It was a big day in Beijing as Kunlun Red Star played the opening day of its Renaissance Cup tournament. The pre-season tournament is the first time the organization has staged its own warm-up competition and, to mark the occasion, the club went with a select roster dominated by Chinese and Chinese heritage players for the opening game against Arizona State University.

Although the team was notionally a first team, in reality it drew heavily on players from the VHL team KRS-ORG, seasoned with a sprinkling of guys with KHL experience and few youngsters from the Youth Hockey League. Notably, all but one of them would potentially be eligible to represent China at the 2022 Olympics here in Beijing. The exception was Slovak forward David Bondra, currently on a try-out contract.

Summer signing Garet Hunt, a noted enforcer in North America, made his debut and wore the ‘C’, using his experience to help forge a team out of a roster built around guys looking to stake a claim for a KHL slot in the coming season. Part of the attraction for Hunt’s move to China was a chance to re-connect with his heritage and bid for an Olympic place; day one got the thumbs up from the newcomer.

“It was a pretty cool atmosphere,” he said. “It was pretty cool to pull on the jersey and come out with our heritage players here in Beijing. I thought this was a good foot forward for China.”

However, with Red Star struggling to gel early on, the Americans took control. Arizona invested plenty in this trip – the first time an NCAA team has toured China – and took to the ice with jerseys and helmets printed using Chinese characters. The unfamiliar look didn’t distract anyone: the visitor jumped to a 2-0 lead while the home team adapted to a new line-up.

Kunlun hit back, however, tying the game in the second period on goals from Brayden Jaw and Brandon Magee. It wasn’t quite enough to spark a come-back win: Arizona moved in front once again and not even a Rudi Ying goal in the third period could peg the visitor back. Three big saves in the final minute from visiting goalie Max Prawdzik secured a 5-3 win for the Americans but there were plenty of positives for Fraser and his coaching staff to take from the afternoon’s work.

KRS Select 3 Arizona State University 5 (0-1, 2-2, 1-2)

KRS goals: 1-2 Jaw (Hu, Tam 26:47); 2-2 Magee (Hunt, Riche 29:31); 3-4 Ying (Seto, Schultz 44:17)

Goalie: O’Brien

Jokerit and Ak Bars began their pre-season campaigns today – and both teams started with victories. The Finns grabbed a last-minute winner against Neftekhimik, while Ak Bars won in a shoot-out at nearby VHL team Nefteyanik in Dmitry Kvartalnov’s first game as head coach.

O’Neill’s double makes the difference

Neftekhimik wrapped up its pre-season camp in Finland with a game against the KHL’s very own Finnish representative, Jokerit. The Helsinki team was playing its first pre-season game and had plenty of new faces in the roster: goalie Antti Niemi, plus Mikko Lehtonen, Eemeli Rasanen, Petri Kontiola, Ahti Oksanen, Veli-Matti Savinainen and Henrik Haapala. Neftekhimik handed debuts to goalie Alexander Sharychenkov and forwards Matt White and Radel Fasleyev.

It took time for the goals to arrive: fans in the Hartwall Arena had to wait until well into the third period before Jokerit took control with two goals in five minutes. Lehtonen had an assist on both. However, Neftekhimik rallied to tie the scores on markers from Pavel Padakin and Artyom Sergeyev. Overtime looked inevitable, but with 53 seconds on the clock Brian O’Neill got the game winner for the host.

Statistics

Jokerit Helsinki 3 Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 2 (0-0, 0-0, 3-2)

Goals: 1-0 O’Neill (Lehtonen PP 45:01); 2-0 Kontiola (Lehtonen 49:42); 2-1 Padakin (51:28); 2-2 Sergeyev (Khafizov 54:17); 3-2 O’Neill (Norman, Oksanen 59:07).

Goalies: Niemi – Sharychenkov

Winning start for Kvartalnov

Ak Bars made the short trip to Almetyevsk to play Tatarstan’s VHL team, Neftyanik in its first pre-season game of the summer. Neftyanik mean ‘oil worker’ and on the eve of the game Dmitry Kvartalnov and his team visited a nearby drilling platform to see what life was like when pumping oil from the ground at the Tatneft installation. The team also visited the Neftyanik hockey complex. As is traditional, the game was a fund-raiser, with the money from ticket sales going to help hockey fans who are battling against serious illness.

Kvartalnov was taking his first game at the club seriously and named a strong roster. All his imports were involved, with Adam Reideborn in goal. Danis Zaripov was captain. 

The full roster was:

Adam Reideborn; Mikael Wikstrand – Igor Ozhiganov; Albert Yarullin – Andrei Pedan; Roman Abrosimov – Nikita Lyamkin; Kristian Khenkel – Daniil Zhuravlyov; Justin Azevedo – Patrice Cormier – Matt Frattin; Danis Zaripov – Vladimir Tkachyov – Stanislav Galiyev; Emil Galimov – Mikhail Fisenko – Kirill Petrov; Mikhail Glukhov – Artyom Mikeyev – Artyom Lukoyanov.

Initially the home team hung in well against a more skilled opponent, but gradually Ak Bars’ extra finesse began to tell. However, it wasn’t until the second period that the visitor got in front when Zaripov produced a fine shot with almost no backlift to convert Tkachyov’s excellent pass from behind the net. After the goal, Neftyanik stepped up the pace and started to work Timur Bilyalov, brought to the crease in place of Reideborn. Bilyalov was caught out in the third period, allowing a short side shot from Ivan Ivanov to squeeze past him and tie the scores. In overtime, Ak Bars had the better chances but could not beat Andryukhov in the home net despite finishing with a spell of 5-on-3 hockey after getting a power play and replacing Bilyalov with a skater. New arrival Patrice Cormier settled the issue in the shoot-out.

Statistics

Neftyanik Almetyevsk 1 Ak Bars Kazan 2 SO (0-0, 0-1, 1-0, 0-0, 0-1)

Goals: 0-1 Zaripov (Tkachyov 23:41); 1-1 Ivanov (54:52); 1-2 Cormier (65:00, penalty shot)

Goalies: Andryukhov – Reideborn (Bilyalov).

Saturday saw the start of the traditional Sochi Hockey Open tournament – with Lokomotiv’s new head coach Craig MacTavish making a winning start at the expense of Bob Hartley’s Avangard.

Sochi Hockey Open

Lander starts with two assists

The Sochi Hockey Open has already established itself among the key pre-season tournaments. Not only does it offer a chance to check on the progress of several teams a month before the start of the KHL season, it also boasts a wide-ranging program of entertainment and makes a big effort to promote the game in this southern city.

Photo: 03.08.19. Sochi Hockey Open. Lokomotiv (Yaroslavl) - Avangard (Omsk)

This year, for example, many spectators found the tournament began as their aircraft made its descent into the city. Cabin crew on flights into Sochi handed out vouchers that could be exchanged for free tickets to any day’s play in the Olympic complex. This came as a shock to many passengers, for whom the words ‘Sochi’ and ‘August’ had little to do with ‘hockey’. Even so, the opening game attracted just over 2,000 fans to the Shaiba Arena – even though the host team was not playing until the evening.

Craig MacTavish’s first roster behind the Lokomotiv was far from fully stocked with the club’s new arrivals. But there was a place for ex Ak Bars forward Anton Lander and Canadian right-winger Ty Rattie. Alexander Svitov centered the second line, but Stephane Da Costa did not feature on Saturday.

Avangard also started out without a full-strength line-up. Forward Sven Andrighetto is flying to Sochi at the start of next week, while Slava Voynov and one of last season’s leaders, Ilya Mikheyev, were also out of the roster. Hartley’s newcomers were limited to Alexei Potapov (first line), Valentin Pyanov and Nikita Shcherbak (second line) and Pavel Dedunov and Evgeny Grachyov (third line).

It didn’t take long for Rattie and Lander to show a good understanding, combining for an excellent power play goal early on. It was clear that MacTavish had been working on Loko’s special teams: his players were a constant threat to Igor Bobkov’s net. The second goal came at equal strength, but was in fact just seconds after an Avangard player left the box. At the other end, the defense was solid, limiting Avangard to shots at Ilya Konovalov from the blue line.

However, the Hawks looked physically stronger at the start of the tournament and they played with far greater intensity in the third period. Loko had three spells on the PK and Sergei Shirokov converted one of those opportunities into a goal as Shcherbak collected his first point in his new colors. Hartley went all out to save the game but there was no way back.

Bob Hartley, head coach, Avangard

It was a good game overall, congratulations to Lokomotiv on their win. We had several new players, there were some good things from individuals and some good things tactically, but right now not everything is working. That’s normal for pre-season.

What advice would I give Craig MacTavish about the KHL? He’s got a wealth of experience from working in the NHL, but when we meet here we enjoy a different style of play.

Craig MacTavish, head coach, Lokomotiv

That was a typical pre-season game. Both teams tried hard and played some decent hockey. Da Costa couldn’t play today because of an injury, but it’s nothing serious. We think he’ll only miss a couple of games.

How do I rate Anton Lander’s move to Lokomotiv? He’s a great forward, I know him from my time at Edmonton. Anton battles in every game, and he has skills.

Ty Rattie, forward, Lokomotiv

The main thing was that we won today. I was a bit nervous before my first game but it all went OK. It’s only an exhibition game but right away I noticed the bigger ice. The chance to work with Craig MacTavish was a big reason behind my coming to the KHL. But the most important thing is that the hockey here is really great and I want to play at a high level. I’m pleased to get a goal in my first game, thanks to Anton Lander who gave me a great pass. We’ve been working a lot on our power play.

Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 3 Avangard Omsk 1 (1-0, 2-0, 0-1)

Goals: Rattie (Kronwall, Lander PP 5:02); 2-0 Afanasiev (Apalkov, Osipov 29:45); 3-0 Averin (Lander 35:16); 3-1 Shirokov (Chudinov, Shcherbak PP 50:55).

Goalies: Konovalov - Bobrov

Exhibition games

Torpedo beats Dynamo

Saturday saw the start of the pre-season action for Torpedo and Dynamo Moscow. Both teams were missing their leading players, but Vladimir Krikunov was able to welcome back Maxim Afinogenov after he missed almost all of Dynamo’s season through injury last time. Torpedo’s coaches handed debuts to giant goalie Anders Lindback and forward Jordan Schroeder, and also deployed a fourth line of forwards born in the 21^st century.

In his first game, Schroeder demonstrated that he could score and create, collecting two points in this game and deciding the outcome. The Muscovites tried to fight back but fell short. The teams will meet again next week in the Governor’s Cup in Nizhny Novgorod.

Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 2 Dynamo Moscow 1 (1-0, 0-0, 1-1)

Goals: 1-0 Schroeder (Alyayev 10:18); 2-0 Shenfeld (Schroeder, Bocharov 40:22); 2-1 Muranov Kruglov 52:30)

Goalies: Lindback, Tikhomirov – Bocharov, Kuznetsov

Game day two at the Sochi Hockey Open and Avangard battled back from 0-3 down to tie its game against Russia ‘B’ – only to lose out in the third period. Sochi beat Russia ‘B’ top stand top of the table.

Sochi Hockey Open

Avangard Omsk – Russia ‘B’

Avangard’s first game at the Sochi Hockey Open left mixed impressions. For two periods, Bob Hartley’s team struggled to match Lokomotiv, and fell 0-3 behind. In the third frame, greater intensity and solid forechecking changed the pattern of the game, even if the final scoreline was a 1-3 reverse.

Photo: 04.08.19. Sochi Hockey Open. Avangard (Omsk) - Olympic Russia Team

Compared with that opening fixture, Bob Hartley and his colleagues were quick to make changes. Newcomer Alexander Sudnitsin took over in goal and Denis Zernov moved up to center the first line. Sergei Shirokov and Alexei Emelin were given a rest, enabling Taylor Beck and Cody Franson to make their first appearances of the competition.

Russia ‘B’, selected from players knocking on the door of the national team, is making its fourth appearance at this summer tournament. In 2016 and 2018 it was runner-up and in 2017 it won it all. For today’s game against Avangard, Oleg Bratash included one of the Omsk team’s own prospects, Artyom Manukyan. And later in the tournament there will be more club vs country battles when five Lokomotiv players line up for Russia against their clubmates from Yaroslavl.

The enhanced teamwork that usually boosts clubs against national teams was offset on Sunday by significant changes to the Hawks line-up and by the fact that this was only the second game Bob Hartley’s team had played in pre-season. At the start, the game followed a similar pattern to yesterday, with Avangard falling behind as Sudnitsin struggled on his debut. First, he failed to deal with a Daniil Misyul point shot despite having a clear view of the release. Then, early in the second period, he offered a rebound in front of him and Artyom Shvets-Rogovoi converted the chance. The third goal, meanwhile, scored by Vladimir Bryukvin, offered Sudnitsin little chance as Russia attacked at lightning speed.

For the second game in two days, Avangard found itself down 3-0. This time, though, it sparked a fightback. Initially, Avangard began to lock Russia in its zone while struggling to create scoring chances. However, a defensive error presented Nikita Shcherbak with his first goal for his new club and moments later Pavel Dedunov got his debut marker with Avangard shorthanded. The pressure built up and Sergei Shumakov scored on the power play to tie the game going into the third period.

The intermission came at the right time for Russia ‘B’ and midway through the final frame Bryukvin got his second of the game. Avangard had a great chance to tie it up late in the game when it got a 5-on-3 power play but Hartley’s team could not take advantage as it fell to a second loss in Sochi.

Bob Hartley, head coach, Avangard

We saw a great game from these young Russian players. I have to say that your country has a lot of talents and the team we played today could be competitive in the KHL. It would certainly be one of the quickest opponents we’d face. As for Avangard, we started badly again. We have a lot of new guys and I could see that we’re still looking for that chemistry on the ice. Right now we’re giving the same minutes to each line so we can see as much as possible of what they can do.

Slava [Voynov] has an injury, he’s training by himself at the moment. As everyone knows, nobody wins the Gagarin Cup in August so there’s no need to rush him and we’ll put him in the team when he’s ready. Sven [Andrighetto] just got back from a camp with Team Switzerland today.

Oleg Bratash, head coach, Russia ‘B’

It was a good game against a strong opponent. It’s really good for these young players, they are learning to take the initiative, to take responsibility for the results. The fact that we had played through four days of training could be seen on the ice. There were individual errors that players have to take responsibility for but, on the whole, I thought we did really well.

Avangard Omsk 3 Russia ‘B’ 4 (0-2, 3-1, 0-1)

Goals: 0-1 Misyul (Kayumov, Alexeyev 10:04); 0-2 Bryukvin (Shvets-Rogovoi, Zhafyarov 17:20); 0-3 (Shvets-Rogovoi (Yudin 20:28); 1-3 Shcherbak (Pyanov, Koshelev 29:32); 2-3 Dedunov (33:08 SH); 3-3 Shumakov (Beck, Franson PP 39:05); 3-4 Bryukvin (Zhafyarov, Yudin 49:02).

Goalies: Sudnitsin - Melnichuk

HC Sochi – SKA St. Petersburg

It’s been a long time since SKA had a summer as turbulent as this one. The Army Men will start the new season without Nikita Gusev, Igor Shestyorkin, Pavel Datsyuk, Patrik Hersley, Vladislav Gavrikov and Nikolai Prokhorkin. Moreover, there’s a new head coach at the helm, with Alexei Kudashov replacing Ilya Vorobyov. For his first game in charge of SKA, here at the Sochi Hockey Open, Kudashov named a strong roster.

Photo: 04.08.19. Sochi Hockey Open. HC Sochi (Sochi) - SKA (St.Petersburg)

The changes in Petersburg were clear from the first two lines: four of the six forwards were newcomers. Jori Lehtera and Vladimir Tkachyov lined up with Sergei Plotnikov, while Joonas Kemppainen and Dmitry Kagarlitsky joined Alexander Barabanov on the second line. Lukas Bengtsson took his place on the first defensive pairing.

