KHL 3x3 Round 23: Avangard finds a goalscorer, Ak Bars remembers how to lose

The penultimate stage of the regular season saw Ak Bars’ 16-game hot streak come to an end, while Barys once again failed to end its losing run.

Story of the Round

This was the final round of the regular season for the four competing teams. For Barys, it was the end of the whole season. Among the teams progressing to the Superfinal, each took some kind of positive away from the weekend.

Traktor had perhaps the most modest achievement. Despite losing twice to Avangard and dropping out of contention for the Supergame as early as Saturday, the Chelyabinsk team recovered on Sunday. A prestigious 6-2 win over Ak Bars was only the third of the season against the 3x3 Championship powerhouse.

Ak Bars taught us that a team can get through a whole round without defeat, so two losses in one weekend is already something of an event. But there’s no cause for panic, and the players themselves understand that well enough. “Maybe we had too much belief in ourselves, a bit of overconfidence,” said captain Pavel Gorokhov. “Either way, we need to get rid of that.” Ak Bars remains the favorite to win it all: here, Kazan rallied at the key moment to win another Supergame and did so despite largescale squad rotation that gave the team an unfamiliar look.

For Avangard, this was an unqualified success, its best round for a couple of months. Halfway through, the Hawks were left without the experienced Nikita Nikitin and goalie Eduard Reizvikh, but that misfortune served to unite the remaining players. Alexei Kopeikin’s men peaked on Saturday with wins over Traktor and Ak Bars. Igor Tyalo, who played without a break, coped well with the workload and sniper Anton Kovalyov underlined his status as a real find for the team. Recently, it felt like Avangard had stalled. But the team's play and result in the 23rd round inspired genuine hope ahead of the Superfinal.

This round also doubled the number of players to hit 100 points this season. Metallurg’s free-scoring duo of Sergei Shmelyov and Pavel Varfolomeyev (on 113 points each) were joined by Grigory Nesvetayev (Traktor) and Yury Muravyov (Ak Bars). Two more Metallurg players could join the club in the 24th and final round – Dmitry Marchenkov is on 93 points, while Andrei Oleinikov has 88.

Player of the Round

Anton Kovalyov (Avangard)

Avangard enjoyed some success by adding players to the ranks as the season progressed, but nobody can match Anton Kovalyov’s impact. Throughout the entire league, there are few “jokers” on this level. This weekend he quickly proved that his nine goals on his debut (including five in one game against Barys) was no flash-in-the-pan; he continued to score in almost every game. This guy has a truly elite shot, he is dangerous from any spot in opposition territory. His signature move uses a defenseman to conceal his shot before wiring it to the corners, and that brought him 12 (10+2) points and the MVP for this round.

Game of the Round

Avangard Omsk 3 Ak Bars Kazan 2

This game reminded everyone that Ak Bars is not invincible. The Tatars had already assembled an awe-inspiring 16-game hot streak and went into this one as favorites to make it 17; Avangard was hindered by the absence of two players, plus a schedule that had it back in action right after a tough battle with Traktor. But the Hawks coped. Igor Tyalo played at a high level for the second game in a row and Stanislav Kalashnikov rifled home the winner 13 seconds before the hooter.

Rookie of the Round

Vsevolod Logvin (Barys)

Barys could not halt its losing streak and finished yet another round without picking up a point. The season ended with 13 straight losses for the Kazakhs. But this time, they were by no means out of their depth; often they came up just short, but the outcome was the same. The bright spot in the final round was a newcomer on the team, Vsevolod Logvin. The 21-year-old forward was good at both creating and finishing, ending up with 9 (4+5) points.

Image of the Round

In 3x3, there’s no place for hits and rough play, but that doesn’t mean the opponents can indulge in some figure skating. Avangard’s experienced Kirill Lyamin welcomed Ak Bars newcomer Artemy Knyazev to 3x3 play, keeping him away from goal in the classical 5x5 manner.