KHL - Pre-Season 2017 Round Up - Part 7

Metallurg
In Magnitogorsk, four seasons of stability are coming to an end. Since the 2013-14 season, Metallurg has enjoyed an enviably consistent roster, and enviably consistent success. Two Gagarin Cup wins, and a third run to the final, is testament to the enduring effectiveness of the old Mozyakin-Kovar-Zaripov line; the defense, for so long marshalled by Chris Lee, has been solid. But that era is now over.

Big names move on

Lee? Gone, returning to North America for family reasons. His young colleagues Alexei Bereglazov and Viktor Antipin, both Gagarin Cup winners at Magnitka, headed off to sample life in the NHL at the Rangers and the Sabres. Zaripov? Also gone, traded to Ak Bars before his drugs ban was announced. That all-powerful troika is disbanded, Tomas Filippi looks like the man to replace Zaripov on Magnitka’s first line.
There were also departures among the supporting cast: Bogdan Potekhin (Amur), Dmitry Kazionov (Dynamo Moscow) and Alexander Syomin (retired) all played their part in Metallurg’s recent successes, but won’t be back next season.
However, the club was well prepared for these changes. Lee and Zaripov, in their mid-30s, were approaching the end of their careers; Bereglazov and Antipin, as promising 20-somethings, would inevitably attract Trans-Atlantic attention. Metallurg has great confidence in its own production line of talent – witness the willingness to use those young D-men rather than buy in players from elsewhere – and that could well bear more fruit in the form of Grigory Dronov. He already looks like a lock for Russia’s World Juniors roster in December, and has clearly earned the trust of Ilya Vorobyov at his club. At a well-run organization, when young talent moves on, new prospects are ready to step up; Magnitka is better-equipped than most to deliver that.

Viktor Antipin

New arrivals

That doesn’t mean that GM Gennady Velichkin was able to spend his summer on the beach. But, as usual, Metallurg’s transfer activity has been restrained: a few key signings, rather than a radical overhaul. On defense, Denis Denisov arrives from CSKA to fill the vacancy for an experienced D-man following Lee’s exit. Up front, Matt Ellison’s move from Dinamo Minsk raised some eyebrows. Ellison is one of the KHL’s longest-serving imports, but hasn’t previously been at a club where a title challenge was expected. For some, it’s a surprise move: the arrival of an apparent journeyman, where a thoroughbred was needed. In reality, though, Ellison has always been a consistent producer, regularly among the top 15 scorers in the league in any given season. And, of course, he was part of the MVD fairy tale of 2010, proof that he can deliver in playoff hockey too.
There’s a new import in town as well, Nick Schauss coming in on defense. The 31-year-old American has played in Europe since 2013 and spent last season at Dynamo Pardubice in the Czech Republic. His career path has echoes of Lee’s: he’s worked his way up through the European leagues to get a crack at the KHL after wearying of waiting for a chance in the NHL. His stats, too, suggest a two-way player with an emphasis on offense.

Matt Ellison

Prospects

For some, the sight of Metallurg shedding senior players spells the end of the team’s dominance of the East. The changes have not gone unnoticed in Kazan, Ufa and Omsk, Magnitogorsk’s traditional rivals at the top. But it would be premature to write this team off. Magnitka has a well-drilled roster and many familiar faces remain in place for the coming campaign. If any club is able to handle the losses of the summer, it’s likely to be this one … and Sergei Mozyakin’s scoring prowess represents a formidable weapon at all times.

Sergei Mozyakin

On a very busy day for KHL clubs, with several tournaments underway across the nation and beyond, there were mixed fortunes for the host teams. Avangard defeated Amur, SKA beat Team Canada, but Salavat Yulaev was second best against Neftekhimik and Dinamo Riga was thrashed by Lokomotiv.