Sochi’s head coach Sergei Zubov made some big changes of his own after Saturday’s shoot-out win against Dinamo Riga. Dmitry Lugin, the star of that shoot-out, moved up to the first line while debutant goalie Ilya Proskuryakov went between the piping.

Early on, SKA’s new faces struggled to get their game together but gradually the Army Men took the initiative and earned two power plays. However, Kudashov’s special teams could not find a way to goal and ended up allowing a goal at the other end. Ilya Nazarevich sent the puck to the slot where Vadim Khlopotov converted the chance. The end of Kudashov’s first period in charge produced some disappointing stats: 0-1 down, and just four shots on goal.

SKA picked up the pace in the second period but its determination to attack at all costs proved to be its undoing. Sochi had a few chances on the counter attack and Stepan Starkov took advantage late in the second period, to the delight of the 4,203 fans who came to the Shaiba Arena. Early in the third period Viktor Tikhonov pulled one back for SKA, but it wasn’t enough to save the game. Two wins from two games put the tournament host on top of the table with four points.

Sergei Zubov, head coach, HC Sochi

We skated well for the whole 60 minutes. I was disappointed with our power play, we put too much pressure on ourselves. We also need to work on our discipline. But a win is a win and we can move on.

Alexei Kudashov, head coach, SKA

The third period can be regarded as a plus, the team began to move at last. In the first two we didn’t manage that. At least we know where to go from here.

HC Sochi 2 SKA St. Petersburg 1 (1-0, 1-0, 0-1)

Goals: 1-0 Khlopotov (Altybarmakyan, Nazarevich SH 18:51); 2-0 Starkov (Rakhimullin, Tomilin 37:11); 2-1 Tikhonov (45:03)

Goalies: Proskuryakov - Hellberg

Renaissance Cup

Kunlun Red Star – ORG Beijing

Kunlun Red Star played its second game in its home tournament and Beijing and once again selected a roster drawn almost entirely from Chinese and Chinese heritage players. Sunday’s opponent was ORG Beijing, a VHL team from the People’s Republic. Until the summer, it too was part of the KRS stable but in the coming campaign it will be striking out on its own, with Red Star establishing a new VHL team to serve as a farm club. Many of the Chinese players on display in Red Star jerseys today are likely to spend the bulk of the season playing for that new VHL operation, giving the game the feel of a local derby.

Guest of honor Alexander Ovechkin was on hand to perform the pre-game ceremonies and the Great 8 saw Red Star score eight goals in an entertaining game. Rudi Ying led the way with a hat-trick, while David Bondra pushed his claims for a permanent contract with a goal of his own.

Kunlun Red Star 8 ORG Beijing 4 (4-1, 2-2, 2-1)

Kunlun goals: 1-0 Ying (Hu 8:24); 2-1 Bondra (Lockhart, Jaw 12:04); 3-1 Tam (Bondra 14:32); 4-1 Seto (14:45); 5-1 Ying (Hu, Zhang 24:13); 6-2 Jaw (Lockhart 33:36); 7-3 Zhang (Ying 42:26); 8-3 Ying (43:23)

Mountfield Cup

Spartak defeats the host in a shoot-out

The Red-and-Whites started their Mountfield Cup campaign in Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic. According to the club’s press team, Oleg Znarok brought just 25 skaters to the competition, suggesting that he is already close to identifying his preferred roster. Today’s game against host club Mountfield attracted an almost capacity crowd.

The coaching staff left a host of players on the sidelines, including Patrik Hersley and Vyacheslav Leshchenko. The game turned out to be tough. For 40 minutes, Spartak struggled to create opportunities – in the first session only Robin Hanzl and Alexander Khokhlachyov tested the home goalie, in the second Anatoly Nikontsev and Ilya Talaluyev went close. But the second period also saw Spartak fall behind to a power play goal from defenseman Pavlik.

In the third period, the Muscovites raised their game and began to put pressure on Mazanec’s goal. That pressure forced the home team to call a time-out in the 50^th minute, not long after Evgeny Kulik tied the scores.

There was no more scoring in regulation, nor in overtime. In the shoot-out Spartak trailed 1-3 but fought back to take it to sudden death before Kaspars Daugavins secured the win.

Mountfield Hradec Kralove 1 Spartak Moscow 2 SO (0-0, 1-0, 0-1, 0-0, 0-1)

Goals: 1-0 Pavlik (Rosandic, Miskar PP 27:26); 1-1 Klik (Kokarev, Zubov 45:31); 1-2 Daugavins (shoot-out)

Goalies: Mazanec - Hudacek

The first pre-season tournaments got underway last week. In China, Alexander Ovechkin was guest of honor at Kunlun Red Star’s Renaissance Cup, while in Sochi Craig MacTavish got off to a winning start in his new role with Lokomotiv. Elsewhere, new arrivals Antti Niemi and Garet Hunt shared their thoughts on starting in the KHL, while Oleg Znarok sounded a warning to Spartak’s rivals this season.

Ovechkin goes to China

Kunlun Red Star is staging its first ever pre-season tournament in Beijing – and Alexander Ovechkin was guest of honor on Sunday. The Russian star is visiting China to help promote hockey in the build-up to the 2022 Winter Olympics and his trip coincided with the Renaissance Cup action. The Great 8 performed the ceremonial face-off ahead of a game between a Kunlun Red Star Select roster and VHL team ORG Beijing. The Red Star roster, almost entirely comprising Chinese and Chinese heritage players, won 8-4 with Beijing-born Rudi Ying scoring a hat-trick.

Return of the tough guy?

Long before Red Star rose in China, Vityaz earned a reputation as something of a goon show after hiring a string of North American enforcers who spent more time in the sin bin than scoring goals. That time is long past – but their legacy lives on. Garet Hunt, a new arrival in Beijing, is well known for his fights with the likes of ex-Vityaz players Trevor Gillies, Josh Gratton and Joe Mirasti. In an exclusive interview with KHL.ru, Hunt – who has Chinese ancestry and could form part of the Olympic roster – admitted that one of his old foes had helped him decide to head east. “Trevor is a really nice guy, I talked to him and he said they had a good experience over here,” he said. “They all had nothing but good things to say about the KHL and that made the decision even easier. It’s pretty funny, all those guys I used to fight with came, and now I’m here.”

Pre-season starts in China. August 2 pre-season

Znarok sends a message

After working with Russia’s best players at SKA and on the national team, Oleg Znarok’s new job at Spartak is rather different. The Red-and-Whites typically face a battle to secure a playoff spot, rather than go into the season anticipating a serious tilt at top honors. However, Znarok has upset the odds before – remember his MVD team that took Ak Bars to seven games in the 2010 final? – and he’s not settling for second best in his new job. In an exclusive interview with KHL.ru last week, the champion coach insisted: “There’s no room for ‘easy come, easy go’ on my teams. [GM] Alexei Zhamnov said recently that nobody would be happy with losing in the first round of the playoffs. That goes for me too.”

Winning start for MacTavish

Oilers legend Craig MacTavish is taking on a new role as head coach at Lokomotiv this season. He made his first appearance with the Yaroslavl club at the Sochi Hockey Open – and celebrated with a 3-1 win over Avangard, last year’s Gagarin Cup finalist. Ty Rattie, signed from Edmonton, scored his first goal for the club while former Oiler Anton Lander had two assists. Incoming Ak Bars head coach Dmitry Kvartalnov also got off to a winning start, albeit in more modest surrounding against VHL team Neftyanik Almetyevsk, but Alexei Kudashov’s first game with SKA ended in a 2-1 loss against HC Sochi.

MacTavish downs Hartley in first game with Loko. August 3 pre-season

Niemi’s Hartwall connection

Jokerit’s new goalie Antti Niemi is looking forward to renewing acquaintance with the Hartwall Arena in his new role. The Finn grew up on the outskirts of Helsinki and remembers the opening of the stadium and his childhood dreams of playing there. That came true – and now he’s eager for more. “I finally got to play there: my third game in the NHL, it was in October 2009, was played right here. Those are memories I’ll carry with me forever, especially because my Chicago team won against Florida that night and I had a shut-out. I hope the new season with Jokerit will bring more special memories,” he said in an exclusive interview with KHL.ru.

Sochi saw plenty of action as Dinamo Riga battled back from 1-4 down to defeat SKA in the Sochi Hockey Open. Russia ‘B’ kept up its 100% record at the tournament with a 4-1 win over Lokomotiv. Spartak powered to an 8-0 win over Dynamo Pardubice at the Mountfield Cup. In Beijing, Kunlun Red Star picked up a second win over Chinese opposition in the Renaissance Cup.

Sochi Hockey Open

Four more goals for Russia ‘B’

Craig MacTavish enjoyed a win over Avangard in his opening game behind the bench with Loko – but he rang the changes here to rest Ty Rattie and Anton Lander, two of the key men in Saturday’s game.

Photo: 05.08.19. Sochi Hockey Open. Lokomotiv (Yaroslavl) - Olympic Russia Team

The Lokomotiv head coach might also have been interested to watch Russia’s first line closely: Oleg Bratash deliberately selected four Lokomotiv players – Grigory Denisenko, Artur Kayumov, Denis Alexeyev and defenseman Daniil Misyul– on that top line to give them a chance to impress their new club bosses.

However, it was clear that there would be no concession offered to their clubmates: early in the game Kayumov crunched Alexander Kalinin into the boards to send a message about how this game would be played. In general, Bratash’s team impressed once again. For the second game running it not only won but scored four goals against a strong KHL outfit.

That offers a headache for MacTavish and his Avangard counterpart Bob Hartley. Both teams brought in new goaltenders over the summer, but neither Alexander Sudnitsin nor Alexander Lazushin impressed on their first outings for their new employers.

Craig MacTavish, head coach, Lokomotiv

Congratulations to Russia on the win. For a team that only just came together, they were really well organized. We had a chance to get back into the game when we were one goal down but nothing came off for us and we gave up goals in the third period. I really liked the way the Lokomotiv players on the Russian team performed: it was clear they formed an excellent power play unit.

Oleg Bratash, head coach, Russia ‘B’

This was another really good game, it’s really helpful for our young guys. They came up against an energetic opponent, but they coped with that and took charge of the game. I always planned to put four Lokomotiv players into the first line so they could make an impression on the new coaching staff in Yaroslavl.

Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 1 Russia ‘B’ 4 (1-2, 0-0, 0-2)

Goals: 1-0 Kovalenko (Polunin 4:56); 1-1 Yudin (Shvets-Rogovoi, Romanov 5:17); 1-2 Bryukvin (penalty shot, 15:52); 1-3 Yudin (Zhafyarov, Romanov 44:56); 1-4 Denisenko (Alexeyev, Misyul PP 46:55)

Goalies: Lazushin – Kochetkov

Four goals for Lehtera’s line but Dinamo wins a thriller

Dinamo Riga and SKA both began here with losses against host club HC Sochi. Dinamo, though, at least had the consolation of a bonus point after taking its first game to overtime.

Photo: 05.08.19. Sochi Hockey Open. SKA (St.Petersburg) - Dinamo (Riga)

SKA head coach Alexei Kudashov seems to have settled on his leaders already: despite defeat against Sochi, he left the top two lines unchanged. The bottom half of the line-up was much changed, though, with only three players continuing from yesterday’s loss. SKA coaches also decided to have a look at new goalie Ivan Nalimov, while Dinamo gave a chance to Maxim Tretyak, back at the club once again. Maxim’s grandfather, the great Vladislav Tretyak, was in Sochi to see the game.

Tretyak Jnr started with several big saves but was beaten when he found himself all alone in front of Jori Lehtera and Andrei Zubarev. The Finnish center got his first point for SKA, and his line continued to impress. The second goal involved all three of them in a beautiful piece of tic-tac-toe and four of SKA’s five goals came from that combination.

This game proved to be the highest-scoring of the tournament so far, with the teams sharing 11 goals. The third frame, in particular, brought a flurry of goal action, with the teams scoring three goals in 33 seconds at one point. Along the way, Dinamo fought back from 1-4 down, matching Avangard’s rally from 0-3 the day before. However, the Latvians went one better and managed to win the game thanks to Carter Ashton’s winner. The newcomer collected his fourth point of the game with that tally.

Alexei Kudashov, head coach, SKA

This game could be divided into segments. The first two periods were good for us, I enjoyed the way our offense was playing. But then we fell apart in front of our own net and allowed so many goals. We see Tkachyov as Tkachyov, not as a replacement for Nikita Gusev. Now we need to correct our mistakes, to understand what is working and what isn’t.

Girts Ankipans, head coach, Dinamo Riga

It was a fun game, even though we made a lot of mistakes at the start. Then we gained confidence, played closer to SKA’s players and took our chances. Tretiak played his first game, it wasn’t easy for him out there, but in the end he made a couple of big saves for us.

SKA St. Petersburg 5 Dinamo Riga 6 (2-1, 2-1, 1-4)

Goals: 1-0 Zubarev (Tkachyov, Lehtera 14:55); 1-1 Balinskis (Ashton, J Berglund 16:15); 2-1 Lehtera (Plotnikov, Tkachyov PP 19:54); 3-1 Dergachyov (Miromanov, Koskiranta 23:11); 4-1 Tkachyov (Lehtera 28:34); 4-2 Ullstrom (Redlihs, Darzins 37:00); 4-3 Berzins (Gegeris 46:00); 5-3 Lehtera  (Tkachyov, Plotnikov 46:18); 5-4 Jansons (Ashton 46:33); 5-5 Darzins (Ashton, Ullstrom PP 47:43); 5-6 Ashton (57:51)

Goalies: Nalimov – Tretiak

Mountfield Cup

Spartak thrashes Dynamo Pardubice

After opening with a shoot-out win against the host club in Hradec Kralove, Spartak faced more Czech opposition – and enjoyed a more comfortable margin against Dynamo Pardubice. Oleg Znarok rested five of the players from yesterday’s game but there was still no action for new signing Patrik Hersley.

The opposition has a few familiar faces: summer signings for Dynamo include defenseman Jan Kolar, late of Admiral and Amur, plus ex SKA, Severstal and Slovan goalie Jakub Stepanek. Tomas Rolinek, once of Metallurg and Salavat Yulaev, is also part of the Pardubice roster.

However, none of those featured in this game as the coaches put out a roster of youngsters and farm-club players. Not surprisingly, those hopefuls struggled against a KHL roster and Spartak jumped to a 2-0 lead early in the game and kept on scoring thereafter. Ilya Arkalov was ejected from the game for fighting, but not even that skirmish could impact the final, lopsided scoreline.

Dynamo Pardubice 0 Spartak Moscow 8 (0-2, 0-4, 0-2)

Goals: 0-1 Rylov (Talaluyev, Stolyarov 11:43); 0-2 Hanzl (Tsyplakov, Shabolovsky 13:42); 0-3 Zubov (Daugavins 23:20); 0-4 Tsyplakov (Shabolovksy, Hanzl 25:13); 0-5 Karsums (Arkalov, Kulik 30:25); 0-6 Leshchenko (Karsums, Hanzl 37:28); 0-7 Nikontsev (48:06); 0-8 Trishin (Daugavins 49:37).

Spartak goalies: Hudacek, Khomchenko

Renaissance Cup

Kunlun wins another Chinese derby

Kunlun Red Star continues in its Renaissance Cup tournament and, for the second day running, took on Chinese opposition. After defeating ORG Beijing on Sunday, Monday brought a showdown with another VHL team, Tseng Tou Jilin, which has made the playoffs in both the seasons it has competed in Russia’s second tier.

