Poltapov hits hat-trick, Dragons edge Spartak

This week sees the start of the Mayor of Moscow Cup, and all three of the capital’s clubs were in warm-up action this afternoon. CSKA edged a seven-goal thriller against Dynamo, but Spartak fell at home to Shanghai Dragons.

CSKA Moscow 4 Dynamo Moscow 3 (2-2, 1-0, 1-1)

Igor Nikitin named a strong roster for CSKA’s first warm-up game of the summer. And his big names were clearly eager to get back into action, with Dmitry Buchelnikov opening the scoring in the second minute.

Dynamo has been busier this summer and responded well. Goals from Nikita Korostelyov and Dylan Sykura put the Blue-and-Whites in front – but not for long. Prokhor Poltapov tied the scores in the 14th minute, then struck again at the start of the second.

With that, the high scoring slowed. There was no further action in the middle frame, despite CSKA having three power plays including a stint of five-on-three play.

Midway through the third, Dynamo showed how to exploit a power play as Jordan Weal tied the game at 3-3. But a couple of minutes later Poltapov completed his hat-trick to give CSKA the verdict.

Spartak Moscow 1 Shanghai Dragons 2 (0-1, 1-1, 0-0)

After two pre-season wins, Spartak suffered its first defeat of the summer against the Dragons. Both teams had debutants: Evgeny Svechnikov for Spartak, and former CSKA man Takhir Mingachyov for Shanghai, just days after his arrival.

The first period went to the visitor. Mikhail Kotlyarevsky got the only goal in the eighth minute off a feed from Givani Smith. And the Dragons dominated the play, outshooting Spartak 23-12.

Within a minute of the restart, Spartak tied the game thanks to Mikhail Maltsev. But it wasn’t long before Shanghai regained the lead on a 27th minute marker from Nic Petan. That was the end of the scoring, although the Red-and-Whites failed to convert a five-on-three power play in the final stanza.