Admiral keeps up streak, Neftekhimik wins opener

Wednesday brought two warm-up games for KHL teams. In Belarus, Admiral edged a shoot-out success after 4-4 tie with Brest. Then in Nizhnekamsk, Neftekhimik took a 4-1 verdict over VHL team Chelny. And in Cherepovets, Olympic champion Bogdan Kiselevich enjoyed a win in his farewell game.

Third straight win for Sailors

Brest (BLR) 4 Admiral Vladivostok 5 SO (1-1, 1-3, 2-0, 0-0, 0-1)

For the third time this summer, the Sailors took on Belarusian opposition. And for the third time, Oleg Bratash’s team came out on top, albeit after a shoot-out.

After giving up a goal late in the first, Admiral hit back to seemingly take control of the game. Ostap Safin tied the scores before the intermission, then markers from Mikhail Grass and a double for Ivan Fomin made it 4-1 in the second. But the Belarusians weren’t done, pulling one back in the middle stanza then tying the game with two unanswered power play goals to make it 4-4.

That was how it finished, and after an inconclusive period of overtime, Admiral took the verdict in the shootout on Oskar Bulavchuk’s successful attempt.

Winning start for Wolves

Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 4 Chelny (VHL) 1 (0-0, 4-1, 0-0)

Neftekhimik’s first game of the summer ended in victory over VHL team Chelny. The Tatar team was able to name several players with significant KHL experience, but still on two-way contracts and thus available to play before the official Aug. 1 recall.

But today’s underdog made a lively start to the game, pushing the Wolves onto the defensive for much of the first period. That led to power play chances, and at the start of the second Maxim Ustimkin put the visitor in front.

But the response was swift – and also involved special teams. It took barely two minutes for German Tochilkin to strike on the power play, assisted by Rafael Bikmullin and Nikita Khoruzhev. Those two added further tallies to build a 3-1 lead by 32:07, then Nikolai Krivolapov completed the scoring after 35 minutes, completing the scoring.

Winning farewell for Kiselevich

Team Red 8 Team Gold 7

In Cherepovets, Olympic champion Bogdan Kiselevich played his farewell game. The two-time Gagarin Cup winner was joined by KHL stars past and present for the fundraising event in his hometown. Record scorer Vadim Shipachyov, goalies Ilya Sorokin and Vasily Koshechkin, NHLers Pavel Buchnevich and Ilya Lobushkin, and Gagarin Cup winner Pavel Karnaukhov all took part in a hockey gala.

Given the circumstances, the emphasis was on entertainment and the teams traded 15 goals to mark the end of the 36-year-old defenseman’s playing career. Kiselevich lined up for Team Red under head coach Ilya Niktin, with whom he won cups at CSKA (2022) and Lokomotiv (2025) and finished on the winning team.