Viktor Blinov Memorial Tournament

Day 2 of this tournament in Omsk began with Barys enjoying a comfortable 4-2 victory over Ugra, followed by hosts Avangard going one goal better, posting a 5-2 win over Amur. The Khanty-Mansiysk and Khabarovsk teams now share bottom place in the standings, having each suffered two defeats in two games.
Barys (Astana) vs. Ugra (Khanty-Mansiysk): 4-2 (1-0, 3-0, 0-2)
16.08.17. Viktor Blinov Memorial Tournament . Barys (Astana) - Yugra (Khanty-Mansiysk)
Barys head coach Evgeny Koreshkov:
“I wouldn't say that this was an easy win, as there's no such thing. We won because we stuck to our tactical plans, we pressured our opponents into making mistakes, and we made good use of power plays. These have all been factors, and we'll try to get all aspects of our game right in time for the new season.”
Goals: 1-0 Markelov (Pushkaryov, Trivino, 9.36), 2-0 Dawes (Vey, Dallman, 22.52, PPG), 3-0 Shevchenko (Savchenko, Mikhailis, 23.32, PPG), 4-0 St.Pierre (Vey, 30.37), 4-1 Ugolnikov (Vasilyev, Varfolomeyev, 52.52, PPG), 4-2 Ilyin (55.01)
Goaltenders: Karlsson – Fokin

Barys - Ugra

Avangard (Omsk) vs. Amur (Khabarovsk): 5-2 (1-0, 2-2, 2-0)
Goals: 1-0 Menshikov (Gustafsson, Sundstrom, 17-49), 1-1 Kamalov (Frolov, 27-34, SHG), 1-2 Litovchenko (Frolov, Zohorna, 35-40), 2-2 Berezin (Pyanov, Mikheyev, 37-57, PPG), 3-2 Mikheyev (Medvedev, 39-55), 4-2 Sundstrom (Everberg, 40-15), 5-2 Petersson (Everberg, 46-52 PPG)
Goaltenders: Shilin – Metsola

Standings:
Place Team Games Goals Points
1 Avangard 2 9-3 6
2 Barys 1 4-2 3
3 Avtomobilist 1 2-0 3
4 Amur 2 2-7 0
5 Ugra 2 3-9 0

Republic of Bashkortostan Cup

Meanwhile, in Ufa, a Nikita Filatov shootout goal gave Lada a thrilling 5-4 victory over Admiral in the early game, before the hosts, Salavat Yulaev, suffered a surprise shootout defeat in a hard-fought match against Neftekhimik.
Admiral (Vladivostok) vs. Lada (Togliatti): 4-5 SO (1-3, 2-1, 1-0, 0-0, shootout – 1-2)
Admiral head coach Alexander Andriyevsky:
“We started the match badly, maybe because we played last night. I'm glad the guys pulled themselves together and showed character. The change of goalie halfway through the game was planned in advance, but I won't comment on the performance of any individual. And no matter how well this or that player might have performed, I can't be content when we've lost two games in a a row.”
Lada head coach Artis Abols:
“We still have shortcomings in our game. We started this match well, but our opponent managed to turn things around and in the third period I would even say they outplayed us. But it's always pleasant to win, even if it's in the shootout.”
Goals: 0-1 Genoway (Filatov, 1.39), 0-2 Zernov (Gurkin, 4.03), 1-2 Alexandrov (Yakovlev, 6.05), 1-3 A. Streltsov (Akhmetov, 9.03), 2-3 Zhafyarov (Kazakov, 23.15), 3-3 Kazakov (Sayustov, 25.33), 3-4 Babenko (Belousov, 31.49), 4-4 Kazakov (40.44), winning shootout goal – Filatov
Goaltenders: Nalimov (Tretyak, 31) – Ivannikov
Salavat Yulaev (Ufa) vs. Neftekhimik (Nizhnekamsk): 2-3 (1-1, 1-1, 0-0, 0-0, shootout: 1-2)
16.08.17. The Republic of Bashkortostan Cup - 2017. Salavat Yulaev (Ufa) - Neftekhimik (Nizhnekamsk)
Salavat Yulaev Ufa head coach Erkka Westerlund:
“Today we had quite a tough match. At times the tactics were there, but the technique was missing. I must say that Neftekhimik is a very, very good team. They will put up a real fight against the KHL's leaders, and they themselves might even secure one of the top spots in the Eastern Conference.”
Neftekhimik head coach Andrei Nazarov:
“I'm very pleased our team was invited to take part in a tournament as good as this one in Ufa... Both teams wanted to win but fortune smiled on us in the shootout. Looking at the professional way our players prepared for this game and the commitment they showed on the ice, I'm obviously very happy, and we need to keep this tempo for when our season starts on the 22nd.of August.”
Goals: 0-1 Rau (Sexton, 5-10); 1-1 Makarov (Bodrov, Lisin, 19-21); 2-1 Kulyash (Makarov, Bodrov, 25-10); 2-2 Rau (Sexton, Hanzl, 31-09); winning shootout goal: Poryadin
Goaltenders: Fedotov – Makarov

