Winning starts from Dinamo, Sibir

Host club Dinamo Minsk began with a victory in the first pre-season tournament of the summer. The Bison came out on top in a high-scoring encounter with Shanghai Dragons. The opening day of the Minsk Cup began with Admiral beating Sibir 3-1. The tournament continues tomorrow. Admiral can secure first place in its group with victory over HC Sochi, while the Dragons look to bounce back when they take on Metallurg.

Minsk Cup

Sibir Novosibirsk 1 Admiral Vladivostok 3 (0-0, 0-2, 1-1)

For its first pre-season game, Sibir relied on a youthful roster. Evgeny Kuznetsov’s debut for his new club will have to wait, and other experienced figures including Darren Dietz, Yegor Korshkov, Yegor Alanov, Maxim Osipov, Taylor Beck and goaltending duo Anton Krasotkin and Mikhail Berdin all sat this one out.

By contrast, Admiral has already tested its depth with games against Belarusian opposition in July. That meant Oleg Bratash was able to name something closer to a full-strength team today.

That gap in experience was not too evident in a goalless first period. However, after the intermission the Sailors took control and got up 2-0. A power play early in the middle frame saw 21-year-old goalie Denis Gabdrakhmanov give up a rebound for Danila Moiseyev to open the scoring. Artyom Kudashov’s point shot was the key to that opener, and he repeated the trick late in the session, again finding Gabdrakhmanov’s pads before Yegor Korbit doubled the lead.

The Admiral power play looked good throughout the game and early in the third it clicked again. Libor Sulak needed just 20 seconds to find a point shot that ripped past the goalie to make it 3-0. Sibir managed a consolation effort midway through the final frame thanks to Alexander Mirzabalayev, but the game went to the Sailors. 

Dinamo Minsk 7 Shanghai Dragons 5 (3-1, 2-2, 2-2) 

Both teams have extensively rebuilt this summer. Dinamo saw head coach Dmitry Kvartalnov head to Lokomotiv. Sergei Brylin takes over behind the bench in his first head coaching role, but will have to do without the likes of Darren Dietz, Kristian Khenkel, Rob Hamilton, Vitaly Pinchuk, Vadim Moroz, Ryan Spooner and KHL record scorer Vadim Shipachyov.

Meanwhile, the Dragons saw 26 players leave during the summer. Under new president Ilya Kovalchuk and new GM Evgeny Artyukhin the club has built an entirely new roster for head coach Mitch Love. Dmitrij Jaskin is perhaps the most prominent addition to date, and he marked his debut with two goals.

However, the opening goal went to one of just four Dragons who featured last season. Nikita Popugayev broke the deadlock midway through the first period. Defenseman Pavel Koledov, currently on a try-out, picked up an assist. However, his prospects of securing a permanent deal were not enhanced when his double minor saw Minsk score twice on the power play through Daniil Sotishvili and Sergei Kuznetsov. Arseny Chukhrayev soon added another; Dinamo celebrated three goals in less than two minutes as the game turned around.

Special teams continued to make an impact in the second period. Jaskin pulled one back in the 24th minute on the power play, but Miroslav Mikhalyov quickly matched that to make it 4-2. Another Minsk PP brought another goal soon after, but this time it was a shorthanded effort from Mikhail Kotlyarevsky to keep the Dragons in contention. However, Mikhalyov, who played five times in last season’s KHL without registering a point, sent new head coach Brylin another reminder when he made it 5-3 late in the session.

In the third period, Riley Sutter pulled one back for the Dragons, but Rhett Gardner, another summer signing for Dinamo, restored the host’s two-goal advantage. In the 57th minute, Jaskin’s second power play tally set up a tense finale. However, with a minute to play Kuznetsov scored his second of the game into an empty net to seal a home victory.