KHL 3x3 Round 1: Unstoppable Metallurg and a flurry of hat-tricks

Round 1 of the KHL 3x3 championship saw Metallurg throw down an early marker for the competition. The Steelmen won five out of six games in the first weekend tournament, and followed that up with a comfortable victory over Traktor in the showcase Supergame to conclude the first contest of the tournament. As a result, Magnitka is the early leader in the Fonbet Division with 10 points. Traktor has eight points, and leads the Winline Division.

Hero of the Round: Pavel Varfolomeyev

One of the rules of the tournament is that each roster must include a player with substantial KHL experience. For Metallurg, that’s Varfolomeyev. He showed his caliber here, compiling 13 (5+8) points in the first round.
In particular, Varfolomeyev made the difference in the Supergame, contributing 4 (3+1) points. Pavel looks like a natural in this format, which is well suited to his style of play. He instantly formed an effective partnership with Sergei Shmelyov, another player with extensive KHL experience.

Game of the Round: Sibir 5 Traktor 6 SO

This was the final game of the round, but what made it stand out was the first ever tie game in KHL 3x3 history. There wasn’t much riding on the result: Traktor had an eye on the Supergame, while Sibir was hoping for a promising finish after four losses in its first five games. But the teams served up a classic stuffed with action. Trailing 4-5, Traktor saved itself in the final seconds of the third period on a goal from Danil Bogush and went on to snap our first ever 3x3 tie in a shoot-out.

Figure of the Round: 9 hat-tricks

The first round of action produced nine hat-tricks, not including the Supergame. Sibir’s Alexei Krivchenkov scored four in a game, Metallurg’s Sergei Shmelyov and Andrei Oleinikov both had two hattys apiece. Sergei Gritsenko (Sibir), Denis Polukarov (Metallurg), Talgat Zhailauov (Barys) and Artyom Penskovsky (Traktor) also sank trebles over the weekend.

And the goals kept coming in the Supergame: Polukarov scored four, Shmelyov, Varfolomeyev and Oleinikov three each. Will we see even more hat-tricks in the second round? Or will we witness the first five-goal performance?

Story of the Round: Timkin’s coaching debut

It’s not that long since we saw this power forward on the ice, but now he’s moved behind the bench. And if he seemed a little nervous at first, it didn’t take Evgeny Timkin long to settle into the job. Nonetheless, the only time we saw him smile was at the end of the round when he was posing for the team photo with a million-ruble check for winning the Supergame.

The opening round proved that Timkin grasped the nuances of the new format faster than his rivals and his team was on a higher level than the competition. He made smart calls in setting up his partnerships and we saw that Magnitka is more than just Varfolomeyev and Shmelyov. There’s also Oleinikov and Polukarov, or Marchenko and Kharkin. Bravo, Evgeny Leonidovich!