Standings:
Place Team Games Goals Points
1 Neftekhimik 2 6-3 5
2 Salavat Yulaev 2 6-4 4
3 Lada 2 6-7 2
4 Admiral 2 5-9 1

Salavat Yulaev - Neftekhimik

Nikolai Puchkov Tournament

The day began with a surprise win by Severstal over Jokerit. As a result, all the teams in Group B finished with one win and one loss, but Jokerit finished top thanks to their having a better goal difference than Severstal, as did SKA-Neva, and by winning the head-to-head against the Petersburg team.
Jokerit: (Helsinki) vs. Severstal (Cherepovets): 1-2 (1-2, 0-0, 0-0)
Goals: 0-1 Stransky (Holik, Rybin, 00.51), 1-1 N. Jensen (J. Jensen, 03.06), 1-2 Kazakovtsev (Kodola, 07.04)
Goaltenders: Ratilainen – Hudacek
SKA (Saint Petersburg) vs. Team Canada: 3-0 (0-0, 1-0, 2-0)
In the second game, unanswered goals from Patrik Hersley, Nikita Gusev, and a late empty-netter from Viktor Tikhonov gave SKA a 3-0 win over Team Canada
16.08.17. The Nikolai Puchkov memorial tournament. SKA (St.Petersburg) - Canada Team
SKA head coach Oleg Znarok:
“It is by no means the first time I've achieved a victory over Canada, so the win doesn't have any extra meaning for me. It was nothing like a preseason game – they pressed us from the start and were very quick in closing off our options, but of course, we adapted to it. There were missed chances, but that's because the team has a heavy workload.”
Goals: 1-0 Hersley (Kovalchuk, Belov, 39.53), 2-0 Gusev (Karpov, Chudinov, 49.20), 3-0 Tikhonov, (58.07, empty net)
Goaltenders: Shestyorkin – Scrivens

Standings:

Place Team Games Goals Points Group A
1 SKA 2 6-1 6
2 Team Canada 2 5-4 3
3 HC Sochi 2 2-8 0

Place Team Games Goals Points
Group B
1 Jokerit : 2 4-3 3
2 SKA-Neva 2 4-3 3
3 Severstal 2 2-4 3

Latvian Railways Cup

The round robin stage of the tournament ended with Lokomotiv beating the hosts 5-1 and securing top spot in the standings. The Latvians finished second and have a chance of exacting revenge on Thursday, as they will face the Railwaymen in the final. Likewise, Dinamo Minsk and Ak Bars will battle for third place, after the men from Kazan edged Wednesd ay's encounter via the shootout.
Dinamo (Minsk) vs. Ak Bars: 3-2 (0-1, 0-1, 2-0, 0-0, 1-0)
Goals: 0-1 Lander (Markov, Sekac, 09-25, SHG), 0-2 Tokranov (Glinkin, 33-24), 1-2 Kovyrshin (Klinkhammer, 49-48, PPG), 2-2 Kovyrshin (Lisovets, 57-27) 3-2 Klinkhammer (Shootout)
Goaltenders: Enroth – Bilyalov
Dinamo (Riga) vs. Lokomotiv (Yaroslavl): 1-5 (1-2, 0-3, 0-0)
Goals: 1-0 Bicevskis (Jelisejevs, Zile, 03-38), 1-1 Osipov (Polunin, Korshkov, 05-01), 1-2 Rafikov (Korshkov, Kraskovsky, 07-15, PPG), 1-3 Kozun (Nakladal, Apalkov, 34-46, PPG), 1-4 Alexeyev (Kudryavtsev, Mosalyov, 36-56), 1-5 Kudryavtsev (Kadeikin, 37-30)
Goaltenders: Kalnins – Sudnitsin

