Tournament hosts beaten

Monday saw two tournaments start, and two host teams defeated on opening day. The Chelyabinsk Governor’s Cup saw Amur beat Traktor 3-0, while Ak Bars won 3-2 in overtime against SKA at the Puchkov Tournament. Elsewhere, Sibir ended the Blinov Cup with a win, and CSKA defeated Dynamo in a Moscow derby. 

Puchkov Tournament

Brovkin’s OT winner denies SKA

SKA St. Petersburg 2 Ak Bars Kazan 3 OT (0-1, 1-0, 1-1, 0-1)

Artyom Brovkin scored twice to give Ak Bars victory over SKA in the opening game of the Puchkov Tournament. The host club thought it had saved itself with a last-minute goal in regulation, but Brovkin won it for the visitor in overtime.

A new era for SKA gets underway this summer with Igor Larionov replacing Roman Rotenberg as head coach. After a warm-up game against Dynamo St. Petersburg of the VHL, the Puchkov Memorial tournament represents his first big test in the new role.

Ak Bars, meanwhile, already played three warm-up games – albeit without entirely convincing results for a new-look roster. Like SKA, this is the first tournament of the summer and also the toughest test to date for Anvar Gatiyatulin’s men.

The visitor started well, opening the scoring on 78 seconds. Artemy Pleshkov misjudged Brovkin’s shot after the Ak Bars man broke down the left-hand channel, and the goalie allowed the puck to slip between his pads and into the net.

In response, SKA stepped up. Vladislav Romanov had a good chance when he got one-on-one with Mikhail Berdin but after beating the Ak Bars goalie he could not squeeze his shot on target. Nikolai Goldobin, one of the high-profile summer signings, also went close but fired a one-timer just wide off Sergei Plotnikov’s feed.

Ak Bars was close to another quick goal in the second period, but Dmitrij Jaskin’s effort hit the post. Then, midway through the session, Brovkin’s foul gave SKA its first power play and Marat Khairullin took the chance to tie the game. Summer signing Trevor Murphy, who had three points in that win over Dynamo, assisted on this one.

After that, both teams created chances in an open and entertaining game. However, when overtime seemed inevitable, Sergei Sapego was assessed minor for handling the puck. That opened the door for the Ak Bars power play, and Alexei Pustozyorov set up Ilya Safonov in front of goal to beat Pleshkov at the second attempt.

Behind again with less than four minutes to play, SKA called a time-out on 57:07 and replaced Pleshkov with a sixth skater. For a long time, even an extra man didn’t help the home team generate pressure on the Kazan net. But in the last minute, SKA finally established its offense and Brennan Menell banged an equalizer through traffic from the center point.

However, the reprieve was only temporary. In overtime, Brovkin got another chance. Initially unable to get a shot away, he moved to the center of the SKA zone and found a lane to beat Pleshkov and win the game.

The three-team tourney continues tomorrow when Ak Bars takes on Avtomobilist.

Chelyabinsk Governor’s Cup

Mikhailov double too much for Sochi

HC Sochi 1 Lada Togliatti 3 (1-0, 0-1, 0-2)

The traditional summer tournament in Chelyabinsk started with Vladimir Krikunov making his debut as head coach of Sochi. The 75-year-old is back in the KHL after his previous role at Dinamo Riga ended in 2022, but he was unable to start with a win today.

Krikunov gave summer signing Troy Josephs, once of Lada, a spot on the first line alongside Artur Tyanulin and Sergei Popov, while Pavel Khomchenko got the start in goal. Lada also had a new face on its top line: center Josh Lawrence played with Nikita Mikhailov and Dmitry Kugryshev.

The first period went well enough for Sochi, with Alexander Yaremchuk opening the scoring after some good work from Igor Shvyryov to win possession and set up his team-mate. The Leopards spent much of the opening frame in front of Lada’s net but struggled to beat ex-Sochi goalie Maxim Tretiak.

However, after the intermission the momentum swung in Lada’s favor. Evgeny Groshev was denied by the post before Ivan Savchik stuffed home the equalizer on the power play.

