Kuznetskie Medvedi vs Snezhnye Barsy

The 60-second explosion between 16:27 and 17:27 of the second period. After Snezhnye Barsy had worked hard to level through Nurzhanov's power-play goal, Kuznetskie Medvedi immediately regained the lead via Gurov and then doubled it through Shamov before the visitors could reset. A 3-1 deficit after controlling the equaliser was a psychological blow Snezhnye Barsy never fully recovered from.

Ilya Shamov (Kuznetskie Medvedi) — Two goals, including the decisive 3-1 strike and a power-play insurance goal in the third period. The forward was the difference-maker in a game that was otherwise tightly contested.

Daniil Terenin (Kuznetskie Medvedi) — Opened the scoring on the power play early in the second period, setting the tone for the home side's productive middle frame.

Aituar Nurzhanov (Snezhnye Barsy) — Scored the equaliser on the power play and was a threat in the offensive zone, but his team's inability to build on the 1-1 leveller proved costly.

The 47 previous meetings between these two MHL sides (Kuznetskie Medvedi leading 28-19) have produced 5.83 goals per game on average, and this 4-2 result sits right at that mean. Both teams scored in 87% of their prior encounters, and this fixture continued that trend. The 0-0 first period was unusual — only 6 of the previous 47 meetings stayed goalless through the opening frame. The decisive second period, where Kuznetskie Medvedi outshot and outscored their opponents 3-1, reflected the home side's ability to capitalise on special teams: two of their four goals came on the power play.

This was the opening match of the G-Energy pre-season tournament, hosted at the Akademiya Avangard in Omsk. For Kuznetskie Medvedi (Novokuznetsk, Russia), the win provides early momentum in their MHL pre-season preparation. For Snezhnye Barsy (Astana, Kazakhstan), the defeat extends their winless run against Kuznetskie Medvedi to 10 meetings — the home side have now won the last nine against the Kazakh club. Both teams will use the tournament to fine-tune lineups ahead of the 2026-27 MHL regular season, which begins in September.

A pre-season friendly that followed the familiar script of this rivalry — Kuznetskie Medvedi's superior depth and special teams told the story. Shamov's double and the sharp 60-second response to conceding the equaliser were the difference. Snezhnye Barsy showed resilience in fightback moments but lacked the killer instinct to capitalise on their momentum.