Standings:
Place Team Games Goals Points
1 Lokomotiv 3 10-5 6
2 Dinamo Riga 3 7-8 6
3 Ak Bars 3 5-6 4
4 Dinamo Minsk 3 6-9 2

Mayor of Moscow Cup
CSKA took a clear lead in the Mayor of Moscow Cup after the Army Men's narrow victory over Vityaz was followed by a surprise triumph by Spartak over fierce crosstown rivals Dynamo, which went some way toward easing the pain of the Red-and-Whites' derby defeat at the hands of CSKA in the first game.
CSKA (Moscow) vs. Vityaz (Moscow Region): 2-1 (0-0, 2-1, 0-0)
17.08.17. Moscow mayor cup. Vityaz (Moscow Region) - CSKA (Moscow)
CSKA head coach Igor Nikitin:
“We were good in the first period and for half of the second, but in the third we were forced to defend and Johansson in goal helped us hang onto the victory. Tomorrow we'll try Alexei Marchenko. He has had no match practice, but he has been training well.”
Vityaz head coach Valery Belov:
“We had a bad spell early in the second period, but we did well in the third. On the whole, I'm satisfied with the way the team played, including Misha Biryukov in goal.”
Goals: 1-0 Shumakov (Blazhiyevsky, 21.17), 2-0 Okulov (Kuzmenko, 30.30), 2-1 Semenov (Mozik, Afinogenov, 37.05)
Goaltenders: Johansson – Biryukov

CSKA – Vityaz

Dynamo (Moscow) vs. Spartak (Moscow) – 2-3 (1-1, 0-1, 1-1)
Dynamo Moscow head coach Vladimir Vorobyov:
“We failed completely in the second period. We know what happened – we were just poor at killing penalties. After the second period, we talked to the guys and they showed character to get back in the game, but a game lasts 60 minutes and you have to play well from start to finish.”
Spartak head coach Vadim Yepanchintsev:
“It was a good, competitive game. I'm happy with the way my team performed, with the exception, perhaps, of the first period. In the second, we regrouped and started to win the battles for possession, we made use of our power plays, and we scored. Toward the end we started trying to just hold on to the lead, and our opponents punished us for it, but I'm glad we kept going to the very end. We earned this win.”
Goals: 0-1 Radil (Yudin, 14.32), 1-1 Koryagin (Sidlyarov, 16.40), 1-2 Maxwell (Kalinin, Chistov, 28.50, PPG), 2-2 Bryukvin (56.46), 2-3 Mirnov (Bondarev, 57.15).
Goaltenders: Yeryomenko – Svensson.

Dynamo (Moscow) - Spartak

Standings (Place-Team-Games-Goals-Points)
1. CSKA, 2 5-1 6
2. Dynamo Moscow 2 6-6 3
3. Spartak 2 3-5 3
4. Vityaz 2 4-6 0

