, Ilya. Mikhail Velikov, a goalscorer yesterday, was the only player to retain his place.

Those youngsters made a bright start and it wasn’t long before a counterattack saw Bulat Akhsyanov, 18, open the scoring. Ufa’s lead might have been greater, but strong goaltending from Nikita Podskrebalin kept it to 1-0 at the break.

Early in the second, we finally saw something of Magnitka’s attack and Evgeny Grigorenko tied the scores with a close-range effort. Salavat responded with a short-handed goal from Artyom Nabiyev, but still went to the intermission deadlocked after Boris Osipovich finished off an impressive passing play.

That was the end of the scoring, despite a four-minute power play for Magnitka in the third period. Subsequently, Ufa had the better of the play but couldn’t a winner until the shoot-out. There, Salavat Yulaev converted its first two attempts and Alexander Chyorny claimed the winner.

Metallurg Magnitogorsk 0 Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 3 WO

The second game of the day in Magnitogorsk ended unhappily. Metallurg head coach Andrei Razin removed his team from the ice in protest at a refereeing decision after a big hit on Daniil Vovchenko saw the forward stretchered off the ice.

The incident happened midway through the third period with Metallurg leading 2-1. Vovchenko suffered a blow to the head after a challenge from Neftekhimik defenseman Roman Abrosimov, sustaining an injury that prevented him from continuing the game. The officials reviewed the incident but saw no reason to issue a penalty on Abrosimov.

That verdict outraged Razin, who immediately sent his team back to the locker room. As a result, the game was abandoned with 11 minutes left to play and Neftekhimik was awarded a walkover victory.

Earlier, Vovchenko had opened the scoring with a power play goal in the first period. Neftekhimik quickly tied the scores through Vyacheslav Leshchenko, but Luke Johnson restored Metallurg’s lead early in the third.

Chelyabinsk Governor’s Cup

Lada Togliatti 2 Amur Khabarovsk 3 (1-1, 0-1, 1-1)

Alex Galchenyuk started to show Amur’s fans what he’s all about with a goal and an assist as the Tigers recorded a second win at the tournament in Chelyabinsk.

It was only the second game with his new club for the American, who joined the team late due to a visa issue. After making his debut yesterday, he opened his scoring account in the eighth minute when he redirected Dmitry Shevchenko’s shot into the Lada net. The same pairing was involved early in the second period as Amur made it 2-1: roles reversed, Galchenyuk’s shot from the circle was finished off by Shevchenko on the slot.

In between those goals, Lada tied the game when a defensive lapse invited Nikita Mikhailov to convert a solo rush. And Mikhailov turned provider early in the third, setting up Denis Barantsev for the 2-2 goal. But Amur would not be denied a second victory in this tournament: Evgeny Grachyov’s face-off win set up Vyacheslav Gretsky for an instant shot that made the final score 3-2.

Traktor Chelyabinsk 3 Ugra Khanty-Mansiysk (VHL) 0 (0-0, 2-0, 1-0)

For Wednesday’s game against VHL opposition, Traktor head coach Benoit Groulx called on seven players from Chelmet, Traktor’s own VHL affiliate. Among them, goalie Vladislav Sukhachyov pulled on a Traktor jersey for the first time since the 2019-2020 season.

He found himself busy in the first period and caught the eye when he charged off his line to meet the on-rushing Daniil Skorikov. The gamble paid off, and at the intermission the game was goalless. The closest we came to a goal was an improbable incident when Ruslan Aglsmzyanov fired in a shot that hit both posts before bouncing to safety.

After that, Traktor began to create more problems for Evgeny Volozhin in the other net. Gradually that pressure told and early in the second period, captain for the day Vitaly Kravtsov put the home team in front during a five-on-three power play.

While Kravtsov was one of the few leading players invited to play in this game, the other scorers were both guys looking to get a chance in the KHL. Artyom Udot did his prospects no harm with a well-taken goal to double the lead midway through the game. His effort was not unlike one of Maxim Shabanov’s tallies in yesterday’s win over Lada. Finally, Sergei Drugalya applied the finishing touch with a third goal in the 53rd minute.