Russia survives a scare; World Team gets first win
Day two of the Channel 1 Cup started with Russia 25 edging past Belarus in overtime after an entertaining 3-3 tie in St. Petersburg. Then the KHL World Stars defeated Kazakhstan 3-1, bouncing back from an opening-night loss.
Goal rush can’t save Belarus
Russia 25 4 Belarus 3 OT (0-0, 2-3, 1-0, 1-0)
Belarus scored three goals in 68 seconds to give Russia 25 a real scare on day two of the Channel 1 Cup in St. Petersburg. However, the host nation recovered to win the game in overtime.
There was little sign of the drama to come in a goalless first period. Then the Russians scored twice at the start of the second, seemingly taking control of the game. Ilya Safonov opened the scoring before Grigory Kuzmin doubled the lead. His goal was assisted by SKA team-mates Marat Khairullin and Mikhail Grigorenko, who continued their own productive tournaments.
That flat like a decisive surge from the host nation. However, Belarus had other ideas. Dmitry Kvartalnov’s team came from behind to beat Kazakhstan in the opener and showed great character here to launch another fightback. It started with a penalty on Safonov. By the books, the teams were back at equal strength when Andrei Stas pulled a goal back; in reality, Safonov had barely set foot on the ice before the puck hit the net. Vadim Moroz tied it up soon after, and when Yegor Borikov made it 3-2 for Belarus, the visitor had blasted three goals in just 68 seconds.
Now it was Russia 25’s turn to show its character. Early in the third, Ilya Nabokov made a big save to snuff out an odd-man rush. Then came a Russian power play, and Bogdan Konyushkov tied the game. It remained locked at 3-3 until the hooter, despite some big late chances for Belarus.
However, the extras saw Russia finish the job quickly. Evgeny Kuznetsov, the biggest name on the roster this time, got clear on Ivan Kulbakov’s net and potted the winning goal. That’s his first for his country on home ice since the 2016 World Championship.
First win for World Team
Kazakhstan 1 KHL World Team 3 (0-2, 0-1, 1-0)
The KHL World Team got its first victory, proving too strong for Kazakhstan in Saturday’s late game. The all-new roster, making its first ever appearance at this year’s Channel 1 Cup, lost its opening game against Russia 25 on Thursday. It also failed to win a game in yesterday’s 3x3 tournament, so Mike Keenan’s players had something to prove against the Kazakhs.
The meant a fast start, with a flurry of shots at Jelal-ad-Din Amirbekov in the Kazakh net. Arnaud Durandeau came close to breaking the deadlock in the fifth minute, but his shot from a tight angle hit the post. Kazakhstan rarely posed a threat, but almost opened the scoring at the other end when Alexander Svoyevolin got clean through on goal. However, Patrik Rybar kept the forward at bay and a minute later Durandeau put the World Team in front. Will Bitten carried the play down the right and set up the Amur forward in the 12th minute.
Soon after that, World Team power play saw Alexander Chmelevski double the lead, assisted by Ufa clubmate Nathan Todd. And Todd got his second point of the game in the middle frame, assisting another power play goal. This time Sibir’s Andy Andreoff was the scorer in the 35th minute.
In the third, Kazakhstan managed to get one goal back through Artyom Likhotnikov on 56 minutes. However, that was as close as we came to a revival. Rybar shut down any late danger to secure a 3-1 win for the World Team.
After this win, the KHL World Team can guarantee second place with victory over Belarus tomorrow. Russia 25 faces Kazakhstan looking to complete a sweep in the tournament.