Viktor Blinov Memorial Tournament

It was a bad day for Ugra, who recorded a third defeat from three games at the Viktor Blinov Memorial Tournament, this time to Amur. In the earlier game, Barys suffered a first-period blitz from Avtomobilist, who hit three unanswered goals. The Astana Men recovered sufficiently to get on the scoreboard, but the Yekaterinburg Men's victory never looked in doubt.
Avtomobilist (Yekaterinburg) vs. Barys (Astana): 3-1 (3-0, 0-1, 0-0)
Barys Astana head coach Evgeny Koreshkov:
“It is the second game in a row in which team played very well for two periods, but very slack in one, but that is to be expected in the preseason. We'll do some fine-tuning and fix it.” (courtesy of HC Barys press service)
Goals: 1-0 Krikunov (Ticar, 00-39), 2-0 Mikhnov (Torchenyuk, Gareyev, 04-17), 3-0 Torchenyuk (Gareyev, Cajkovsky, 08-54, SHG). 3-1 Belgibayev (37-06)
Goaltenders: Kovar – Karlsson 
Amur (Khabarovsk) vs. Ugra (Khanty-Mansiysk): 2-1 (1-0, 1-0, 0-1)
Goals: 1-0 Klopov (Litovchenko, Vyacheslav Ushenin, 19.09, PPG), 2-0 Vyacheslav Ushenin (Turbin, 24.38, PPG), 2-1 Savinainen (Valentenko, 46.28).
Goaltenders: Kiselyov – Proskuryakov. 

Amur - Ugra (photo courtesy of HC Ugra)

Standings (Place-Team-Games-Goals-Points)
1. Avangard 2 9-3 6
2. Avtomobilist 2 5-1 6
3. Barys 2 5-5 3
4. Amur 3 4-8 3
5. Ugra 3 4-10 0

Nikolai Puchkov memorial tournament.

The Saint Petersburg tournament enjoyed its grand finale today with the playoffs for fifth, third, and first place. The host and Gagarin Cup champion took the gold with an emphatic win over Jokerit, while Team Canada brushed aside SKA-Neva to take the bronze and Severstal edged HC Sochi for fifth place.
Severstal (Cherepovets) vs. HC Sochi (Sochi): 3-1 (2-0, 0-1, 1-0)
Goals: 1-0 Bumagin (Ugarov, Kodola, 14.05), 2-0 Kagarlitsky (Chernov, 10.08), 2-1 Maltsev (Khokhlov, 34.56), 3-1 Kagarlitsky (59.38)
Goaltenders: Hudacek – Barulin 
Team Canada vs. SKA-Neva (Saint Petersburg): 4-0 (1-0, 1-0, 2-0)
Goals: 1-0 Robinson (Garbutt, Petersen, 04.00), 2-0 Petersen (31.46), 3-0 Gordon (Roy, 50.12), 4-0 (Garbutt, 55.12)
Goalies: Scrivens – Volkov 
SKA (Saint Petersburg) vs. Jokerit (Helsinki): 5-1 (1-0, 3-0, 1-1)
17.08.17. The Nikolai Puchkov memorial tournament. SKA (St.Petersburg) - Jokerit (Helsinki)
Goals: 1-0 Barabanov (Chudinov, Rundblad, 17.27), 2-0 Chudinov (Gavrikov, Shirokov, 26.58), 3-0 Belov (Kalinin, Gavrikov, 31.19), 4-0 Yakovlev (Kalinin, Plotnikov), 5-0 – Karpov (Shirokov, Rundblad, 46.56), 5-1 – Jormakka Dynasty (Palola, Lepisto, 50.13)
Goaltenders: Koskinen – Zapolski