Once against, KRS named a ‘Select’ roster built around guys likely to feature in the VHL next season. There were a few new faces in the Dragons team but the key contributions came from players who have shaped the outcome of the first two games: Rudi Ying kept up his scoring streak with a first-period goal to move to five from three games; triallist David Bondra scored twice to make it three in three and keep himself in the coaches’ thoughts. This second Chinese derby was another competitive affair, with the lead changing hands and the game remaining live until the final seconds.

Kunlun Red Star 5 Tseng Tou Jilin 3 (2-1, 1-1, 2-1)

KRS goals: 1-1 Ying (09:19); 2-1 Bondra (Mowrey, Jaw 13:31); 3-2 Bondra (Mowrey 34:59); 4-2 Joe (Seto 48:11); 5-3 Zesen (59:46 empty net)

Goalie: O’Brien

EN.KHL.RU publishes the full pre-season schedule.

Legend:EX– Exhibition Game, REN– Renaissance Cup (in China), SOC– Sochi Hockey Open (in Sochi, Russia), MOU– Mountfield Cup (in Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic), NNC– Nizhny Novgorod’s Area Governor Cup (in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia), KRP- Kazakhstan Republic President’s Cup (in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan), HAM– Hämeenlinna Cup (in Hämeenlinna, Finland), CHE– Chelyabinsk’s Area Governor Cup (in Chelyabinsk, Russia), KUS– Zbynek Kusy Memorial (in Pardubice, Czech Republic), HOC– Hockeyades (in Le Sentier, Switzerland), LEH– Lehner Cup (in Sursee, Switzerland), SAL– Salei Cup (in Orsha, Belarus), RIG– Tournament in Riga (in Riga, Latvia), PUC– Puchkov Tournament (in Saint Petersburg, Russia), MOS– Mayor of Moscow’s Cup (in Moscow, Russia), ROM– Romazan Memorial (in Magnitogorsk, Russia)

July 20

EX Admiral 1:2 Yermak (VHL)

July 21

EX Admiral 4:0 Yermak (VHL)

July 24

EX Dinamo Riga 1:2 SO Neftyanik (VHL)

July 25

EX Admiral 1:0 Amur

July 26

EX Dinamo Riga 6:1 Saryarka (VHL)

July 27

EX Admiral 0:6 Amur, Verva Litvinov 1:2 Spartak

July 28

EX Metallurg 3:2 Vityaz (in Garmisch-Partenkirchen), SKA 1:2 Tambov (VHL), SKA 3:2 Khimik (VHL)

July 30

EX Pirati 0:4 Avtomobilist

July 31

EX Vityaz 4:3 Metallurg (in Bressanone), Neftekhimik 2:4 Salavat Yulaev (in Finland)

August 1

EX Energie 2:4 Avtomobilist

August 2

EX Neftyanik (VHL) 1:2 SO Ak Bars, Jokerit 3:2 Neftekhimik (in Tikkurila)

REN Kunlun Red Star 3:5 Arizona University

August 3

EX Traktor 6:2 MAC Ujbuda (in Slovenia), Torpedo 2:1 Dynamo Moscow

SOC Lokomotiv 3:1 Avangard, Sochi 2:1 SO Dinamo Riga

August 4

SOC Avangard 3:4 Russia II, Sochi 2:1 SKA

MOU Mountfield 1:2 SO Spartak

REN Kunlun Red Star 8:4 ORG Beijing (VHL)

August 5

SOC Lokomotiv 1:4 Russia II, SKA 5:6 Dinamo Riga

MOU Spartak 0:8 Dinamo Pardubice

August 6

EX HPK – Sibir (in Valkeakoski), CSKA – Admiral

SOC Lokomotiv – Dinamo Riga, Sochi – Russia II

REN Kunlun Red Star – Yermak (VHL)

August 7

EX Jokerit – Sibir (in Valkeakoski), CSKA – Admiral

SOC Lokomotiv – SKA, Sochi – Avangard

MOU Spartak – Slovan

NNC Khumo (VHL) – Dinamo Minsk, Torpedo – Dynamo Moscow

KRP Neftekhimik – Avtomobilist, Barys – Ak Bars

REN Final

August 8

SOC Russia II – Dinamo Riga, SKA – Avangard

NNC Dinamo Minsk – Dynamo Moscow, Torpedo – Khumo (VHL)

KRP Ak Bars – Salavat Yulaev, Barys – Neftekhimik

August 9

EX Jukurit – Vityaz (in Finland)

HAM Pelicans – Sibir

KRP Ak Bars – Neftekhimik, Salavat Yulaev – Avtomobilist

August 10

HAM Frankfurt Lowen – Sibir

CHE Severstal – Metallurg, Traktor – Kunlun Red Star

NNC Dynamo Moscow – Khumo (VHL), Torpedo – Dinamo Minsk

KRP Neftekhimik – Salavat Yulaev, Avtomobilist – Barys

August 11

CHE Metallurg – Kunlun Red Star, Traktor – Severstal

NNC Bronze medal game and Final

KRP Avtomobilist – Ak Bars, Salavat Yulaev – Barys

August 12

KUS Mountfield – Amur (in Hradec Kralove)

August 13

EX Vityaz – Pelicans (in Imatra), Sibir – Energie (in Karlovy Vary)

CHE Kunlun Red Star – Severstal, Traktor – Metallurg

KUS Admiral – Znojmo

August 14

EX Jokerit – SKA (in Tikkurila)

HOC CSKA – Lausanne

KUS Kosice – Admiral, Dinamo Pardubice – Amur

August 15

EX SaiPa – Vityaz, Avangard – Dynamo Moscow, Sibir – Pirati (in Khomutov)

HOC CSKA – Genève Servett

August 16

EX SKA – Vityaz (in Espoo)

HOC CSKA – Fribourg Gotteron

KUS Last game day

LEH Barys – Ambri-Piotta

August 17

EX Salavat Yulaev – Traktor, Sochi – Sparta (in Khomutov), Neftekhimik – Ak Bars

SAL Dinamo Minsk game

LEH Zug – Barys

August 18

EX Salavat Yulaev – Traktor, Spartak – Dynamo Moscow

SAL Dinamo Minsk game

August 19

EX Admiral – Verva Litvinov (in Litvinov)

August 20

EX Sochi – Energie (in Karlovy Vary), Davos – Barys

RIG Ak Bars – Dinamo Minsk, Dinamo Riga – Avtomobilist

August 21

PUC Jokerit – Severstal, SKA – Torpedo

RIG Dinamo Minsk – Avtomobilist, Dinamo Riga – Lokomotiv

August 22

EX Liberec – Amur, Admiral – Zvolen, Lugano – Barys

MOS Dynamo Moscow – Vityaz, Spartak – CSKA

ROM Traktor – Kunlun Red Star, Metallurg - Sibir

RIG Lokomotiv – Ak Bars

PUC Avangard – Severstal, Sochi - Torpedo

August 23

EX Neftekhimik – Neftyanik (VHL)

PUC Avangard – Jokerit, SKA – Sochi

ROM Traktor – Sibir, Metallurg – Kunlun Red Star

RIG Ak Bars – Avtomobilist

August 24

MOS CSKA – Vityaz, Spartak – Dynamo Moscow

RIG Dinamo Riga – Dinamo Minsk, Lokomotiv – Avtomobilist

PUC Severstal – Torpedo

August 25

MOS Spartak – Vityaz, CSKA – Dynamo Moscow

PUC Avangard – Torpedo, Sochi – Severstal, SKA – Jokerit

ROM Kunlun Red Star – Sibir, Metallurg – Traktor

RIG Dinamo Minsk – Lokomotiv, Dinamo Riga – Ak Bars

August 26

EX Salavat Yulaev – Neftekhimik

PUC Sochi – Jokerit, SKA – Avangard

August 27

EX Motor – Amur (in Czech Republic), Salavat Yulaev – Avtomobilist

August 28

EX Spartak – Admiral, Salavat Yulaev – Neftekhimik

August 29

EX Vityaz – Dynamo Moscow, Linz – Amur (in Czech Republic), Lokomotiv - Severstal

KHL.ru introduces to you Jokerit’s new goalkeeper, the veteran Antti Niemi, who signed back home after spending 11 seasons overseas.

The winner of a Stanley Cup title and a bronze medal at the Sochi Olympic Games was born in Vantaa, a town in Greater Helsinki. He spent the last season in Montreal, but in the previous campaign, he managed to play for three different NHL teams. Most recently, Niemi played in Finland in 2012, when he joined Pelicans on a lockout contract. And now, he’s back at home, having signed with Jokerit.

After so many seasons in North America, the veteran goalie is probably not used to start his season in July already. “That’s true,” Niemi admits. “The team started working so early, and we’re going to have our first test game later this week already. I have to get used to it, but I am glad to be a part of Jokerit!”

According to Niemi, this summer wasn’t the first time he wanted to get back home. “Each of the latest few summers I have thought about getting back home,” Niemi explains. “I didn’t play many games in the NHL. Thus, I feel like I took the right decision. Everything happened very fast, I didn’t want to wait until July 1^st. As you can see, I’m already working towards the new season.”

Being native of Greater Helsinki, Niemi always wanted to line up for Jokerit. “I attended school in Helsinki,” Niemi recalls. “In those years, the Hartwall Arena was being built. You can easily imagine what I was dreaming about in my youth: playing in the arena with a sold-out crowd. And in the end, I did it. I played my third NHL game at the Hartwall Arena on October 2009. I’ll remember forever about that game. Even more so considering that I had a shutout for Chicago, defeating the Florida Panthers. I hope to feel the same kind of emotions in the next season with Jokerit.”

In spite of his age, Niemi isn’t considering finished his North American adventure yet. “I needed to play more games and to change something. However, I don’t know what will happen later. For now, I want to live the moment as I settle in.”

The veteran goalie never played in the KHL. Thus, he will undoubtedly need some time to adapt. “I need to get used to the new things, but so far, I like everything,” Niemi explains. “Jokerit is a very professional organization. Of course, here it’s a very different hockey. But anyway, there are many skilled players and the games will be played at another pace. It will be an exciting experience.”

Niemi is also about to face trips in new territories for himself. “Of course, I can’t wait to travel to the Far East. It will be fascinating to follow that route and visit China.”

During the talk, Niemi wasn’t scared to praise the current Jokerit’s boss, the Finnish hockey’s legend Jari Kurri. “For a Finn, it’s an incredible thing to play for a team led by such a person. He has the right experience to lead the team towards new heights.”

Even at thousands of miles of distance, Niemi followed his hometown team’s success in the KHL. “Last year, I watched several games,” the goalie says. “My colleague Janis Kalnins showed excellent hockey.”

Of course, Niemi was delighted by the recent Finnish triumph at the 2019 IIHF World Championship in Slovakia. Finland was represented by several players who will wear the Jokerit jersey next year. “It was an exceptional event for our country. Of course, the guys will add some much-needed experience, more positive energy. It’s an incredible thing to have a guy like Marko Anttila in our team.”

KHL.ru dossier

Antti Niemi

Born on August 29, 1983, in Vantaa (Finland).

Playing career: Kiekko-Vantaa, Finland, 2002-2005; Pelicans, Finland, 2005-2008; 2012; Chicago, NHL, 2008-2010; Rockford, AHL, 2008-2009; San Jose, NHL, 2010-2015; Dallas, NHL, 2015-2017; Pittsburgh, NHL, 2017; Florida, NHL, 2017; Montreal, NHL, 2017-2019; Jokerit, KHL, 2019-today.

Achievements: Stanley Cup champion, Finland’s player of the year, Olympic Games bronze medal.

Main photo credits: Jokerit’s official site

CSKA won its first pre-season game while Sochi went top of the table in its home tournament thanks to victory over Russia ‘B’. Lokomotiv escaped defeat against Dinamo Riga thanks to two goals in a minute late in the teams’ Sochi Hockey Open game. In China, Kunlun secured a place in the final of the Renaissance Cup thanks to a victory over Yermak.

Sochi Hockey Open

Dinamo Riga won a thriller against SKA last night – but was back on the ice less than 24 hours later for this game against Lokomotiv. The coaching staff returned Kristers Gudlevskis to the crease as starting goalie following Monday’s 11-goal epic.

Photo: 06.08.19. Sochi Hockey Open. Lokomotiv (Yaroslavl) - Dinamo (Riga)

Lokomotiv, soundly beaten by Russia ‘B’ on Monday, brought back Ilya Konovalov in place of Alexander Lazushin. The fledgling partnership between Ty Rattie and Anton Lander also made a return after its bright start on Saturday.

Much of this game was tight, with goals at a premium. But, with the scores tied at 1-1, the action exploded in the final minutes. David Ullstrom put Riga in front with just 130 seconds left to play. But Lokomotiv made full use of the remaining time. First, Rattie tied the scores then, exactly 60 seconds later, Alexander Kalinin gave Loko the verdict.

Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 3 Dinamo Riga 2 (1-0, 0-1, 2-1)

Goals: Kraskovsky (Polunin, Kovalenko PP 14:23); 1-1 Redlihs (Berzins, McMillan 38:39); 1-2 Ullstrom (Alisauskas, Redlihs 57:50); 2-2 Rattie (58:41); 3-2 Kalinin (59:41).

Goalies: Konovalov – Gudlevskis

Craig MacTavish, head coach, Lokomotiv

They warned me that when you’re playing Dinamo Riga you need to be ready for some aggressive hockey. Today I saw for myself just how hard this team works. We were a bit fortunate at the end of the game. Stephane da Costa is eager to get into the fray and wants to be involved against SKA tomorrow.

Girts Ankipans, head coach, Dinamo Riga

I like the way our team approached the game, even though I’m disappointed with the result. We just didn’t have the experience to close out the win. I don’t want to focus on individuals or single out Gudlevskis for losing concentration towards the end of the game.

Sochi moves in front on home ice

Neither HC Sochi nor Russia ‘B’ had tasted defeat in their first two games at the Sochi Hockey Open so Tuesday’s match-up was a battle for top spot. The stakes were high, but Russia ‘B’ head coach Oleg Bratash still opted to rest goalie Pyotr Kochetkov and defenseman Daniil Misyul and Yegor Zaitsev. Sochi continued with Ilya Proskuryakov in goal.

Photo: 06.08.19. Sochi Hockey Open. HC Sochi (Sochi) - Olympic Russia Team

The home team had the edge in the first period but the crowd of 3,511 had to wait until early in the second to celebrate a goal. Artyom Tomilin wrapped up a well-worked move to give Sochi the initiative. Team Russia looked out of sorts in the first two frames, managing just 11 shots on goal, but recovered in the third to tie the scores when Kirill Marchenko redirected a Danila Galenyuk shot into the net. However, Tomilin had the final say when he potted the winner in overtime.

Sergei Zubov, head coach, HC Sochi

We didn’t have the energy to play the kind of hockey we want for three full periods, but the guys did well to find a way to win it. Dmitry Arkhipov is training with the team; we’re monitoring his recovery and hope to see him in action soon.

Oleg Bratash, head coach, Russia ‘B’

It was really tough playing for the third day in a row. We gave everything, but there wasn’t much left in the tank. It’s no surprise that our youngest line was also our liveliest and it got our goal today.

HC Sochi 2 Russia ‘B’ 1 OT (0-0, 1-0, 0-1, 1-0)

Goals: 1-0 Tomilin (Shmelyov, Starikov 22:35); 1-1 Marchenko (Galenyuk 45:10); 2-1 Tomilin (Starikov 63:32)

Goalies: Proskuryakov - Melnichuk

Renaissance Cup

Kunlun Red Star made it three wins in a row at the Renaissance Cup in Beijing. Persevering with a KRS Select roster comprised largely of Chinese-eligible players, the tournament host defeated Yermak Angarsk 3-1 to secure a place in tomorrow’s final. There were some changes to the line-up, most notably with Cory Kane making his first appearance of the competition. Kane, who missed much of last season through injury, was in need of game time and duly contributed an assist on the opening goal.

