KHL 3x3 Round 9: Victory for Minsk and Shumakov’s ‘Michigan’

Dinamo Minsk won its first Supergame as Sergei Kuznetsov starred for the Belarusians. Sergei Shumakov potted one of the goals of the tournament as Traktor came second in the group. As a result, Dinamo climbs to second in the Winline Division, while Avangard edges in front of Metallurg to take second in the Fonbet Division.

Story of the Round

Dinamo Minsk’s triumph in the Supergame was the big takeaway from round nine. The Bison marked themselves out as an attractive and steadily improving team here. One time previously they made it to the Supergame but lost to Salavat Yulaev. This time, finally, Dinamo came out on top.

The team’s leaders came to the fore. Leading goalscorer Alexander Lukashevich scored seven goals in the round and finished off with the Supergame winner. Maxim Slysh maintained his usual standards, compiling 9 (3+6) points to go to the head of the scoring race. Goalie Vladislav Gorbachyov played almost every minute and remained reliable throughout before stopping Traktor’s impressive offense in the Supergame. But the final piece of the jigsaw this time was newcomer Sergei Kuznetsov.

Hero of the Round

Sergei Kuznetsov (Dinamo Minsk)

Dinamo has always assigned players from the KHL to its 3x3 team. Last month, it was Timofei Kovgorenya and Pavel Denisov. Now it was the turn of 22-year-old Kuznetsov. After missing the first day’s play he soon made it clear that he wouldn’t need much time to adapt. The power forward was strong in all components: winning possession, passing the puck, unstoppable shots and combining with team-mates. Kuznetsov finished with 9 (6+3) points from four games, plus two more assists in the Supergame where he had a hand in both his team’s goals. 

Game of the Round

Dinamo Minsk 3 Avangard 4 SO

Avangard made its familiar slow start t other tournament and was all out of second chances. For Dinamo, things were working out well, but dropping points to a direct rival risked undoing that good work. Yet after two periods, that’s exactly where things were heading: Avangard was up by two. However, the Belarusians fought back on goals from Sergei Kuznetsov and Roman Serafimovich and even a shoot-out loss was not such a serious blow. The winner had cause for concern: throwing away victory in regulation and allowing the opposition a point greatly complicated the Hawks’ path to second place and a ticket to the Supergame.

Goal of the Round

Any attempt at a Michigan tends to lead the choices for the best goal of any round. This time, Sergei Shumakov pulled it off. Moreover, it would be impossible to score like this in 5x5 – Shumakov’s effort came after missing a penalty shot, which would normally lead to a break in play in a traditional game. The star forward produced some eye-catching displays, twice scoring hat-tricks, but in the crucial moments for Traktor he could not find the clutch goals.