SKA – Jokerit

Final standings:
1 SKA
2 Jokerit
3 Team Canada
4 SKA-Neva
5 Severstal
6 HC Sochi

Latvian Railways Cup

This tournament in Riga also came to a close today, and as in Saint Petersburg it was the pre-tournament favorites who emerged triumphant. Lokomotiv has had a highly impressive preseason, despite lending many of its finest players to Team Russia and Team Canada pre-Olympic rosters, and the Railwaymen wrapped up victory in the Latvian Railways Cup with a 3-0 win over the hosts.
Dinamo (Minsk) vs. Ak Bars (Kazan): 2-3 OT (1-0, 1-1, 0-1, 0-1)
In the battle for third place, a double from Justin Azevedo helped Ak Bars claim an overtime win over the men from Minsk.
Goals: 1-0 Kitarov (Linglet, 13.46), 2-0 Drozd (Khenkel, 23.33), 2-1 Galiyev (Tkachyov, 32.52), 2-2 Azevedo (Sekac, 43.47), 2.3 Azevedo (Markov, 62.59)
Goaltenders: Enroth – Garipov
Dinamo (Riga) vs. Lokomotiv (Yaroslavl): 0-3 (0-1, 0-1, 0-1)
Goals: 0-1 Koledov (Kadeikin, Alekseyev, 02.36), 0-2 Apalkov (Averin, 30.04), 0-3 Kadeikin (Ilyenko, Naklada, 55.20)
Goaltenders: Peters – Murygin
Andrei Markov was named best defender of the tournament.

Final standings
1. Lokomotiv
2. Dinamo (Riga)
3. Ak Bars
4. Dinamo (Minsk)

Friendly match

Banská Bystrica – Slovan (Bratislava) – 5-2 (2-2, 2-0, 1-0).
Slovan Goals: Hecl (Ebert, Hlinka), Genoway.

Republic of Bashkortostan Cup
Neftekhimik emerged victorious in the Ufa tournament thanks to a closely-fought win over Admiral. Hosts Salavat Yulaev held onto second place despite a surprise shootout defeat to Lada Togliatti.
Neftekhimik (Nizhnekamsk) vs. Admiral (Vladivostok): 3-2 (0-1, 3-1, 0-0)
18.08.17. The Republic of Bashkortostan Cup - 2017. Admiral (Vladivostok) - Neftekhimik (Nizhnekamsk)
Neftekhimik head coach Andrei Nazarov:
“Once again, I want to thank the organizers of this tournament in Ufa. Everything is top class, and our opponents gave us sparring of the highest level. I cannot deny that I am happy at winning this trophy and that we accomplished our mission, but we won't kid ourselves. Every line has been making mistakes, in offense, in defense, and in goal, so we'll leave memories of the two tournament victories behind us on the bus, and then get fully prepared for the start of the season.”
Admiral head coach Alexander Andriyevsky:
“Both in today's game and in the tournament as a whole, we have lacked consistency, which is a cause for concern. Overall, we've had ten preseason games, and at this stage it is more important that all of us are fit, healthy, and ready to put our training into practice. We'll stay here in Ufa until the 22nd, when we open our season with the game against Salavat Yulaev, so as not to waste any time with unnecessary travel.”
Goals: 0-1 Blum (Alexandrov, 4.31); 1-1 Hanzl (Rau, Sexton, 24.13); 1-2 Sabolic (Tkachyov, Blum, 26.16); 2-2 Hanzl (Sergeyev, Rau, 28.10); 3-2 Avtsin (Nestrasil, 38.46)
Goaltenders: Yezhov – Serebryakov

Neftekhimik – Admiral

Salavat Yulaev (Ufa) vs. Lada (Togliatti): 1-2 SO (0-0, 0-1, 1-0, 0-1)
Salavat Yulaev head coach Erkka Westerlund:
“It was quite a good game. We created a lot of scoring chances, but unfortunately, we failed to convert them into goals. But we now have four good lines, and we are ready for the season.”
Lada Togliatti head coach Artis Abols:  
“We achieved this victory over Salavat Yulaev today because the guys were organized and showed commitment, and because Lazushin had a great game in goal... We are ready for next season and we will be trying to win in every game.”
Goals: 0-1 Babenko (Belousov, Gurkin, 37.33), 1-1 Hartikainen (Loginov, Kemppainen, 59.33), 1-2 Belousov (shootout)
Goaltenders: Kareyev – Lazushin 

Salavat Yulaev

Final standings:
Place Team Games Goals Points
1 Neftekhimik 3 9-5 8
2 Salavat Yulaev 3 7-6 5
3 Lada 3 8-8 4
4 Admiral 3 7-12 1

