Metallurg starts with home win

Russia’s oldest pre-season tournament, the Romazan Memorial in Magnitogorsk, got underway on Tuesday. Host club Metallurg made a winning start, but needed overtime to beat Amur after Salavat Yulaev proved too strong for Traktor.

Romazan Memorial

Salavat Yulaev Ufa 4 Traktor Chelyabinsk 2 (1-0, 1-1, 2-1)

This year’s five-team contest got underway with a Devin Brosseau double securing the win for Salavat Yulaev. Viktor Kozlov’s team welcomed back fit-again defenseman Ildan Gazimov, who missed last week’s home tournament. Summer signing Vadim Shipachyov centered Sheldon Rempal and Yegor Suchkov on the first line.

Traktor, playing only its second game of the summer under new head coach Scott Gordon, continued with Henrik Haukeland in goal. His top line featured newcomer Nathan Legare, who scored twice on his debut, with Mikhail Grigorenko and Alexander Rykov.

Both teams began the game carefully, looking to build play in center ice. Salavat Yulaev gradually gained the upper hand and made the breakthrough close to the intermission when Rempal opened the scoring off a drop pass from Suchkov.

Early in the second period, Salavat Yulaev doubled its lead on the power play. Shipachyov collected his second assist of the game with a feed from the right for Brosseau to score. In response, Legare continued his scoring form. The Canadian pulled a goal back before the intermission, then tied the scores early in the third. Legare has four goals in two games, but has yet to shoot his new team to victory: Salavat Yulaev quickly got back in front on a goal from Denis Orlovich-Grudkov before Brosseau’s empty-netter finished the job. 

Metallurg Magnitogorsk 3 Amur Khabarovsk 2 OT (1-0, 1-0, 0-2, 1-0)

Tournament host Metallurg blew a 2-0 lead but managed to start the competition with an overtime verdict against Amur.

The visitor had impressed in Ufa last week, winning all three games to lift the Republic of Bashkortostan Cup. Alexander Andriyevsky mixed up his team a bit, handing a debut to new signing Semyon Demidov up front. Boris Borin, 18, retained his place after impressing in Minsk and played on the same line as Yaroslav Likhachyov and Ivan Klimovich. The top line had Fyodor Khrapov at center for Kirill Urakov and Kirill Petkov.

Andrei Razin deployed an experimental roster, and Magnitka’s rising stars that made the impact early in the game. The opening goal went to 19-year-old forward Mikhail Fyodorov. He’s hotly tipped for a breakout season, and this was his second goal of the summer after also finding the net at the Minsk Cup last week.

Then Kirill Kadyshev, a 24-year-old forward who joined from VHL champion Ugra this summer, doubled that lead in the second period.

But the Tigers roared back at the start of the third. Danil Yurtaikin assisted as Artyom Shvaryov reduced the deficit in the 42nd minute. Then, two minutes later, he tied the game himself.

That was the end of the scoring in regulation. But when it came to overtime, Metallurg turned to its senior players. Ruslan Iskhakov, who played much of the evening on the top line with Nikita Mikhailis and Stepan Starkov, got the winning goal with just 10 seconds of the extras to play.