Ak Bars on top in semi-final opener

A powerful first period saw Ak Bars take control of the opening game of its 2026 Gagarin Cup semi-final series against Metallurg. The visitor took a 5-2 verdict at the regular season champion to enjoy an early advantage in the series.

Chmelevski double paces road win for Kazan

Metallurg Magnitogorsk 2 Ak Bars Kazan 5 (0-3, 1-1, 1-1)
Ak Bars leads the series 1-0

For the second day in a row, the outsider claimed victory on the road in the opening game of a 2026 Gagarin Cup semi-final series. This time it was Ak Bars’ turn, producing a replica of Avangard’s 5-2 win at Lokomotiv to take the upper hand over Metallurg.

The visitor did the damage in the first period, chasing Alexander Smolin from the Magnitka net with three unanswered goals. After that, Metallurg twice reduced the deficit but two goals from Alexander Chmelevski ensured Ak Bars was always comfortable. Mitch Miller had three assists and Nathan Todd finished with 1+1.

Smolin’s return as starting goalie was the only change to the Metallurg team that wrapped up the previous series against Torpedo in game five. Ilya Nabokov dropped to the bench once again. Ak Bars, which swept Dinamo Minsk to get here, was also unchanged.

Anvar Gatiyatulin’s men quickly demonstrated a willingness to stifle Metallurg with a strong forecheck and looked to get pucks to the net as often as possible. Even before Ilya Safonov’s third-minute opener there had been work for Smolin; the goalie had no answer to Safonov when he shot from close range.

The pressure continued, and Chemelevski might have doubled the lead on the next shift. Metallurg ran into problems in center ice and needed eight minutes to get a first shot at Timur Bilyalov. At the other end, chances kept coming and Nikita Dynyak made it 2-0 midway through the frame.

Metallurg almost hit back immediately when Danila Palivko put everything into a shot that beat Bilyalov. However, his celebration was cut short by a bench challenge that correctly established an offside on the play. And there was more misfortune for the home team when Valery Orekhov hit the crossbar. At the other end, there were no such problems for Ak Bars and Todd added a third to bring Nabokov into the game.

In the second period the Steelmen wanted to play on the front foot. In response, Ak Bars decided that offense was the best form of defense and the game turned into an entertaining encounter. There were dangerous counterattacks at both ends – Dmitrij Jaskin and Artyom Minulin for Ak Bars, Todd and Kirill Semyonov for Ak Bars. Midway through the session a penalty on Jaskin brought a power play goal for Luke Johnson, redirecting a Robin Press shot to reduce the deficit.

The home team went in search of more, only to be caught on the counter as Chmelevski added a fourth for Ak Bars.

After the second intermission, the visitor adopted a more defensive approach. Although there were still chances for Metallurg, Bilyalov dealt with the pucks that came his way. It took another power play to swing the momentum back in Magnitka’s direction: the home team could not score even in six-on-four play, but after Nabokov returned to the game Alexander Petunin struck just as Nikita Lyamkin left the box. Lyamkin’s assist on today’s opening goal extended his hot streak to 11 (2+9 points) in 10 games. And he again finished on the winning side on Saturday, with a late power play goal from Chmelevski sealing the deal in the series opener.