Viktor Blinov Memorial Tournament

Hosts Avangard surged ahead in the Viktor Blinov Memorial Tournament with a third successive victory. The Omsk men defeated Avtomobilist 2-0, thanks to goals from Maxim Mineyev and Dmitry Kugryshev, while at the other end, Dominik Furch kept the Yekaterinburg Men off the scoreboard. In the early game, Amur's star summer signing Alexander Frolov hit the game-winner to bring victory for the Khabarovsk Men over Barys, after the Astana Men had bounced back from 0-2 down to level the match. 
Barys (Astana) vs. Amur (Khabarovsk): 2-3 (0-2, 2-0, 0-1)
Barys head coach Evgeny Koreshkov:
“Once again, we allowed two unnecessary goals, and were lacking in concentration in the first period. Then we had a good second period in which we fought back and leveled the score, but we were a little disjointed at the start of the third and that's why we lost the game... My main objective was to have a look at our first reserves, and we saw all we needed.” (courtesy of HC Barys press service)
Amur head coach Andrei Martemyanov:
“The tournament was a good one, and superbly organized. We really enjoyed it. And I'm pleased that we've won our last two games in regulation time. Today, we had a total failure in the second period, but I like the way we played in the first and third, especially the perseverance the guys showed in the final period to recover from the mistakes in the second.” (courtesy of HC Avangard press service)
Goals: 0-1 – Byvaltsev (Lyutov, 8.05, PPG), 0-2 – Vyacheslav Ushenin (Vladislav Ushenin, 19.31, PPG), 1-2 Polokhov (Pushkaryov, Trivino, 23.38, PPG), 2-2 Belgibaev (Nikulin, Gurkov, 36.17), 2-3 Frolov (Zohorna, Kamalov, 51.19).
Goaltenders: Kudryavtsev – Metsola

Barys - Amur. Photo courtesy of HC Barys

Avtomobilist (Yekaterinburg) vs. Avangard (Omsk Region): 0-2 (0-0, 0-1, 0-1)
Goals: 0-1 Mineyev (25.38), 0-2 Kugryshev (Zhukenov, Fisenko, 52.19)
Goaltenders: Ustinsky – Furch

Avtomobilist - Avangard. Photo HC Avangard

Standings:
Place Team Games Goals Points
1. Avangard 3 11-3 9
2. Avtomobilist 3 5-3 6
3. Amur 4 7-10 6
4. Barys 3 7-8 3
5. Ugra 3 4-10 0

Mayor of Moscow Cup

A Geoff Platt goal set CSKA on the way to beating crosstown rival Dynamo and sealing victory in the 2017 Mayor of Moscow Cup. It was the Army Men's third straight win, but they were made to fight every inch of the way by a spirited and determined Dynamo. The Blue-and-Whites answered Platt's goal with strikes from Markovin, Sidlyarov and Komarov to take a 3-1 lead, but the Army Men showed similar resilience. A goal from Popov halved the deficit before the half-hour mark, and a third-period strike from Konstantin Okulov took the game to overtime, in which Okulov completd his double and secured the silverware.
In the earlier game, Spartak won by a single-goal margin for the second successive game, inflicting a third straight defeat on Vityaz.
Spartak (Moscow) vs. Vityaz (Moscow Region): 2-1 (1-0, 1-1, 0-0)
Vityaz head coach Valery Belov:
“I congratulate Spartak on a deserved victory. Maybe we could have been on top, but our offense was lacking in sharpness today and that prevented us from winning. We haven't been consistent in this tournament. We've had some good periods and some bad, but if you don't play well for the whole game you can hardly expect a positive result.” (courtesy of Championat)
Goals: 1-0 Nikontsev (Voronin, 14.06, SHG), 1-1 Mankinen (Horak, Rissanen, 26.45, PPG), 2-1 Komaristy (Mirnov, Provolnev, 35.41)
Goaltenders: Bespalov – Saprykin. 

