MHC Spartak vs AKM-Junior

AKM-Junior stunned the hosts inside the opening 25 seconds. Kulikov (assisted by Kubankov) fired home from close range to give the visitors a lightning lead before many in the arena had settled into their seats.

MHC Spartak responded swiftly. At 01:44 of the first period, Gleb Perelygin crashed the net on a power play, converting a rebound off Oblashchikov's point shot to level the scores at 1-1. The period ended with the teams locked together.

The second period passed without a goal — both sides traded chances but goaltenders Midlak (Spartak) and Skryabin (AKM-Junior) held firm through a scoreless 20 minutes.

Spartak took the lead for the first time at 46:00 (six minutes into the third period). Maxim Seldemirov slid a pass through the AKM defence and Perelygin buried his second of the night, picking the far corner to make it 2-1.

AKM-Junior refused to fold. With 56:33 on the clock, Rostkov (assisted by Shcherbakov) forced the puck home to make it 2-2, sending the game to overtime.

Overtime solved nothing. The first five shooters traded goals — AKM-Junior scored first, Gleb Perelygin replied for Spartak — but then Anton Kairis took over. The Spartak goaltender, who had replaced Midlak at 31:08, saved five consecutive AKM-Junior attempts. Gleb Pivchulin stepped up for the decisive attempt and beat the AKM-Junior goaltender to seal the 3-2 win.

• Gleb Perelygin (MHC Spartak) — Two goals (one on the power play, one at even strength) and a successful shootout attempt. The forward was involved in every Spartak regulation goal and was the clear offensive driver.
• Anton Kairis (MHC Spartak) — Entered the game at 31:08 of the second period and stopped every shot he faced in regulation, overtime, and then five straight shootout attempts. His composure under pressure decided the game.
• Rostkov (AKM-Junior) — Scored the equaliser at 56:33 to force overtime, giving AKM-Junior a deserved share of the contest.

The scoreline (3-2 after shootout, periods 1-1, 0-0, 1-1, 0-0 OT) tells a story of two evenly matched sides in their first pre-season runout. The lightning-fast opening goal at 25 seconds and the immediate reply at 1:44 suggest both teams were still shaking off summer rust defensively. The goalless second period points to tighter structure as the game wore on, while AKM-Junior's late equaliser showed resilience. Spartak's nine consecutive H2H wins (dating back to 2022, with 63 aggregate goals across those meetings) — as displayed on the match page — reflect a clear hierarchy, but this was the first time in that run that a shootout was required.

This was the first pre-season friendly of summer 2026 for both MHL sides. MHC Spartak, the Kharlamov Cup finalists from the 2025/26 season, began their preparations under head coach Alexander Barkov, who used the match to blood eight debutants including 2010-born prospects Artyom Korolyov and Maxim Popov. AKM-Junior, who competed in the Silver Division last season, showed they could compete with a top-tier opponent despite the loss. Eight players made their first appearances for the Spartak system.

A typical first pre-season game — loose defensively in the opening minutes, tighter as it progressed, and ultimately decided by a goaltender taking over in the shootout. Perelygin's double was the standout individual performance, but Kairis's five-save shootout streak was the decisive factor. Spartak will look to tighten up conceding in the opening 25 seconds as their pre-season continues.