That opener set up KRS for a 2-0 lead inside 10 minutes, an advantage that it never relinquished. The victory sets up a final tomorrow against Arizona State University and a shot at revenge for a Red Star team that lost to the students on the opening day here.

Kunlun Red Star 3 Yermak Angarsk 1 (2-0, 0-1, 1-0)

KRS goals: 1-0 Seto (Kane 4:21); 2-0 Schultz (Ying, Tam 9:29); 3-1 Tam (58:23)

Exhibition game

The first pre-season game of the summer in Moscow saw Gagarin Cup holder CSKA take on Admiral. For the Army Men, back in Russia after a camp in Finland, this was the first action since lifting the cup. For Admiral, meanwhile, it was the fifth warm-up game of the current campaign.

Photo: 06.08.19. Friendly match. CSKA (Moscow) - Admiral (Vladivostok)

As expected, CSKA rested several of its big name players. There was no room on the roster for Ilya Sorokin, Kirill Kaprizov, Mikhail Grigorenko, Nikita Nesterov, Lars Johansson, Mikhail Naumenkov, Sergei Andronov, Sergei Kalinin or Ivan Telegin. But there was a debut for Czech forward Jiri Sekac, who joined the first line with Linden Vey and Sergei Tolchinsky. Bogdan Kiselevich also featured following his return to Moscow over the summer. For Admiral, Swedish defenseman Adam Almqvist made his debut.

It took just 30 seconds for CSKA to open the scoring, with Vey converting Alexander Popov’s pass. Shortly afterwards, fans were treated to a heavyweight bout as Artyom Chmykhov and Ivan Lisin squared up. The fight was inconclusive, both players took major penalties. CSKA continued to press but could not extend its lead in the first period. The second period followed a similar pattern – CSKA pressing, Admiral resisting – and the second goal of the game arrived moments before the intermission when Kirill Dyakov tied the scores.

Midway through the third Sekac got his first goal for his new club and that proved to the be game-winner. Anton Slepyshev’s shot late in the game led to a third goal to seal CSKA’s win.

CSKA Moscow 3 Admiral Vladivostok 1 (1-0, 0-1, 2-0)

Goals: 1-0 Vey (Popov 0:30); 1-1 Dyakov (A Streltsov, V Streltsov PP 39:59); 2-1 Sekac (Vey, Robinson 47:34); 3-1 Svetlakov (Slepyshev 55:45).

Goalies: Samoilov – Olkinuora

Igor Nikitin, head coach, CSKA

We took a lot of penalties, but that’s forgivable at this stage. The guys did well and showed their character. Pre-season games are a bit of a release. We could see the things that we’d want to see at this stage in our preparations. There are various reasons why teams might win or lose games, but that’s not so important in pre-season. What matters is that we are on the right course to prepare for the new season.

Jiri Sekac, forward, CSKA

It was my first game so it was really tough. I’m new here so I need to make more of an impact on the game, on the team. I’m still getting used to my new partners. Scoring the winner here definitely helps with that. I think a couple of games will be enough for me to adapt.

Kunlun Red Star is overhauling its roster ahead of the new season with head coach Curt Fraser looking to build on the foundations he established after joining late in the previous campaign. As the Chinese club began its summer camp in Beijing, KHL.ru caught up with Garet Hunt to talk about his move to China. The former ECHL enforcer is looking forward to catching up with old friends – and admitted he asked the advice of a few old foes as well.

I’m a little nervous coming overseas

Garet, welcome to Beijing. How do you see this new stage of your career?

I’m excited for the opportunity I’ve got here with Kunlun Red Star. Obviously, I’m a little nervous coming overseas. I’ve been in North America for 11 years this is a new chapter in my life coming over here, a new experience.

How did it happen?

I have some Chinese heritage and I got connected with the team here. I came over for the summer camp after my playoffs, things worked out and now I’m here.

It was an easy decision to make because I was really excited to take a new step in my career and come overseas. At the same time, it was a big decision for me and my family to leave everything I had in North America, but I’m happy so far and I’m really excited.

I’m trying to keep the games in check and stick up for my team-mates. I want to bring a hard-work ethic, a willingness to compete. I’ll do anything just to be out there and contribute with whatever ice I get.

Did you know much about the KHL before you signed up?

I didn’t really know a whole lot about the KHL or Kunlun. I just followed the guys that I knew and grew up with like Gilbert [Brule], I played with him growing up when we were really little and we played juniors together. Also guys like [Brandon] Yip, Victor [Bartley], I grew up with them, Brandon and I are from the same home town. I followed the guys that I played with, guys that I like to watch and moved overseas but I didn’t know a whole lot about the league in general. Right now I’m just figuring it all out.

Did they tell you much about moving here?

Vic was huge, I talked to him a couple of times and Brandon. They just let me know what I was in for over here when I came over in the summer, they told me what was at stake and what kind of opportunity I had here. That made really excited and I came over here, I came and did the best that I could and got a contract.

I heard nothing but good things to say about the KHL and that made the decision even easier

Have you had much chance to talk about your role on the team yet? In the past you’ve been known as an enforcer, will you be doing that here?

I’m definitely just willing to do whatever they ask of me. Obviously, I’m trying to keep the games in check and stick up for my team-mates. I want to bring a hard-work ethic, a willingness to compete. I’ll do anything just to be out there and contribute with whatever ice I get. It’s just about making the best of it, trying to be physical and hopefully contributing on the penalty kill.

When I look you up on YouTube, I found clips of you fighting guys like Trevor Gillies, Joe Mirasti, Josh Gratton. All of them played in the KHL with Vityaz before you came up against them. Did they have anything to tell you about their time here?

Yeah, Trevor is a really nice guy, I talked to him and he said they had a good experience over here. They all had nothing but good things to say about the KHL and that made the decision even easier. It’s pretty funny, all those guys I used to fight with came, and now I’m here.

We don’t have teams like Vityaz anymore, with a roster stacked with fighters, but of course it remains part of the game.

Yeah, I know a little bit about it!

It was an easy decision to make because I was really excited to take a new step in my career and come overseas.

Given everything that’s at stake with the chance of getting to the Olympics, is this the biggest challenge of your career so far?

It could be. I’m really, really excited about the opportunity that Scotty MacPherson and Curt Fraser have given me here. I’m coming over here to try to be physical, protect my team-mates. Just to have that willingness. With this opportunity, I’m just going to keep working hard every day and do whatever it takes to be part of taking this organization forward. Sometimes it means mixing it up with those kind of guys, that’s just part of my game if it comes to that. It’s not that I’m out there just trying to fight everybody but I’m willing to do whatever it takes, that’s part of my style of hockey.

It’s early days, but how does the team look to you?

This team looks really solid, there’s a good core group of guys. We’ve got Yip coming back, Adam Cracknell, lots of guys who’ve played a lot of games in the NHL and have a lot of good North American experience. Also there’s lots of guys who’ve played overseas, who that experience of playing over here. Its just a great group so far, they’ve really taken me in, they’re easy-going, really easy to get along with.

And how about adapting to the bigger ice?

I played two years in Alaska in the ECHL and we had Olympic size ice up there. I’m familiar with it but I didn’t play a whole lot on it, just a little bit.

I travelled everywhere in North America, it feels like I’ve been to pretty much every town, big or small. Then I come over here and its humbling.

This season we are seeing some rinks becoming smaller, many clubs will have different surfaces. Will it affect the way you play if you have to switch all the time?

You’ll have to adjust. For me specifically, I’ll have to adjust my game playing on a big surface of ice. Just getting around, making contact with people on the forecheck, all that’s obviously a bit tougher on the big ice. Then all of a sudden you go back to the small ice and it’s claustrophobic, you feel like you’re running into the boards all the time. Like I said, in Alaska we played on the big ice and all our road games were small. We’d go from playing three games at home and practising on the Olympic ice then switching and playing NHL size. You adapt, our team has that adaptability. We have a lot of North American style players and guys that have been overseas, that have played on different surfaces over their careers, I think we’ll be OK with it.

When I come down for breakfast and they have noodles and rice, little things like that kinda open your eyes

After playing in Alaska, I guess you also got pretty used to lots of travel?

I’m pretty easy-going with travel. I grew up in the WHL and we were on a bus for two days traveling out east. I guess it is part of my culture, it just comes with the territory of wanting to be a professional athlete, especially in a sport like hockey. And especially when you’re in China and you’re the only team in China! I just try to keep an open mind and make the best of it. When we fly together, it’s a good opportunity to get to know the guys better, so I’m kinda looking forward to that. It can’t be any worse than sitting on a bus for 12-14 hours!

I’ll do anything just to be out there and contribute with whatever ice I get.

What about everyday life in China?

I’m familiar with some of the Chinese food but when I come down for breakfast and they have noodles and rice, little things like that kinda open your eyes. It’s broadening my horizons, becoming more well-travelled. I travelled everywhere in North America, it feels like I’ve been to pretty much every town, big or small. Then I come over here and its humbling. There are so many people, so many ways to get around, subway, scooters, cars, it’s exciting trying to figure it all out. It’s a new experience. All the guys are really helpful, trying to help us newbies get around and show us the ways. Excited to go to Shenzhen to start the season, the rink looks beautiful there. I’m excited to go to Russia, never been there. My eyes are wide open and I’m looking forward to it.

Do you have a hit list of places you want to see on your travels here?

I haven’t made a list because there’s just too much stuff to do. I’m just taking it all in and flying by the seat of my pants right now. Its tough at the moment with camp, we’re getting home late in the evenings. I’m just doing my thing, there’s no real list. Once I’m settled in, I’ll start thinking some things out that I want to do. I went to the Great Wall already, that was exciting and that was definitely something on my list.

On Wednesday we learned the winners of three pre-season tournament. HC Sochi clinched victory in the Sochi Hockey Open with one day to spare, Spartak claimed the Mountfield Cup thanks to victory over Slovan but Kunlun Red Star’s reserve roster missed out in the Renaissance Cup final against Arizona State University. Barys thrashed Ak Bars at the start of the President of Kazakhstan Cup, while Uzbekistan’s new team took its bow at the Nizhny Novgorod Governor’s Cup.

Sochi Hockey Open

Hellberg blanks Lokomotiv

After two straight losses, including a painful collapse from a 4-1 lead against Dinamo Riga, SKA needed a boost. Lokomotiv, meanwhile, still had hopes of winning the tournament. Craig MacTavish handed Alexander Lazushin the start in goal, but that faith was not rewarded. True, the goalie was not at fault for SKA’s opener but in the second period he allowed three goals as Loko went off the rails.

Photo: 07.08.19. Sochi Hockey Open. Lokomotiv (Yaroslavl) - SKA (St.Petersburg)

Once again, SKA enjoyed good results from Vladimir Tkachyov and Jori Lehtera, a combination that impressed for four of the goals against Dinamo. Magnus Hellberg also caught the eye, securing the first shut-out in this year’s Sochi Hockey Open.

Craig MacTavish, head coach, Lokomotiv

We came up against a good, hungry opponent and on the day they were stronger than us. It’s a valuable lesson for us. We got a lot of useful information which I’ll be analysing with the rest of the staff. This was only our fourth game together, we need to generate more understanding.

Alexei Kudashov, head coach, SKA

We were better today, we got goals from all four lines and we didn’t concede. We did the things we planned before the game. Right now I’m not worried that Dmitry Kagarlitsky hasn’t got among the points. He’s come to a new team, he’s playing his part, nobody is panicking.

Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 0 SKA St. Petersburg 4 (0-1, 0-3, 0-0)

Goals: 0-1 Ketov (Rukavishnikov 7:09 SH); 0-2 Tkachyov (Lehtera 25:40); 0-3 Barabanov (Bengtsson 27:08); 0-4 Karpov (Kuzmenko, Rukavishnikov 31:58)

Goalies: Lazushin – Hellberg

Sochi wins trophy on home ice

HC Sochi continued its perfect form in its home tournament, securing the Sochi Hockey Open title for the first time in the competition’s history. Going into Wednesday’s game against winless Avangard, the host knew that victory would guarantee top spot and Sergei Zubov’s men made no mistake.

Photo: 07.08.19. Sochi Hockey Open. HC Sochi (Sochi) - Avangard (Omsk)

Avangard handed a debut to Swiss international Sven Andrighetto after he joined up with the team on Monday: he played on the first line with Denis Zernov and Taylor Beck. True, they didn’t have much impact on the game, but there are still three weeks of preparation ahead for Avangard. And other newcomers, on both sides, shaped the game. At the start of the third period Valentin Pyanov gave Avangard hope of saving the game, while Sochi’s Ilya Krikunov scored twice to pace the win. Another newbie, Malte Stromwall, had an excellent assist on Sochi’s second goal.

Thus, Sochi finished its home tournament with a 100% record, four wins from four games. Avangard, meanwhile, is still seeking its first victory here and needs to defeat SKA tomorrow if it is to escape finishing last.

HC Sochi 3 Avangard Omsk 1 (1-0, 1-0, 1-1)

Goals: 1-0 Krikunov (0:17); 2-0 Krikunov (Stromwall, Rosen 27:39); 2-1 Pyanov (Shirokov 42:30); 3-1 Alexandrov (Mosalyov, Altybarmakyan 55:45)

Goalies: Shikin – Bobkov

Sergei Zubov, head coach, HC Sochi

The guys were up for this game. We made a great start but in the end it was hard to get over the line, we were under a lot of pressure. We made more mistakes than in other games here. Dima Shikin kept us in it today. We’ve made a step forward in this tournament.

Bob Hartley, head coach, Avangard

My players had their best game of this tournament. We had great speed, we created a lot of chances but Shikin saved them on many occasions. On the flip side, we gave up the puck too often and that led to the goals that we allowed. Sven Andrighetto had his first game for Avangard today, even though originally we didn’t expect to see him here. At equal strength he did OK, unfortunately we didn’t get to see him on the power play.

President of Kazakhstan Cup

Macek makes a double

Nur-Sultan is celebrating the 10^th anniversary edition of the President of Kazakhstan Cup, and the action started with Avtomobilist playing Neftekhimik. The Nizhnekamsk team is a regular guest to the competition, while Andrei Martemyanov’s team was making its first appearance here. Before the game, there was great interest in the situation around Pavel Datsyuk, still awaiting his Avto debut. After the game, Martemyanov had bad news for the fans hoping to catch a glimpse of the Magic Man: he won’t be involved in this tournament, even though he is training with the team.

Aside from Datsyuk, several of Avtomobilist’s leaders were rested. Ex-Barys man Nigel Dawes and former Neftekhimik forward Dan Sexton were both on the sidelines, as was goalie Jan Kovar. There were debuts for defensemen Maxim Berezin and Fyodor Belyakov, plus forwards Geoff Platt, Brooks Macek, Peter Holland and Evgeny Mozer.

Neftekhimik sent out its new signings in the first game. Konstantin Barulin was in goal, with the veteran Vitaly Atyushov alongside Maxim Ignatovich and Ziyat Paigin in a new-look defensive unit. Two new imports, Zack Mitchell and Matt White, made their debuts up front.

The first period was the most competitive. Paigin took a double minor and Nikita Tryamkin’s point shot beat Barulin for the opening goal. But it took just five minutes for Paigin to atone by setting up White for the tying goal. It wasn’t long before Holland put Avtomobilist in front and the Yekaterinburg team survived a 3-on-5 penalty kill. In the remainder of the game, Avto added three more unanswered goals with Macek scoring twice.

Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 5 Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 1 (2-01, 0-0, 3-0)

Goals: 1-0 Tryamkin (Holland, Belousov 4:18 PP); 1-1 White (Paigin 9:51); 2-1 Holland (Obidin, Platt 14:00); 3-1 Macek (Gurkin 40:52 PP); 4-1 Zakharov (Holland, Belousov 47:14); 5-1 Macek (52:07).

Goalies: Gross - Barulin

Andrei Martemyanov, head coach, Avtomobilist

I’m pleased to see our new guys scoring today. It was a typical summer game, lots of mistakes, especially in center ice. The final score doesn’t mean all that much, I’m more interested in the quality of our play. There were lots of things I liked: we coped with their pressing well, we kept control of the puck in the offensive zone. In the second period we spent a long time playing 3-on-5 and before the third we told the guys they needed to play differently. They did that, so as a coach I’m completely satisfied with that part of the game.

Everyone is waiting to see Pavel Datsyuk

Pavel is recovering from an operation and is ahead of schedule but, unfortunately, it will take time to be fit and it’s difficult to say when he’ll be ready. We hope to have him playing before the start of the championship. He definitely won’t be playing at this tournament but the sooner he recovers, the sooner he’ll play. Pavel is a professional and he knows perfectly well when he is able to play at full strength.

Today you left out Dawes, Sexton and Kovar. When will they be in action?

Probably in the next game. We brought six lines to Kazakhstan and we’re waiting on a couple from Russia ‘B’. But we trust our depth and several of our younger players did well today. We need that competition for places.

Vyacheslav Butsayev, head coach, Neftekhimik

It was a game of two halves. We didn’t start well but managed to get back into it. The second period, I liked how we played but unfortunately in the third we saw too many individual errors from our first line and that stopped us playing our game. But in games like this, the important thing is how the guys react, how they take on board our processes. This is a good tournament for us, we’ll work on those errors and prepare for the next game.

Brooks Macek, forward, Avtomobilist

Today was my first game with a club from the KHL and both teams looked good. It was a bit of a mixed bag, we were better in the first and third periods but they had the better of the second. Everything stemmed from mistakes and it could all have been different. Luckily we got the goal at the start of the third period and I felt that after the fourth goal the outcome was pretty clear.

Matt White, forward, Neftekhimik

We wasted too many of our chances and gave them too many. The third period was our worst, we need to learn from that. Most of the game went OK and we can take positives from that. I’m still adapting to a new place, getting use to a new system, sometimes I’m having problems with the language barrier. But that’s a short-term thing, I don’t think it will take long for things to start dropping into place.

The second game of the day saw host club Barys take on Ak Bars, with Kazakh president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev watching on as guest of honor.

Barys handed debuts to four forwards, Adam Helewka, Corban Knight, Iiro Pakarinen and Arkady Shestakov, plus goalie Eddie Pasquale and rookie Batyrlan Muratov. Ak Bars, under new head coach Dmitry Kvartalnov, featured 12 newcomers including two ex-Barys forwards, Patrice Cormier and Matt Frattin.

Few expected a one-sided game but in the event Barys powered to a 6-1 victory. The first period brought three goals, included Helewka’s first for the club. Frattin scored against his former club, but Ak Bars was in trouble throughout. Three more goals in middle frame took the game away from Kvartalnov’s team. Darren Dietz, now captain of Barys, found the net and Muratov potted his first goal at this level as he looks to emerge from the Youth Hockey League.

Barys Nur-Sultan 6 Ak Bars Kazan 1 (3-1, 3-0, 0-0)

Goals: 1-0 Mikhailis (Boyd 6:39); 1-1 Frattin (Azevdo, Ozhiganov, 10:35 PP); 2-1 Panyukov (Knight, Petyukhov 15:32); 3-1 Helewka (Dietz, Corben 17:24 PP); 4-1 Boyd (Blacker, Knight 27:15); 5-1 Dietz (Pakarinen 30:14 PP); 6-1 Muratov (Sagadeyev 36:47).

Goalies: Pasquale – Riederborn (Misbakhov)

Mountfield Cup

Spartak secures the trophy

Spartak’s last game in Hradec Kralove saw the Red-and-Whites take on former KHL team Slovan Bratislava knowing that victory would clinch victory in the tournament.

Once again, Spartak’s coaching staff made extensive changes to the roster as Oleg Znarok and his colleagues continue to search for the strongest line-up, the club’s press service writes. The first period was lively, with the teams trading goals inside the first six minutes. Maxim Tsyplakov got Spartak’s goal, converting Vyacheslav Leshchenko’s timely pass from behind the net. The Red-and-Whites had the bulk of the play but looked shaky on defense. That led to Slovan taking the lead in the 15^th minute after an error by Alexander Kutuzov at his own net. Anatoly Nikontsev tied the scores late in the frame when he converted a penalty shot that he won himself.

Spartak’s problems weren’t limited to unforced errors; they also took rather more penalties than necessary. By the 27^th minute, the Red-and-Whites had four penalties, two of which were converted by Slovan. Spartak’s own power play looked rather sharper in this game, although there is still work to be done.

There was a long delay late in the second period when Maxim Goncharov collided with Sevcik at high speed and left the young Slovak forward crumpled on the ice. Even after he was helped to locker room by the team medics, it still took time to clear the blood from the ice. Goncharov was also sent for an early shower by the officials.

The third session was less fraught for Spartak. Kaspars Daugavins’ power play goal tied the game in the 48^th minute before Zakhar Shabolovsky pounced on a defensive error to put Spartak back in front. Martins Karsums scored into the empty net to wrap up the victory and complete the tournament with three wins from three games. The meter-high cup was only briefly in the team’s possession; it remains in Hradec Kralove once the celebratory photographs are done.

Spartak Moscow 5 Slovan Bratislava 3 (2-2, 0-1, 3-0)

Goals: 0-1 Pulis (4:39 PP); 1-1 Tsyplakov (Leshchenko 5:43); 1-2 Bobal (14:52); 2-2 Nikontsev (19:19 penalty shot); 2-3 Meszaros (27:43 PP); 3-3 Daugavins (Hanzl 47:32 PP); 4-3 Shabolovsky (Kutuzov 51:15); 5-3 Karsums (Hanzl 59:54 empty net).

Goalies: Bespalov - Gabal

Renaissance Cup

Kunlun loses out in final

The KRS Select roster that has represented Kunlun Red Star throughout the Renaissance Cup missed out on lifting the big prize in Beijing. The host team battled through to the tournament final despite relying almost exclusively on players on two-way contracts, most of whom are likely to play in the VHL in the coming season. It was intended as a test for many of the Chinese and Chinese-heritage players within the organization and the final offered a chance to avenge an opening day loss at the hands of Arizona State University.

However, it didn’t work out that way: the students scored two unanswered goals in the first period and never looked back as they returned to America with the trophy. Red Star jets off to Chelyabinsk today for its next pre-season tournament – and will be using a very different roster with far more KHL experience in the Chelyabinsk Governor’s Cup.

Kunlun Red Star 1 Arizona State University 6 (0-2, 1-2, 0-2)

KRS goal: 1-2 Magee (Walchak 29:30)

Goalie: O’Brien (Sun Zehao)

Nizhny Novgorod Governor’s Cup

The opening game of this tournament saw Humo make its first appearance on the ice. The Tashkent team will bring VHL hockey to Uzbekistan in the coming season and its first test came here against Dinamo Minsk.

The Belarusians arrived without their foreign legion: only Francis Pare was available for this game, with the other imports joining on the team’s return from Nizhny Novgorod. Instead, this was a chance for fringe players to stake their case.

Artyom Demkov was the first to show. This is already his third attempt to crack the KHL and he earned his chance after top scoring for team Belarus in last season’s international action. In the fifth minute, his power play goal gave Dinamo the lead but Humo quickly tied it up and the first period finished 1-1. Two goals late in the second period finally broke the Uzbek resistance as Dmitry Znakharenko and Alexander Pavlovich put Dinamo in charge. In the third, Ilya Litvinov added a fifth before Demkov got his second of the game as the Belarusians eased to a 6-3 win.

Humo Tashkent 3 Dinamo Minsk 6 (1-1, 1-3, 1-2)

Goals: 0-1 Demkov (Denisov, Pare 4:12 PP); 1-1 Merezhko (Pepelyayev 7:11 PP); 1-2 Pavlovich (Volkov 26:16); 2-2 Shcherbina (Tatalin, Valuisky 34:40); 2-3 Znakharenko (37:07); 2-4 Pavlovich (39:56); 3-4 Shcherbina (50:33); 3-5 Litvinov (Denisov 50:54); Demkov (Dostanko, Pare 51:25)

Goalies: Smiryagin – Osipkov

Dynamo gets revenge

The second game of the day was a repeat of the friendly at the weekend between Torpedo and Dynamo Moscow. The opening encounter went to the host but this return engagement saw the Muscovites get revenge. Both teams were missing players on international duty with Russia ‘B’ in Sochi, and Torpedo was limited to two imports: Jordan Schroeder and Anders Lindback.

Photo: 07.08.19. Nizhny Novgorod Region Governor`s Cup. Torpedo (Nizhny Novgorod) - Dynamo (Moscow)

Vadim Shipachyov spurned a great chance to put Dynamo ahead early on when he tried one trick too many after an error from Denis Barantsev. However, the Blue-and-Whites took the lead late in the first period when Vladislav Mikhailov opened the scoring. The 35^thminute was full of incident. First, Torpedo tied the scores but almost immediately Dynamo got a power play and Shipachyov set up Andre Petersson to restore the lead. Vladislav Yefremov increased Dynamo’s lead late in the middle frame after another defensive lapse and Anton Shenfeld’s last-minute goal was too late to affect the outcome.

Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 2 Dynamo Moscow 3 (0-1, 1-2, 1-0)

Goals: 0-1 Mikhailov (Muranov 19:32); 1-1 Goncharuk (Alyayev, Bocharov 34:09); 1-2 Petersson (Shipachyov 34:57 PP); 1-3 Yefremov (Moiseyev 38:28); 2-3 Shenfeld (Goncharuk, Bocharov 59:43)

Goalies: Lindback - Bocharov

Exhibition games

Yesterday’s match-up between CSKA and Admiral ended with the defending champ celebrating a 3-1 victory. One day later, the teams produced the same scoreline at the CSKA Arena.

Photo: 07.08.19. Friendly match. CSKA (Moscow) - Admiral (Vladivostok)

As before, the Army Men rested many of their star players. The only change to the roster came in goal, where Lars Johansson stepped in.

In the early part of the game CSKA took a string of penalties but it wasn’t until early in the second period that Admiral was able to take advantage. A flurry of shots on Johansson’s net led to Vasily Streltsov picking up a loose puck on the slot and steering it into the net. Two quick goals late in the middle frame turned the game around, though, with Alexander Popov setting up Andrei Svetlakov for the equalizer before Mat Robinson’s feed from the face-off circle dropped kindly for Anton Slepyshev to score. Maxim Mamin wrapped it up in the 53^rdminute.

CSKA Moscow 3 Admiral Vladivostok 1 (0-0, 2-1, 1-0)

Goals: 0-1 V Streltsov (25:09 PP); 1-1 Svetlakov (Tolchinsky, Popov 32:36); 2-1 Slepyshev (Okulov, Robinson 34:44); 3-1 Mamin (Robinson, Vey 52:28 PP)

Goalies: Johansson – Olkinuora

Igor Nikitin, head coach, CSKA

Playing back-to-back games meant that both teams were feeling the strain. Everyone was tired and maybe there were fewer emotions in the game. In the first period we took a lot of penalties, I think the refs are focussing on the new rules and want to show the guys how it’s going to work. After these games, everyone will stay with the squad when we fly to our next camp in Switzerland.

Anton Slepyshev, forward, CSKA

It’s hard to assess that game. We practiced for three weeks and we really wanted to get out and play. We took a lot of penalties; I think that was because we missed hockey so much. We should have started the game much better. It’s disappointing that we only scored once on the power play, we need to work on that.

Kirill Dyakov, defenseman, Admiral

There are only good things for us in this game. In the first period we had plenty of chances on the power play but couldn’t score. I think that’s because up to now we’ve not really worked on our special teams, we’ve focussed on getting into shape. Working on the power play is part of our next preparations. And, of course, CSKA punished us for our mistakes.

Jokerit shoots down Sibir

After defeating HPK in a shoot-out yesterday, Sibir continued against Finnish opposition with a game against KHL rival Jokerit. The Siberians have a strong finish accent: goalie Harri Sateri and first liners Puustinen, Ruohomaa and Peltola meant that when the puck dropped the two teams had an equal number of Finns on the ice.

Jokerit head coach Lauri Marjamaki rested Antti Niemi and gave Janis Kalnins the start. The game was entertaining: Jokerit went 2-0 up with a pair of power play goals, but Sibir responded to lead 3-2 in the 36^th minute helped by two PP goals of its own. The Finns hit back hard, however, edging in front 4-3 by the end of the second period and holding that lead to the end.

Sibir Novosibirsk 3 Jokerit Helsinki 4 (0-2, 3-2, 0-0)

Goals: 0-1 Haalala (Grant 8:19 PP); 0-2 Lehtonen (Kontiola 10:28 PP); 1-2 Timashov (21:43); 2-2 Sayustov 29:04 PP); 3-2 Milovzorov (35:15 PP); 3-3 Kontiola (34:38); 3-4 Joensuu (Lehtonen, Torpstrom 38:01).

Goalies: Sateri - Kalnins

For the second straight season, the Belarusian team didn't reach the playoffs. Moreover, the 2018-19 campaign was for the Bisons the worst in the latest seven years. During the spring, rumors were running wild, but in the end, Dinamo will play the 2019-20 season in the KHL, but with a whole new coaching staff.

Coach

After considering how the latest campaign finished, the Dinamo boards decided to change the team's head coach. At first, Alexander Andriyevsky should have been at the team's helm, but in mid-May Dmitry Baskov, Dinamo's director said that the negotiations reached a stalemate. Finally, on June 14, the team announced the hiring of Craig Woodcroft. Under the Canadian coach, Dinamo had its best season in the KHL history in 2016-17, finishing the regular season as the fifth seed in the Western Conference with 105 points. Woodcroft will be assisted by the Belarusian hockey's legend Mikhail Grabovsky. The former forward played more than 500 games in the NHL, with 296 (125+171) points.

New players

Goalies:

Ivan Kulbakov (try-out; Kalamazoo, ECHL)

Dmitry Milchakov (try-out; Plzen, Czech Republic)

Alexander Osipkov (Yunost, Belarus)

Jhonas Enroth (Orebro, Sweden)

Defensemen:

Roman Dostanko (try-out; Shakhter, Belarus)

Roman Dyukov (try-out; Lada, VHL)

Yegor Ivanov (try-out; Gomel, Belarus)

Stefan Elliott (Ottawa, NHL)

Forwards:

Vyacheslav Gretsky (try-out; Dinamo Molodechno, Belarus)

Artyom Demkov (Shakhter, Belarus)

Dmitry Zhelnerovsky (Saryarka, VHL)

Alexander Mayavko (Neman, Belarus)

Sergei Mayavko (Neman, Belarus)

Alexander Materukhin (try-out; Yugra, VHL)

Francis Pare (Avtomobilist)

Mikhail Stefanovich (Yunost, Belarus)

Nikita Feoktistov (Admiral)

Players who left the team

Defensemen:

Jonathon Blum (Farjestad, Sweden)

Dmitri Zalamay

Evgeny Lisovets (Salavat Yulaev Ufa)

Denis Osipov

Patrick Wiercioch

Kristian Khenkel (Ak Bars Kazan)

Forwards:

David Booth

Dmitri Buinitsky (Metallurg)

Alexei Tereshchenko

Transfers

This offseason, Dinamo Minsk acquired almost twenty new players, but only nine left the team. However, the focus is mostly not on quantity, but on quality. Nearly all the players who left had a prominent role in last year's team. Who can substitute them among the new ones? Of course, one of them should be Francis Pare. The Canadian forward had a significant role with Avtomobilist last year, scoring 35 (16+19) points in Yekaterinburg. Pare looks like Dinamo's biggest signing of the current offseason. Jhonas Enroth is also another vital piece of the puzzle for the Belarusian franchise. Another move that seems very interesting is the signing of the Canadian defenseman Stefan Elliott, who has almost 100 NHL games under his belt. He's already known among the KHL audience, having represented Kazan three seasons ago.

