Debut day

Bob Hartley won his first game as Lokomotiv head coach, Igor Larionov started life at SKA with victory, and there were wins for Neftekhimik and Avtomobilist in Monday’s warm-up action.

Successful start for Hartley

Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 2 Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 1 (1-1, 0-0, 1-0)

Bob Hartley got off to a winning start as Lokomotiv’s head coach, seeing his new team take a 2-1 verdict over Torpedo in its first warm-up game.

The Loko line-up featured plenty of prospects, with Hartley giving the club’s youngsters a chance to stake a claim for a spot on the defending champion’s roster.

Torpedo, meanwhile, also made its first appearance under a new head coach. Alexei Isakov named something close to a full-strength roster in his first game behind the bench with a KHL team.

The Railwaymen made the brighter start, playing with pace and intent from the off. That led to Yaroslav Likhachyov getting the opening goal when he found the open corner of Ivan Kulbakov’s net. The home team might have increased its lead, but failed to take several presentable chances.

Midway through the opening frame the pace dropped, and that helped Torpedo get into the game. The visitor got more time on the puck, began to pose questions of Daniil Isayev and his defensemen, and tied the scores on a goal from new signing Bobby Nardella. As the session wore on, Torpedo looked the likelier to score, but Isayev kept Lokomotiv level.

Isayev was the busier goalie at the start of the second period. A double power-play gave Torpedo the impetus, but Lokomotiv defended well and got the break when Sergei Goncharuk failed to find the top corner with the visitor’s clearest chance.

Later in the frame, Pavel Kraskovsky failed to connect when he seemed certain to score. Lokomotiv also swapped goalies midway through the game, sending Alexei Melnichuk in place of Isayev.

The final stanza saw Lokomotiv reassert itself and find the winning goal. A power play early in the frame saw Denis Alexeyev on target for what proved to be the decider. 

The Professor’s first examination

SKA St. Petersburg 5 Dynamo St. Petersburg (VHL) 2 (1-0, 1-1, 3-1)

Like Hartley, SKA’s new head coach Igor Larionov made a winning start in his new role. Up against VHL opposition, the Professor deployed summer arrivals Trevor Murphy, Markus Phillips and Brennan Menell on defense. However, recent offensive reinforcements Rocco Grimaldi and Joseph Blandisi were not involved. Neither was former Spartak man Nikolai Goldobin, claimed off waivers this morning.

Instead, Sergei Plotnikov led the attack. Named as captain for the game, he scored twice in a 5-2 victory. There were further goals from Valentin Zykov, Sergei Sapego and Nikita Zaitsev. SKA was never behind in the game, although Dynamo got it back to 2-3 midway through the third period only to allow two further goals in the closing stages.

Wolves on top in intra-club clash

Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 5 Izhstal Izhevsk (VHL) 2 (1-1, 1-0, 3-1)

Neftekhimik also has a new head coach this season, and today Igor Grishin got a look at his own team plus the farm club Izhstal. In the end, it was a comfortable victory for the KHL roster, but this game was very much alive until the last 10 minutes.

The first flurry of action came midway through the first period. Evgeny Mityakin gave Neftekhimik the lead on 9:44, but almost immediately Izhstal tied it up. Kondrat Reshetnikov, a hot tip to step up to the first team this season, did his prospects no harm with the equalizer.

It remained level until late in the second period when Kirill Kapustin restored Neftekhimik’s lead. But Izhstal wasn’t done and Denis Dyuryagin made it 2-2 in the 49th minute.

The game was settled by a couple of quick goals. Artyom Kudashov, on loan from Dynamo, got what proved to be the game-winner in the 53rd minute, then Bulat Shafigullin made it 4-2 on the power play. That left Izhstal chasing the game and another newcomer, Danila Kvartalnov, potted a short-handed goal to wrap up the verdict.

Motormen edge past Salavat

Salavat Yulaev Ufa 2 Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 3 OT (1-1, 0-0, 1-1, 0-1)

No new head coaches here, but plenty of questions to answer about Salavat Yulaev in the build-up to the new season. It’s been a tough summer in Ufa, with many key players leaving as the club tightens its belt and struggles to cut its spending.

Josh Leivo, who set a KHL record for goals in a single regular season last term, is the most prominent departure. That kind of loss only adds to the need to develop talent from the reserves and today Viktor Kozlov named an import-free roster that dove deep into the ranks to look at who else is available.

And his players responded to take Avtomobilist – also playing without several big names – to overtime.

The Motormen led twice in regulation, with Semyon Kizimov opening the scoring in the first period and Nikita Shashkov restoring that lead in the third. But Ufa stayed in the game. Alexander Chyorny scored in the 17th minute, and defenseman Alexander Komarov made it 2-2 with just under five to play, forcing the extras.

In overtime, Curtis Valk gave Avto the win, with Kizimov adding an assist to his earlier goal. Canadian-born, naturalized Kazakh Valk was the only “import” on either side in today’s game and it was perhaps fitting that the most experienced forward on the ice delivered the decisive moment.