Early in the third, Mikhailov’s swift counter put Lada ahead. Then the Motormen killed a fourth penalty of the game to preserve that lead before Mikhailov sealed the win with his second of the game. Lawrence chipped in with two helpers. 

Amur triumphs as Traktor fires blanks

Traktor Chelyabinsk 0 Amur Khabarovsk 3 (0-2, 0-0, 0-1)

The tournament host suffered a hefty loss in its opening game, blanked by Amur as the Tigers roared to the top of the standings.

Traktor has been busy in the transfer market this summer, with several key players moving on after last season’s run to the Gagarin Cup final. Benoit Groulx’s team had a scrimmage against Chelmet last week, but this was the first time Chelyabinsk’s fans could see their new faces in a standard 60-minute game against KHL opposition.

Josh Leivo and Pierrick Dube were among the more eye-catching additions to the forward line, with former CSKA man Mikhail Grigorenko also involved. Chris Driedger played the full game in goal after joining the team to replace Zach Fucale.

Amur was playing its first game of the summer. New head coach Alexander Galchenyuk Sr opted not to use his son in today’s game, but handed a debut to goalie Maxim Dorozhko, who joined after Vityaz folded during the summer. The new man performed superbly, recording a shut-out as Traktor’s offense failed to convert five power play chances. Moreover, those included a five-on-three session lasting more than a minute midway through the game, plus a major penalty after Oleg Li was ejected from the game at the start of the third.

By the time Amur had to deal with those crises, it already had a two-goal lead. Kirill Slepets opened the scoring in the seventh minute, then assisted as Cam Lee doubled the lead late in the opening frame.

The middle stanza was goalless, and the third saw Amur’s PK impress once more. The final word went to Evgeny Grachyov, who made it 3-0 in the 56th minute.

Blinov Cup

Shirokov gives Sibir win at final attempt

Sibir Novosibirsk 2 Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 1 SO (1-0, 0-0, 0-1, 0-0, 1-0)

The concluding game of the Blinov Cup was a matter of pride. Neither team had managed a win in the tournament, and the loser would leave Omsk rooted to the foot of the standings.

Neftekhimik was close to full strength for the game, while Sibir brought back goalie Louis Domingue and defenseman David Farrance, but rested Scott Wison.

Things got off to a slow start, which seemed to suit Neftekhimik better. However, neither team was able to generate much work for the goalies until midway through the game. Nikita Popugayev and Evgeny Mityakin had decent chances for the Wolves, but a counterattack saw Sibir get ahead. Pavel Gogolev left the defense in a spin and looked to feed Roman Kalinichenko. However, a kind bounce off a Neftekhimik skate saw the puck find the net.

There were good chances early in the second period for Artyom Chmykhov and German Tochilkin as Neftekhimik looked for a way back. However, possession and territory did not bring clear cut chances and the middle frame ended with no further scoring.

The final stanza continued in similar vein. Neftekhimik had more of the play but few chances until Matvei Nadvorny tied it up in the 51st minute. Neither team could find a winner in regulation or overtime, but the shoot-out saw Sibir take the verdict thanks to captain Sergei Shirokov’s decisive attempt.

Warm-up games

Buchelnikov scores twice in CSKA victory

CSKA Moscow 4 Dynamo Moscow 1 (1-0, 0-0, 3-1)

Much like last summer, CSKA is keeping it low-key for pre-season. Today’s Moscow derby, something of a dress rehearsal for the Mayor of Moscow’s Cup later this week, went ahead without even an online stream for fans to follow.

Dynamo added Max Comtois and Cedric Paquette to the roster that lost 1-3 to Ak Bars last time out, but fared little better today. The Blue-and-Whites got plenty of practice on the PK, giving CSKA two power plays in each period. Punishment arrived only at the sixth attempt when Ruslan Abramov scored, although by then the home team was already in control thanks to markers from Dmitry Buchelnikov and Dmitry Samorukov. Daniil Pylenko got Dynamo on the board late in the game, but Buchelnikov had the final say with his second of the day.