Leader: Francis Pare

Calling a leader a player who is yet to play his first game in his new team can sound a bit odd, but Pare should become Dinamo's locomotive in the new season. In a stacked Avtomobilist lineup, Pare scored 35 points, more than any other Dinamo forward in 2018-19. The Canadian forward showed that can both score and pass the puck, and in Minsk, he will have a chance to be the team's main star.

Young gun: Ivan Drozdov

The 19-years-old forward started making a name for himself last year, and his 9 (1+8) points in his rookie season are an excellent achievement. Moreover, Ivan Drozdov scored his points playing for one of the lowest-scoring teams in the League. Ivan is one of the most promising among the Belarusian forwards of the new generation and this year will be very important in determining if he'll be the heir of Grabovsky and Kostitsyn brothers.

What's up for the upcoming season?

This offseason, Dinamo lost some key players, most notably blueliners Patrick Wiercioch, Evgeny Lisovets, and Kristian Khenkel. That means that the results will mostly depend on how the newly signed foreign players will show up. Dinamo's biggest bet will be on Francis Pare. The 32-years-old Canadian is in his prime, and he will be responsible for getting the fans hearing the goal song again next year. However, it looks like the boards' job on the market isn't done yet. It will be hard to assess the team's prospects for the next season due to the high personnel turnover but considering that last year Dinamo was one of the worst teams in the League, it's hard to expect that the Bisons will get to the postseason.

There is another interesting aspect to watch out, though. It will be fascinating to check whether Craig Woodcroft will repeat his past successes in Minsk and how Mikhail Grabovsky will start his coaching career.

The Sochi Hockey Open came to an end with Dinamo Riga defeating Russia ‘B’ to take second place while Slava Voynov helped Avangard beat SKA and escape the foot of the table at last. In Kazakhstan, Ak Bars bounced back from a heavy loss to edge Salavat Yulaev in the Green Derby before Barys romped to another high-scoring win. Dynamo Moscow defeated its namesake from Minsk, while Torpedo suffered a surprise loss to the VHL’s Khumo Tashkent in Nizhny Novgorod.

Sochi Hockey Open

Riga takes second place

Russia ‘B’, which saw Sochi end its hopes of winning the tournament, was still in contention for second place beside the Black Sea as it went into its final game. But that game, against Dinamo Riga, would be a battle for the silver medals with the Latvians capable of overtaking the Russians with a victory on the last day of competition.

Photo: 08.08.19. Sochi Hockey Open. Olympic Russia Team - Dinamo (Riga)

Oleg Bratash continued to rotate his Russia ‘B’ roster and rested Artyom Maltsev, Maxim Rasseikin, Nikita Rtishchev and Daniil Valitov. Pyotr Kochetkov was in goal following his assured display against Avangard. Dinamo recalled Maxim Tretyak, last seen in the wild 6-5 win over SKA.

As in the Avangard game, Kochetkov allowed an early goal. This time he was the only man left to deal with David Ullstrom’s break and the Swede won his duel to open the scoring. Ten minutes later, Ullstrom got his second as Dinamo went 2-0 up at the first intermission. That was Ullstrom’s fourth goal of the tournament.

The Russians rallied to tie the game on goals from Vladislav Kodola and Damir Zhafyarov but ended up losing out to an Andris Dzerins effort 10 minutes from the end. Russia ‘B’s last game of the tournament ended not only in defeat, but with the loss of Admiral defenseman Ivan Mishchenko. He was taken to hospital for a check after a heavy collision in the first period.

Russia ‘B’ 2 Dinamo Riga 3 (0-2, 1-0, 1-1)

Goals: 0-1 Ullstrom (7:27); 0-2 Ullstrom (Ashton, Marshall PP 17:05); 1-2 Kodola (Zaitsev, Mikhailov 22:01); 2-2 Zhafyarov (Kodola 49:26); 2-3 Dzerins (Marenis, Gillies) 49:53.

Goalies: Kochetkov – Tretyak

Oleg Bratash, head coach, Russia ‘B’

Today we came onto the ice and looked a bit nervous, we weren’t right in our heads. In the first period nothing went for us, neither the scoreline, nor the game. But I enjoyed the second and third periods and the guys deserve praise for that. Many of them had not previously played at KHL level before but they showed that they are ready for it. In general, we were happy with the outcome of this tournament.

Girts Ankipans, head coach, Dinamo Riga

I agree that the first period was great for us. But then we lost a bit of confidence. The main thing is that we found a way to win in the end. It’s definitely better than the game against Lokomotiv, where we lost right at the end. Throughout the tournament we were able to experiment with our lines. I’d like to thank the organizers for inviting us here.

Avangard condemns SKA to last place

When the organizers set the schedule for the tournament, they probably anticipated this last-day showdown as a potential title decider. Instead, Avangard took on SKA with the loser knowing it would likely finish bottom of the pile. With three losses from three games, Avangard was in a poor state. Head coach Bob Hartley said at the start that he didn’t want to rush new players into the team, but Sven Andrighetto debuted yesterday and today saw Slava Voynov appear for his new club for the first time, slotting in alongside Alexei Emelin.

Photo: 08.08.19. Sochi Hockey Open. SKA (St.Petersburg) - Avangard (Omsk)

We got a fast start, with three goals in the first 10 minutes. Then Andrighetto got his first point for Avangard, assisting as Denis Zernov made it 3-1 in the 15^th minute. The Swiss also drew attention to himself with a misconduct penalty. The third period, in particular, scarcely resembled a pre-season game with the teams sharing 22 penalty minutes. Alexei Kudashov pulled his goalie in a bid to save the game but Pavel Dedunov fired into the empty net to give Avangard the win and send SKA to the foot of the table.

Alexei Kudashov, head coach, SKA

We gave up three goals at the start and we made it easy for the opposition to score. We wanted to put that right in the second and third periods but it didn’t happen. We saw plenty that we’ll look at in practice, we’ll keep on working.

Bob Hartley, head coach, Avangard

That’s the end of the first stage of our preparations, we’ve seen our new guys in some different situations. Today I was proud of how we looked on the ice. I was especially happy with our special teams, in particular when we played 3-on-5. Slava Voynov impressed me in his first game, I like how he’s progressing. Don’t forget, he wasn’t training regularly with any team last season. He’s a world class defenseman, he makes smart decisions on the ice and supports the offense well. Voynov will be a great addition for us.

SKA St. Petersburg 1 Avangard Omsk 4 (1-3, 0-0, 0-1)

Goals: 0-1 Pyanov (Stas 2:09); 1-1 Byvaltsev (6:35); 1-2 Shumakov (Dedunov 9:51); 1-3 Zernov (Andrighetto, Chudinov 14:24); 1-4 Dedunov (Emelin 58:46 empty net)

Goalies: Nalimov – Sudnitsin

Final standings

President of Kazakhstan Cup

Fast start sets up Ak Bars victory

Gameday two in Nur-Sultan saw the latest edition of the Green Derby between Ak Bars and Salavat Yulaev. After a 1-6 loss against Barys in game one, the Kazan team was eager to bounce back against an Ufa rival making its first appearance in the competition.

Ufa head coach Nikolai Tsulygin sent out a strong roster, with a debut for new signing Sakari Manninen. The ex-Jokerit man centered the first line. Dmitry Kvartnalnov made a handful of changes to his Ak Bars team.

Kvartalnov saw his men make a flying start. In the first minute, Vladimir Tkachyov celebrated his return to the first line with the opening goal of the game. Soon afterwards, Salavat Yulaev faced a five-minute penalty kill after Vladislav Kartayev’s stick went into Patrice Cormier’s face and Justin Azevedo took advantage to make it 2-0.

In the middle frame, Salavat was dominant but could not score until Nikita Soshnikov beat Timur Bilyalov in the 45^th minute to bring the game back to life. Ak Bars held on, though, and recorded its first win at this tournament.

Ak Bars Kazan 2 Salavat Yulaev Ufa 1 (2-0, 0-0, 0-1)

Goals: 1-0 Tkachyov (0:45); 2-0 Azevedo (Frattin, Wikstrand 4:17 PP); 2-1 Soshnikov (Gareyev 44:17)

Goalies: Bilyalov – Metsola

Dmitry Kvartalnov, head coach, Ak Bars

We started well, we forced them to take penalties and we moved well. The first period was definitely a plus but after that the game changed. Luckily we held on to win a tough game. Right now we’re a long way from our best condition, from the right systems of play. But everything is going forward, it’s a work in progress and the guys are working hard.

Nikolai Tsulygin, head coach, Salavat Yulaev

If you forget about the first 10 minutes of the game, the team played well. Unfortunately, we couldn’t score and change the final outcome. But it’s only the start of the tournament: at home we’re used to bigger ice, here it’s a bit smaller. We were also seriously let down by our discipline. We spent almost half the period on the penalty kill.

High-scoring Barys wins again

Barys made it two wins from win in its home tournament, despite resting its top line after Wednesday’s emphatic victory over Ak Bars. Neftekhimik, which lost to Avtomobilist yesterday, also made extensive adjustments to its roster and, initially, looked to be on the way to an improved result.

Within seconds, Zack Mitchell pounced on a defensive error to give the visitor the lead and early in the third period Neftekhimik led 3-1. However, Barys rallied to score four unanswered goals – two of them from Dustin Boyd – and record another win.

Andrei Skabelka, head coach, Barys

That was a tough game. We couldn’t use many of the players who were involved against Ak Bars last night because they put so much effort and emotion into that game. We were behind for a long time but we improved with each period and in the end we managed to turn the outcome to our favor. The guys really hunted the puck in the offensive zone, worked hard, created good chances and managed to put them away.

Barys Nur-Sultan 5 Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 3 (1-2, 2-1, 2-0)

Goals: 0-1 Mitchell (White 0:24); 0-2 Poryadin (Churkin, White 9:16 PP); 1-2 Mikhailis (Svedberg, Sagadeyev 13:47); 1-3 Avtsin (Khafizov, Shafigullin 24:33); 2-3 Yevdokimov (Gurkov 35:15 SH); 3-3 Boyd (Metalnikov 38:17 PP); 4-3 Boyd (Svedberg 47:29 PP); 5-3 Kleshchenko (59:46 empty net).

Goalies: Karlsson - Sharychenkov

Nizhny Novgorod Governor’s Cup

Day two of the tournament began with a clash between Wednesday’s two winners – Dynamo Moscow and Dinamo Minsk. Both teams made extensive changes, and it was the Russians who came out on top.

Those new-look line-ups might explain why scoring chances were at a premium in the first period. Happily, the game warmed up in the second. Moscow converted its first power play midway through the game thanks to Daniil Tarasov, Minsk responded with a PP goal of its own from Igor Martynov. Subsequently, though, it was all Moscow. Juuso Hietanen restored the lead late in the middle frame and Tarasov got his second power play goal of the day to extend the advantage in the third.

Dynamo Moscow 4 Dinamo Minsk 1 (0-0, 2-1, 2-0)

Goals: 1-0 Tarasov (Petersson, Shipachyov 33:01 PP); 1-1 Martynov (Stepanov, Denisov 37:33 PP); 2-1 Hietanen (Tarasov, Petersson 38:57); 3-1 Tarasov (Shipachyov, Hietanen 42:34 PP), 4-1 Popov (58:56 empty net).

Goalies: Kuznetsov – Kulbakov

Khumo surprises Torpedo

VHL newcomer Khumo Tashkent got its first ever victory with a 3-0 success against tournament host Torpedo. David Nemirovsky made sweeping changes from the Torpedo team that lost to Dynamo Moscow last night and was able to welcome back crowd favorite Mikhail Varnakov after injury.

Photo: 08.08.19. Nizhny Novgorod Region Governor`s Cup. Torpedo (Nizhny Novgorod) - Humo (Tashkent)

However, it was the Uzbek team that seized the early initiative and led 2-0 inside 15 minutes. The rest of the game saw Torpedo pouring forward in search of a way back but there was not so much as a consolation goal to celebrate.

Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 0 Khumo Tashkent 3 (0-2, 0-0, 0-1)

Goals: Mosharov (Belyakov 4:53); 0-2 Voronin (Sorokin 13:15 PP); 0-3 Valuisky (58:20 empty net)

Goalies: Molkov – Nechistovsky.

Last season was a mixed one for Severstal. A poor start led to wholesale changes, but the end of the regular season showed some encouraging signs. With Andrei Razin behind the bench and some promising youngsters coming through, there are hopes for a brighter 2019/20.

Last season

After losing several key players, Severstal struggled at the start of the season. Once Razin replaced Alexander Gulyavtsev as head coach, there was a big change in personnel throughout the team and a run of seven straight wins in January highlighted the progress made. Youngster Igor Geraskin (6+11) and Vladislav Koloda (7+7) made an impact even though the team could not finish higher than 10^th in the West.

Coach

Severstal’s improved form under Andrei Razin was enough to extend the head coach’s contract. Still just 45, Razin already has extensive KHL experience with Avtomobilist, Ugra and Admiral. On occasion he has had conflicts with club management and players but that can’t obscure the obvious fact that he’s a talented coach with the results to back it up. At Severstal, he’s reunited once again with assistant Alexander Goltz.

Arrivals

Goalies: Vladislav Podyapolsky (Ak Bars), Rafael Khakimov (Metallurg Novokuznetsk, VHL)

Defense: Viktor Baldayev, Kirill Maslov (both Metallurg Novokuznetsk), Vladislav Provolnev (Spartak), Libor Sulak (Grand Rapids AHL)

Forwards: Alexei Andreyev (try-out), Andrei Belozyorov (Torpedo U-K, VHL), Adam Liska (Slovan), Yegor Morozov (Metallurg NK)

Departures

Goalies: Dominik Furch (Orebro, Sweden), Alexei Artamkin (Rubin, VHL), Sergei Korobov (Neftyanik, VHL)

Defense: Alexander Zarubin, Geoff Kinrade, Konstantin Korneyev, Arturs Kulda, Ivan Lekomtsev, Dmitry Megalinsky

Forwards: Yegor Babenko (Traktor), Nikolai Kazakovtsev, Alexei Mikhnov, Alexander Petunin (Dynamo Moscow).

Roster

Last season, Severstal staked heavily on experienced veterans – with little success. The current line-up is very different: it seems that the Steelmen will be rivalling Lokomotiv for the title of youngest roster in the KHL. In addition to its existing prospects, the club has signed several players in the 19-24 age bracket.

There’s still a role for experience on the team, and it’s provided largely by Evgeny Lapenkov and the ageless Yury Trubachyov. So far, there are just two imports, with Slovan’s 19-year-old forward Adam Liska continuing his KHL career here alongside defenseman Libor Sulak, 25, returning to Europe from the AHL. Recruitment has been low-key, with two 24-year-olds attracting most attention. Goalie Vladislav Podyapolsky made a name for himself at Ak Bars last time out and will be looking to secure a #1 role in Cherepovets, while Spartak defenseman Vladislav Provolnev is hoping to establish himself as a leader on the blue line.