Spartak - Vityaz

Dynamo (Moscow) vs. CSKA (Moscow): 3-4 (0-1, 3-1, 0-1, 0-1)
Photo: 18.08.17. Moscow mayor cup. CSKA (Moscow) - Dynamo (Moscow)
CSKA head coach Igor Nikitin:
“It was a tough game, and our third in four days. The guys had one eye on the forthcoming Championship and were not fully focused on the preseason. Dynamo played very well today, but our guys were great in the way they pulled themselves together and dug out a victory.” (courtesy of Championat)
Dynamo Moscow head coach Vladimir Vorobyov:
“Congratulations to CSKA on this win. It was a good match, and very entertaining for the fans. I'm sorry we didn't quite do enough, but I was pleased with our movement and our commitment. Yes, we are a young team and we make mistakes, but we are working on it. At times our penalty killing let us down.” (courtesy of Championat)
Goals: 0-1 Platt (Okulov, Ozhiganov, 10.30, PPG), 1-1 Markovin (Sidlyarov,23.36, PPG), 2-1 Sidlyarov (Markovin,Yefremov, 25.27, PPG), 3-1 Komarov (28.28), 3-2 Popov (Anton Burdasov, 29.09), 3-3 Okulov (Marchenko, 49.57, PPG), 3-4 Okulov (Sergeev, 62.10).
Goaltenders: Bocharov - Sorokin. 

CSKA - Dynamo (Moscow)

Place Team Games Goals Points
1. CSKA 3 9-4 8
2. Spartak 3 5-6 6
3. Dynamo 3 9-10 4
4. Vityaz 3 5-8 0

Friendly match

Metallurg (Magnitogorsk) vs. Zauralye (Kurgan) 1-2 SO (1-0, 0-1, 0-0, 0-0, 0-1)
Goals: 1-0 Shenfeld (Bobryashov),1-1 Mushtayev (Pervukhin), 1-2 Petrov (shootout)

Avangard's Nikolai Lemtyugov and Avtomobilist's Taylor Beck each recorded a double to help their teams to victory in Omsk on Saturday.

Viktor Blinov Memorial Tournament

On the last day of the last preseason event before the start of the 10th season of the Championship, Avangard completed its fourth victory in four games to seal victory on home ice in the Viktor Blinov Memorial Tournament. Head coach Andrei Skabelka rested many senior players, including all the team's foreign legion, but the Omsk Men were still good enough to claim a 3-1 win over Evgeny Koreshkov's Barys.
In the earlier game, Avtomobilist fought back valiantly from 0-2 and 2-3 to record a thrilling 4-3 victory over Ugra and secure second place in the final standings.
Ugra vs. Avtomobilist: 3-4 (2-0, 1-2, 0-2)
Goals: 1-0 Savinainen (Korolyov, 03.49), 2-0 Kuptsov (Varfolomeyev, 18.48), 2-1 Beck (Cajkovsky, Gareyev, 24.05), 2-2 Beck (Megalinsky, Pare, 31.05, PPG), 3-2 Kuryanov (Korolyov, Lekomtsev, 32.38), 3-3 Mikhnov (Torchenyuk, Tryamkin, 41.40), 3-4 Golyshev (Beck, 43.59)
Goaltenders: Proskuryakov - Covario
Avangard vs. Barys: 3-1 (0-0, 1-0, 2-1)
Goals: 1-0 Lemtyugov (Dervuk, Fischenko, 23.34), 1-1 Dawes (Vey, Dietz, 43.35), 2-1 Faizullin (Zhukenov, Fischenko, 44.47), 3-1 Lemtyugov (Lisov, Perezhogin, 50.15)
Goaltenders: Shilin - Karlsson

Avangard

Final standings:
Place-Team-Games-Goals-Points 
1 Avangard 4 14-4 12
2 Avtomobilist 4 9-6 9
3 Amur 4 7-10 6
4 Barys 4 8-11 3
5 Ugra 4 7-14 0

Bodensee Cup

Torpedo – Schwenninger – 3:0 (0:0, 2:0, 1:0)
Goals: 1:0 Parshin (21:15), 2:0 Parshin (38:59), 3:0 Dugin (44:51)
Torpedo goaltender: Galimov