Winning start for Avangard at Blinov Cup

The second summer tournament began in Omsk, and Avangard got the opening day win over Sibir on home ice. The Hawks needed a shoot-out in the their Siberian derby, though. Earlier on Wednesday, Severstal opened the tournament with a 2-0 victory over Lokomotiv and Spartak beat Torpedo in an entertaining warm-up game.

Blinov Cup

Avangard Omsk 3 Sibir Novosibirsk 2 OT (1-0, 1-1, 0-1, 1-0)

The tournament host made a winning start at the Blinov Cup, but had to work hard to get past Sibir.

For the visitor, this was a chance to test a full-strength line-up after two preparation games against VHL opposition. Avangard, meanwhile, was playing its first game of the summer and Guy Boucher sent out a strong line-up despite the absence of defensemen Joseph Cecconi and Slava Voynov.

It took some time for the teams to create chances, but when they did Avangard scored with its first meaningful attack of the game. Nail Yakupov’s pass to the slot found Alexander Volkov, who beat Louis Domingue to make it 1-0.

After that, Domingue faced a heavier workload as Avangard looked to press home its advantage. The summer signing performed strongly to ensure no further damage before the intermission.

Yet early in the second, Sibir tied the scores. A pacy counterattack saw Alexei Yakovlev set up Sergei Shirokov for a one-timer that was too hot for Nikita Serebryakov. That goal lifted the visitor and for a time Sibir looked the better team, but it wasn’t long before Avangard regained its earlier composure. A second goal wasn’t long in following when Pavel Leuka’s pass from behind the net set up Igor Martynov to make it 2-1.

The Hawks began the third period in a strong position, but were soon undermined by penalties. Sibir could not convert those power play chances and Andrew Poturalski almost leapt out of the box to score a breakaway goal only for Domingue to stop him. At the other end, Vladimir Tkachyov – the ex-Traktor one, not the former Hawk – had a similar chance with a similar unsuccessful outcome.

The tying goal came in the second half of the session and Yakovlev added to his earlier assist by redirecting Artyom Zhukov’s shot beyond Serebryakov. Late on, the post denied Sibir a winner, and that proved costly when Avangard won it in overtime on Damir Sharipzyanov’s goal.

Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 0 Severstal Cherepovets 2 (0-0, 0-1, 0-1)

The Blinov Cup action began on Wednesday with Bob Hartley returning to Omsk as Lokomotiv’s head coach. He opted to do without several key players – Alexander Radulov, Martin Gernat and Byron Froese were all rested – but called on leading center Maxim Shalunov for the first time this summer. Severstal began its pre-season campaign with a strong roster.

Early on, the Railwaymen looked more threatening. However, chances for Yegor Surin and Denis Alexeyev went begging. Severstal tried to create its own chances but found it harder to hold onto the puck and struggled to deliver the big plays. As the frame went on, Lokomotiv dominated and there were great chances for Alexander Polunin and Ilya Nikolayev, but nobody could find a way past Alexander Samoilov.

The middle frame saw Severstal step it up and Daniil Bokun’s shot almost deceived Daniil Isayev in the Yaroslavl net. Loko seemed to resume control of the play, but a long range effort from Oleg Sadovin found Isayev screened and put Severstal in front.

As the second period drew to a close, Severstal had a couple of power play chances but could not extend its lead. The third began more calmly with few big chances even though both teams had power plays. With five to play, Samoilov again denied Alexeyev to preserve the Steelmen’s slender lead.

That encouraged Loko to push harder, eventually replacing Isayev with a sixth skater. However, 40 seconds from the siren Timofei Davydov applied the final touch, finding the empty net to seal the win.

Warm-up game

Spartak Moscow 6 Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 3 (1-1, 2-0, 3-2)

A high-scoring game saw Spartak newcomer Nikita Buruyanov hit a hat-trick to lead the Red-and-Whites to victory.

The goal rush started early, with Torpedo getting up in the second minute. Nikita Shavin was the ultimate beneficiary of a lax pass from the Muscovites’ defense. The lead lasted just five minutes before Daniil Orlov kept the puck in the Torpedo zone, fired it to the slot and saw Buruyanov stuff it home at the second attempt.

Buruyanov struck again in the 35th minute to put Spartak’ in front and the middle frame ended with Ivan Vorobyov making it 3-1.

Summer signing Luke Lockhart assisted on that play, and the former Kunlun Red Star man added his first goal for Spartak in the 48th minute. Shavin pulled one back for Torpedo, but hopes of a late recovery were dashed by an empty net goal for Alexander Pashin before he set up Buruyanov’s third of the night. Pashin finished with 5 (1+4) points. There was still time for Anton Sizov to score for Torpedo as an entertaining game ended 6-3.