Leader: Daniil Vovchenko

Last season was a disappointment for Daniil Vovchenko, despite his 18 (4+14) point haul. The forward struggled with injuries and often looked a pale shadow of his true self, attracting criticism from his coaches. However, the bigger picture hasn’t changed. Vovchenko’s progress may have stalled last season but he remains one of the brightest prospects in the league. Under the guidance of Razin, Vovchenko could be ready to take his game to the next level.

Prospect: Igor Geraskin

There are several players on this roster who could be on the brink of a breakout season, but 20-year-old Igor Geraskin has the strongest claim. The forward doesn’t lack for character: standing at just 169 cm, short for a hockey player, he has no qualms about mixing it in the big leagues. Last season Geraskin averaged 15 minutes a game and was his team’s third top scorer. He’s a quick, skilful player with experience and confidence beyond his years, so much so that following an injury to Yury Trubachyov he stood in as team captain.

Expectations

Over the summer, Severstal lost several experienced players who had been the faces of the team. The likes of Dominik Furch, Arturs Kulda and Konstantin Korneyev may not have had their finest seasons, but still had plenty of influence on the ice and in the locker room.

The new Severstal is banking on the continued progress of its youngsters. It’s a strategy that can pay off, as Lokomotiv demonstrated last season. Much depends on the coaching staff, and here fans in Cherepovets have grounds for optimism. Developing young players is Andrei Razin’s calling card. In recent years Severstal has sprung more than one surprise, both under Alexander Gulyavtsev and more recently under Razin himself. The line-ups may change, but there’s an underlying identity that helps the team to keep picking up impressive results. One thing is certain – the coming season is unlikely to be dull.

Friday brought two more games in Kazakhstan, with victories for Ak Bars and Avtomobilist. Meanwhile, in Finland, Sibir won again thanks to a strong performance from its Finnish imports.

President of Kazakhstan Cup

Ak Bars enjoys another derby win

After a narrow win in the Green Derby, Ak Bars faced another grudge match against its local rival from Tatarstan, Neftekhimik. The Nizhnekamsk team allowed 11 goals in losing its first two games in Nur-Sultan and head coach Vyacheslav Butsayev rotated half the roster following last night’s loss to Barys. Dmitry Kvartalnov sent out his Ak Bars team with just two imports – defenseman Kristian Khenkel and goalie Adam Riedeborn.

Photo: 09.08.19. President Kazakhstan Cup. Ak Bars (Kazan) - Neftekhimik (Nizhnekamsk)

Neftekhimik started brightly once again, taking a third-minute lead. But it wasn’t long before Vladimir Tkachyov tied the game and the middle frame saw a dominant Ak Bars take complete control of the encounter. Four unanswered goals on former Ak Bars goalie Konstantin Barulin settled the outcome; Danis Zaripov had a hand in three of them. In the third frame, Ak Bar ran into penalty trouble but Neftekhimik’s power play failed on all six opportunities as the team slumped to a third loss.

Ak Bars Kazan 5 Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 1 (1-1, 4-0, 0-0)

Goals: 0-1 Bikmullin (Padakin 2:51); 1-1 Tkachyov (Yarullin 7:25); 2-1 Galiyev (Tkachyov, Zaripov 21:59); 3-1 Yarullin (Zaripov 25:11 PP); 4-1 Glukhov (Mikheyev, Abrosimov 28:13 PP); 5-1 Zaripov (Galiyev, Pedan 32:52)

Goalies: Riedeborn – Barulin

Adam Riedeborn, goalie, Ak Bars

We had a tough start, just like against Barys we lost a quick goal, so we had start over, to rediscover our rhythm. It’s good that in the end we managed to sort it out. The guys did well, they were strong on the PK and they took their chances at the other end. The second period was almost perfect, I didn’t have much work to do, we kept hold of the puck at their end of the ice. In the last few minutes we took too many penalties but, even so, we stopped them from scoring.

Vitaly Atyushov, defenseman, Neftekhimik

We started OK but in that second period it was like we were thinking this was going to be easy and, in reality, it was anything but. It was our third game in three days, but that’s nothing special: we rotated the roster, we can’t use that as an excuse. It was our own fault, we stopped battling, stopped doing the right things. In the third period we tried to do something on the power play, but it didn’t work out. Never mind, there’s still time and we can work on that.

Avtomobilist impresses

The second game of the day saw Avtomobilist take on Salavat Yulaev. Andrei Martemyanov iced something close to a full strength line-up, with Nigel Dawes, Dan Sexton, Geoff Platt, Rafael Batyrshin and Alexander Kucheryavenko all featuring, along with goalie Jakub Kovar. Salavat Yulaev, defeated by Ak Bars the previous day, also made changes. Nikolai Tsulygin swapped eight players from yesterday’s roster.

In the ninth minute, a redirect from Geoff Platt’s stick gave the Canadian-born Belarusian international his first goal for Avtomobilist in tournament play. In the second period, a similar play saw Kucheryavenko double the lead before Salavat battled back to tie the scores in the third. Young Rodion Amirov got the 2-2 goal and it seemed that the momentum was with the Ufa team until a late intervention from Peter Holland gave Avto the win.

Salavat Yulaev Ufa 2 Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 3 (0-1, 0-1, 2-1)

Goals: 0-1 Platt (Holland, Sexton 8:24); 0-2 Kucheryavenko (Belousov, Gurkin 29:43); 1-2 Mayorov (Kadeikin 42:33); 2-2 Amirov (Omark, Larsen 51:33); 2-3 Holland (Sexton 57:08).

Goalies: Metsola – Kovar

Peter Holland, forward, Avtomobilist

Both teams played well, even if there weren’t many goals. Salavat Yulaev did some great things on offense, they created so many chances, it was good to watch. I’m sure the fans here enjoyed what they saw. When it was 2-0 we eased up a little and let them back into the game. But we responded well and went in front again in the last few minutes. By the end of the game we were all tired, nobody wanted to go to overtime.

I’m pleased that I could contribute a goal and an assist to the team today but I’m still adapting to a new system and finding my way here. I owe a lot to these guys, they’re really helping with that.

Linus Omark, forward, Salavat Yulaev

Once again, we didn’t quite have enough to win it but that’s summer hockey, it’s not worth taking these results to heart. Of course, we need to play to win, that’s what we’re here for, but the way we play is just as important, even if we lose. I thought we looked better today, we created a lot of chances but we couldn’t find the way to put them in the net. I didn’t score for the second game running, but scoring in the regular season is way more important.

Hameenlinna Tournament

Sibir’s Finns bring victory in Finland

Sibir continues its pre-season camp in Finland by taking part in the Hameenlinna tournament. In the opening game, the KHL team defeated the host, HPK, in a shoot-out; game two was against Lahti’s Pelicans.

There were no big changes to the roster for this game. The Finnish strike trio of Puustinen, Ruohomaa and Peltola were together again, Harri Sateri continued in goal while the top line comprised Milovzorov – Khabarov – Alexeyev.

An even first period ended with Sibir allowing a goal but the intermission gave a chance to regroup. The visitor came out and turned the game around, with Jukka Peltola contributing a goal and an assist. However, for the second time in the game, Sibir allowed a short-handed goal as Pelicans tied the scores in the third. For the second game in a row we went to overtime. This time, Ruohomaa got the game-winner on the power play.

Pelicans Lahti 2 Sibir Novosibirsk 3 OT (1-0, 0-2, 1-0, 0-1)

Sibir goals: 1-1 Peltola (Loginov, Puustinen, 24:46); 2-1 Lofquist (Peltola, Ruohomaa 34:08); 2-3 Ruohomaa (63:42 PP).

The Chelyabinsk Governor’s Cup had a setback when visa problems prevented Kunlun Red Star from taking part. In place of the Chinese team, a select roster comprised of players from the three remaining clubs was hastily formed – but couldn’t find a winning formula on the first day of competition.

Mozyakin pots Magnitka’s winner

Metallurg is a regular fixture at this tournament and Sergei Mozyakin is a proven difference maker, so it was little surprise that the first game was decided by his goal. The KHL’s record scorer was surprisingly used on the third line alongside Vladimir Galuzin and Denis Parshin but he still popped up with his team’s second goal in this game. Before that, Roman Lyubimov was hauled down on his approach to the net but picked himself up to convert the subsequent penalty shot. Daniil Vovchenko pulled one back for Severstal early in the third period but there was no way back for the Cherepovets team.

Photo: 10.08.19. Cup governor of Chelyabinsk region. Severstal (Cherepovets) - Metallurg (Magnitogorsk)

Severstal Cherepovets 1 Metallurg Magnitogorsk 2 (0-0, 0-2, 1-0)

Goals: 0-1 Lyubimov (29:41 penalty shot), 0-2 Mozyakin (Vereshchagin 36:10); 1-2 Vovchenko (Sulak, Geraskin (44:54)

Goalies: Khakimov – Koshechkin

Andrei Razin, head coach, Severstal

I enjoyed the game. I’m not too worried about the final score; we improved in every period and created chances. After the game the players accepted that pre-season is a process, everything’s OK, we just need to keep working. Our first game of the season is on September 2 so our task is to make sure we’re at our peak for that one.

When will Ansel Galimov join the team?

He’s already here and training with us. He might play tomorrow.

Josef Jandac, head coach, Metallurg

We had some good chances in the second period but in the third our opponent already played better. Our leaders aren’t quite ready, you could see that they are still getting up to speed. Dennis Rasmussen picked up an injury, he hurt his leg in his second shift. We’ll see how he’s feeling tomorrow.

How do you feel about playing on different-sized ice pads?

It’s hard. Playing on different ice is a big difference, almost a different kind of sport. Why can’t we have one size that everyone plays on?

Kruchinin leads the way for Traktor

Game two saw a first appearance for the hastily assembled Governor’s Cup team. Playing in red jerseys and drawn from the ranks of the three teams that made it to Chelyabinsk. Two lines came from Traktor, the host, with one each from Metallurg and Severstal. They played under the guidance of head coach Mikhail Smelnitsky, who usually works with Traktor’s VHL affiliate.

The change of plans did not discourage fans from coming to the game – almost 5,000 turned up. They saw a youthful Traktor roster, stripped of its imports, ease to a 5-2 victory. Young defenseman Bogdan Zhilyakov opened the scoring with an early power play effort, his first for Traktor, but the host found itself behind early in the second period after Ilya Zinovyev and Ivan Zakharchuk converted power play opportunities at the other end. That lead was short-lived, though, and Traktor eased to a 5-2 verdict. Alexei Kruchinin, back at the club after a season with SKA, had three points and the result was crowned by a debut goal from new signing Sergei Konkov.

Traktor Chelyabinsk 5 Governor’s Cup Team 2 (1-1, 4-1, 0-0)

Goals: 1-0 Zhilyakov (Glinkin, Sholokhov 3:32 PP); 1-1 Zinoviev (Shabanov 15:33 PP); 1-2 Zakharchuk (Alexeyev, Grachev 22:04 PP); 2-2 Kruchinin (Kalinin 22:50); 3-2 Kruchinin (Malykhin 26:58 PP); 4-2 Karlin (35:51); 5-2 Konkov (Malykhin, Kruchinin 39:05).

Goalies: Fedotov – Nosov

Alexei Kruchinin, forward, Traktor

Our line didn’t play together during our camp in Slovenia, so it was hard work today. New coaching, a new system – we’re getting used to a lot of little things. That’s why we were thinking on the ice more than playing. There are things to work on, but we scored some good goals and played some nice hockey.

At SKA you didn’t get much game time. How does it feel to be getting more time on the ice now?

I’m unbelievably happy. I really missed playing hockey regularly, and especially I missed that sense that people were relying on me, that they had their hopes on me. That’s really important for me.

Hameenlina Tournament

Sibir tames Frankfurt Lions

Nikolai Zavarukhin’s team concluded its time in Finland with a third victory in this tournament, organized by HPK. After defeating the host in a shoot-out and edging Lahti Pelicans 3-2 in overtime, the last game, against German opposition, was more one-sided. Four unanswered goals in the first period set Sibir on its way and the team already led 6-0 before Alexei Krasikov was beaten by a couple of late consolation efforts.

Sibir Novosibirsk 6 Frankfurt Lions 2 (4-0, 1-0, 1-2)

Sibir goals: 1-0 Romayev (3:07); 2-0 Pervushin (Komarov 5:40); 3-0 Sharov (Loginov 8:15); 4-0 Zyryanov (19:08); 5-0 Loginov (26:44 PP); 6-0 Chesalin (40:59).

Goalie: Krasikov

Last season was a big disappointment for Neftekhimik after the successes of 2017/18. The big talking points were the departure of Andrei Nazarov, the failure to make the playoffs and the impact of three powerful Finns. Over the summer, the club has made big changes and goes into the coming campaign with an all-new team.

Last season

There was plenty of excitement about the summer recruitment of Joonas Nattinen, Mikael Ruohomaa and Juuso Puustinen and the three Finns lived up to the hype as they led the team in scoring. Unfortunately, the locals could not keep up with the imports’ scoring and, with the exception of Damir Sharipzyanov, struggled to contribute.

That meant that even though Neftekhimik rarely got on a long losing streak, it struggled to string victories together. By the end of the year, Nazarov was on his way and Vyacheslav Butsayev took over. The new coach began with a run of losses but earned the confidence of his players and in February the team still had a fighting chance of a playoff spot. However, after a win against fellow playoff battler Sibir, Neftekhimik slumped to three successive losses and its season ended outside the top eight.

Coach

Vyacheslav Butsayev admitted that when he came to the club, nobody was giving up on the target of making the playoffs. In the event, that didn’t happen, but the management in Nizhnekamsk take a realistic view and accepted that Butsayev, who had just a third of the regular season, was brought in as a crisis manager. This time, though, with a full summer to prepare, a playoff place will be the minimum expectation.

Butsayev noted that his team’s problems came from a weak offense. Improving that became the first task for the coaching staff. And the work had to begin from scratch following the departure of all three free-scoring Finns.

Arrivals

Goalies: Konstantin Barulin (HC Sochi), Alexander Sharychenkov (Ak Bars)

Defense: Vitaly Atyushov (Amur, try-out), Stepan Zakharchuk (Admiral), Maxim Ignatovich (Sibir, try-out), Ryan Murphy (New Jersey, NHL), Ziyat Paigin (HC Sochi), Evgeny Ryasensky (Traktor), Andrei Churkin (Ugra, VHL)

Offense: Denis Kazionov (Avtomobilist), Dmitry Kazionov (try-out), Evgeny Korotkov (try-out, Lokomotiv), Zack Mitchell (Ontario, AHL), Alexander Rybakov (try-out, Traktor), Matt White (Augsburg, GER), Igor Ugolnikov (VVS, VHL), Radel Fazleyev (Ak Bars), Alexander Chernikov (Admiral)

Departures

Goalies: Ilya Ezhov (Vityaz)

Defense: Maxim Gusev (VVS, VHL), Damir Musin (Ak Bars), Dmitry Ogurtsov (Dynamo Moscow), Adam Polasek (Sparta, CZE), Nikolai Timashov (Avtomobilist)

Offense: Emil Galimov (Ak Bars), Bulat Nabiullin (VVS, VHL), Andrej Nestrasil, Joonas Nattinen (Vityaz), Juuso Puustinen, Mikael Ruohomaa (both Sibir)

Roster

In the summer, Neftekhimik lost all of its imports. As well as the Finnish forwards, high-scoring defenseman Adam Polasek moved on, as did Czech forward Andrej Nestrasil. That meant that all of last season’s top five scorers were gone, along with goalie Ilya Ezhov. So it’s a whole new team for the coming campaign.

If we look at the replacements, the goalkeeping situation is absolutely clear. Konstantin Barulin is an even more experienced netminder than Ezhov. However, there are questions over the forward line. The arrival of Denis and Dmitry Kazionov on try-outs, along with Evgeny Korotkov, cannot be seen as an attempt to replace the Finns. The new imports are Zack Mitchell and Matt White. Mitchell is a Canadian forward with plenty of AHL experience. However, his numbers there have not captured the imagination and in his past three seasons he hasn’t managed 35 points.

White played a couple of seasons in the AHL before moving to Europe and playing in Germany. His production there is encouraging – 42 points in his first season, improving to 49 last time – but it remains to be seen whether he can maintain that scoring here.

Leader: Konstantin Barulin

After the exit of Ilya Ezhov there’s no cause for concern about goaltending at Neftekhimik. Konstantin Barulin is the clear #1, supported by young Fyodor Karatayev and the more experienced Alexander Sharychenkov. Moreover, the former Russian international and All-Star regular looks likely to be the biggest star on the team.

Last season, at the age of 34, he produced good numbers for HC Sochi, stopping 92.3% of the shots he faced for a GAA of 2.12 and four shut-outs. And that, don’t forget, was on a mid-ranking which, like Neftekhimik, regards making the playoffs as a successful season. Konstantin knows his job and it’s hard to imagine he’ll have any problems adapting to life at a new club.

Prospect: Damir Sharipzyanov

In Nizhnekamsk there’s a whole galaxy of prospects who were born in 1996. Last season Pavel Poryadin and Marat Khairullin scored 28 points each and both came in the top 10 scorers on the team. But the biggest hit from that group was Sharipzyanov. The World Junior silver medallist was once again called up to play for Russia six times in the Euro Hockey Tour while at club level he was the highest scorer among the players who remained after the summer restructure. Maturing into a quality player, he looks to be the most exciting youngster in the ranks at Neftekhimik.

Expectations

Last season, Neftekhimik assembled a team capable of making the playoffs only to see the offense fail to give adequate support to Puustinen, Ruohomaa and Nattinen. After a summer in which all five imports departed, despite generally positive contributions from each of them, it’s hard to say that things have improved. The prospects for the 2019/20 season depend a lot on the effectiveness of the club’s management in building a new roster. A simple assessment of the ins and outs suggests that this won’t be an easy season for the club but it’s clear from last year that the management has a knack of unearthing a talented import. And it’s impossible to overlook the figure of Butsayev behind the bench. He has plenty of experience in getting teams into that top eight, most notably at Sochi where he twice took the newly-formed team into the playoffs.

In Nur-Sultan, Barys made it three wins from three to stay out in front in the President of Kazakhstan Cup. Salavat Yulaev got its first win of the event thanks to youngster Rodion Amirov, and condemned Neftekhimik to last place in the process.

President of Kazakhstan Cup

17-year-old forward stars for Salavat Yulaev

Teenager Rodion Amirov was the star for Salavat Yulaev, following up his goal yesterday with a game-winning performance as the Ufa team defeated Neftekhimik and recorded its first win in Nur-Sultan.

Not for the first time here, Neftekhimik took an early lead. This time it was youngster Bulat Shafigullin who opened the scoring in the fifth minute. However, a 5-on-3 power play at the start of the second stanza gave Amirov the chance to pot his second goal in two days and tie the scores.

That was enough to take us all the way to a shoot-out where, once again, Amirov made the decisive contribution. That earned Salavat Yulaev its first victory of the tournament.

Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 1 Salavat Yulaev Ufa 2 SO (1-0, 0-1, 0-0, 0-0, 0-1)

Goals: 0-1 Shafigullin (Khisamutdinov 4:07); 1-1 Amirov (Soshnikov, Burmistrov 20:33 PP); 1-2 Amirov (65:00 penalty shot)

Goalies: Sharychenkov – Kareyev

Rodion Amirov, forward, Salavat Yulaev

It was a competitive game, everyone worked hard and in the end it was a good team victory. When you’re playing with skilled guys like Sasha (Burmistrov) and Nikita (Soshnikov), it’s not hard to score – you just need to be ready and get into the right place at the right time.

Was it hard to play three games back-to-back?

It’s always fun to play hockey, especially after the first game where I didn’t get all that much time on the ice. We have medical staff who help us recover properly, so we always have the strength to play.

After two one-goal losses, what did the coach ask you to do differently today?

He told us to play the full 60 minutes, to fight to the end of every play and play to win.

Bulat Shafigullin, forward, Neftekhimik

It was a good game against a good opponent. We just didn’t have enough in front of goal to convert our chances, especially on the power play. I think we started every game well here but in the second periods we fell away and couldn’t make up the lost ground. There’s still time to work on that before the season starts.

Avtomobilist fightback falls just short

After a tough battle against Salavat Yulaev, Avtomobilist head coach Andrei Martemyanov rested all his imports. That meant disappointment for fans in Nur-Sultan hoping to see former Barys favorite Nigel Dawes in action. The host, meanwhile, was back to full strength with its top line returning to the fray after a two-day break and Darren Dietz back as captain.

In the first period, Avtomobilist ran into penalty trouble and Barys took advantage to open a two-goal lead thanks to markers from Dmitry Shevchenko and Iiro Pakarinen. The middle session saw more ill-discipline from both teams, but only Nikita Mikhailis found the net as Barys extended its lead.

In the third, though, Avto hit back. Andrei Obidin got an early power play goal, then late in the frame Stepan Khripunov made it a one-goal game. The clock ran down before the visitor could complete the comeback and Barys held on to close in on victory in its home tournament.

The Kazakh team is on six points from three games. In theory Ak Bars or Avtomobilist could match that, but the tie-break would be goal difference rather than head-to-head results, giving Barys a significant advantage going into the final day’s play.

Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 2 Barys Nur-Sultan 3 (0-2, 0-1, 2-0)

Goals: 0-1 Shevchenko (Knight, Boyd 13:09); 0-2 Pakarinen (Dietz, Helewka 19:17 PP); 0-3 Mikhailov (Svedberg, Blacker 38:29); 1-3 Obidin (Kucheryavenko, Vasilevsky 40:53 PP); 2-3 Khripunov (Tryamkin, Vasilevsky 56:57 PP)

Goalies: Fomin – Pasquale

Iiro Pakarinen, forward, Barys

In the first period they were much quicker than us and we had real problems in our zone, even though we scored two goals. It’s summer hockey, you score a goal then forget about it because there are more important things that we need to improve before the start of the season. I thought we were better in the second period, we controlled more of the game. In the third, Avtomobilist worked hard to try to tie the game. We had a bit of defending to do and we didn’t always do it very well, but Eddie [Pasquale] did well to keep us in the game.

Andrei Martemyanov, head coach, Avtomobilist

I felt that it was an even game. We saw lots of penalties, lots of desire, the outcome was in doubt until the final seconds.

Why did Nigel Dawes not play, when the Nur-Sultan crowd surely wanted to see him?

He’ll play tomorrow, everyone is welcome. He’s got nothing to prove, he showed last season what he can do so we’ve put him on his own schedule, closer to what we see in the regular season when we play every other day. Our newcomers played three games with only one day’s break but the older, more established players like Dawes, Platt or Bodrov only played two. There’s still plenty of hockey to come for us.

Standings

The group stage of the Nizhny Novogord Governor’s Cup came to an end with Dynamo Moscow completing a third successive victory before Torpedo edged into second place with a shoot-out win over Dinamo Minsk. That sends the host into tomorrow’s final against the Muscovites.

Dynamo makes no mistake

Up against Khumo Tashkent, the VHL team that stunned Torpedo two days ago, Dynamo was aware that it could take nothing for granted. And the Blue-and-Whites produced a clinical display to take a 4-1 victory and top the group despite resting several leading players. The Uzbeks, meanwhile, went with pretty much the same roster for the third game running.

Photo: 10.08.19. Nizhny Novgorod Region Governor`s Cup. Dynamo (Moscow) - Humo (Tashkent)

Unlike Torpedo, Dynamo was able to take control of this game with two unanswered goals in the first period. Maxim Afinogenov converted an early penalty shot before Dmitry Ogurtsov doubled the advantage. However, Khumo got back into the game in middle frame when Denis Masharov pounced on a defensive error to halve the deficit. It wasn’t until deep into the third period that the KHL team made the game safe with goals from Dmitry Moiseyev and Ivan Muranov.

Dynamo Moscow 4 Khumo Tashkent 1 (2-0, 0-1, 2-0)

Goals: 1-0 Afinogenov (3:49 penalty shot); 2-0 Ogurtsov (Volkov, Yefremov 17:32); 2-1 Mosharov (Pepelyayev, Yerokhin 34:28); 3-1 Moiseyev (Yefremov 57:22); 4-1 Muranov (Mikhailov, Pankratov 59:58 empty net)

Goalies: Bocharov (Zherenko) – Smiryagin

Dmitry Ogurtsov, defenseman, Dynamo Moscow

Playing Khumo wasn’t all that different from playing the KHL teams here. The Tashkent organization has recruited a lot of skilled guys who have played at this level before. It wasn’t easy, but we got through it. We managed to score our goals and get the result.

It would have been easier if we’d had more of our top players. Shipachyov is Shipachyov. But it’s good that other guys stepped up to the plate and got the goals for us. It’s a bit early for me to assess my own game. The season will show me where I’m at. Right now I just need to prove myself because nobody is guaranteed a place on the team. Of course it was nice to score here, but that’s nothing compared with getting goals during the season.

Shoot-out win puts Torpedo into the final

The evening game between the host and Dinamo Minsk was eagerly awaited by home fans. Even though it’s only pre-season, the loss against Khumo hurt everyone associated with the club and this was a chance to put things right. Head coach David Nemirovsky kept his word and named a strong roster for a game that his team had to win to secure a place in the final.

Photo: 10.08.19. Nizhny Novgorod Region Governor`s Cup. Torpedo (Nizhny Novgorod) - Dinamo (Minsk)

A fired up home team delivered a powerful start, seeking to banish memories of that last outing. Jordan Schroeder and Damir Zhafyarov opened a 2-0 first-period lead, but Torpedo could not kill the game off. Dinamo responded in the second period with Ilya Litvinov’s power play goal halving the deficit.

It got worse for the host at the start of the third when Andrei Kostitsyn tied the scores, but Torpedo responded strongly with four goals to post a 6-2 verdict. Zhafyarov and Schroeder both added to their first period tallies, with Mikhail Varnakov also on the mark.

That left the teams dead level in the group standings so a shoot-out was needed to determine who took second place and went to the final. Torpedo won that series and advances to Sunday’s showdown.

Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 6 Dinamo Minsk 2 (2-0, 0-1, 4-1)

Goals: 1-0 Schroeder (Shenfeld, Varfolomeyev 6:59); 2-0 Zhafyarov (Alyayev, Howden 16:09); 1-2 Litvinov (Kostitsyn, Parfeyevets 20:35 PP); 2-2 Kostitsyn (Parfeyevets 43:49); 3-2 Varnakov (Ilyin, Orlov 49:11); 4-2 Zhafyarov (Shenfeld, Schroeder 53:11); 5-2 Shenfeld (Barantsev 54:26 PP); 6-2 Schroeder (56:47 SH)

Goalies: Tikhomirov - Osipkov

Dynamo Moscow picked up its first silverware of the season with victory at the Governor’s Cup in Nizhny Novgorod, while Khumo Tashkent sprung a surprise in the bronze-medal game against Dinamo Minsk.

Dynamo takes the cup back to Moscow

The prospect of a Torpedo – Dynamo final ensured a decent crowd at the Nagorny Arena. The two coaches took differing approaches. For Torpedo, David Nemirovsky largely stuck with the line-up that defeated Dinamo Minsk yesterday to put his team in the final. Vladimir Krikunov’s Dynamo team, meanwhile, brought back his big hitters, including Vadim Shipachyov and Andre Petersson for the decisive game of the tournament.

Photo: 11.08.19. Nizhny Novgorod Region Governor`s Cup. Dynamo (Moscow) - Torpedo (Nizhny Novgorod)

Dynamo was the first to show. In the sixth minute Ivan Muranov opened the scoring and the middle frame saw Andrei Alexeyev double the lead. But there was something of a turning point in the 37^th minute when Yegor Zaitsev’s foul on Sergei Goncharuk saw the Dynamo man sent to the locker room. Subsequently, Torpedo had the better of the game but could not find the net until Pavel Varfolomeyev reduced the arrears in the closing minutes. It was too late to save the game, and Dynamo received the trophy after completing the tournament without a single loss.

Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 1 Dynamo Moscow 2 (0-1, 0-1, 1-0)

Goals: 0-1 Muranov (Zaitsev, Afinogenov 5:38); 0-2 Alexeyev (Bryukvin 29:53); 1-2 Varfolomeyev (Alyayev 56:39)

Goalies: Lindback – Bocharov

Player awards:

Best goalie:Ivan Bocharov (Dynamo Moscow)
Best defenseman:Juuso Hietanen (Dynamo Moscow)
Best forward: Jordan Schroder (Torpedo)

Vladimir Krikunov, head coach, Dynamo Moscow

Winning this tournament wasn’t easy. You could see for yourselves how the games here were played. If I had to pick out a single game, I’d look at the first meeting with Torpedo. In the final I think we played with our strongest line-up. I think even now I can say that Ivan Bocharov will be our goalie for the start of the season. Last year he played more than Alexander Yeryomenko.

Ivan Muratov, forward, Dynamo Moscow

The final felt like a KHL game. The atmosphere in the arena was almost like a playoff game. We went through the whole tournament without reducing our workload and it was only in the last couple of days that we eased off our training schedule. It helped that we could keep rotating the team, bringing six lines here meant that nobody could afford to relax.

David Nemirovsky, head coach, Torpedo

We got to see our reserves in action. Part of the team will go to our farm club, but Sergei Goncharuk and Andrei Belevich will continue to train with the senior team. In addition, we will need to make adjustments because of Daniil Veryayev’s injury. Anders Lindback will definitely be our starting goalie this season.

Poor discipline hurts Minsk

Despite yesterday’s 2-6 loss against Torpedo, Dinamo Minsk was not about to change its plans for this tournament. Head coach Craig Woodcroft stuck with his policy of giving game time to as many players as possible as he runs the rule over the candidates for a roster spot in the coming campaign. Andrei Kostitsyn and Francis Pare were among the leading players left out of the team, while defenseman Kirill Gotovets made a return. Khumo continued with the roster that it had used throughout the competition.

The scoring started early: Alexei Pepelyayev’s point shot whistled into the net after just 44 seconds and midway through the opening frame Ivan Yatsenko doubled the lead on the power play. After that, there was no way back for Dinamo. Two more power play goals in the second period saw Khumo build a commanding lead and it was 5-0 at the second intermission. Alexander Pavlovich got a consolation goal in the third, but a Dinamo roster heavy on triallists slumped to last place in the tournament.

Dinamo Minsk 1 Khumo Tashkent 5 (0-2, 0-3, 1-0)

Goals: 0-1 Pepelyayev (0:44); 0-2 Yatsenko (Grigorenko, Zdunov 10:44 PP); 0-3 Grigorenko (Merezhko 23:52 PP); 0-4 Zdunov (Grigorenko 27:06 PP); 0-5 Grigorenko (Yatsenko 25:02); 1-5 Pavlovich (Martynov, Kitarov)

Goalies: Kulbakov (Tolopilo) – Smiryagin

Craig Woodcroft, head coach, Dinamo Minsk

The tournament offered a big opportunity to our younger players. Some of them managed to reach a new level in their game, some of them didn’t. During the summer two of our top defensemen, Khenkel and Lisovets, left for other clubs. We’re looking for players who can fill the gap. I can definitely say that there will be changes on the roster after this tournament.