AKM-Junior vs Almaz

Defenseman Vladislav Khomitsky opened the scoring at 8:25 of the first period, finishing a play set up by Mikhail Maslov and Nikita Kichigin. Almaz carried that 1-0 lead into the first intermission but the stats already hinted at the blowout to come: they led shots on goal 14-10 across the period.

The second period was where the game slipped away from AKM-Junior. Timofey Perminov made it 2-0 at 25:03, assisted by Timofey Kalinin and Timofey Gulenok. Perminov then struck again at 44:01 early in the third — his second of the night — with Ivan Okunev providing the assist, stretching the lead to 3-0. Just three minutes later at 47:08, Okunev got on the scoresheet himself to make it 4-0, prompting AKM-Junior to replace starting goaltender Nikolay Skryabin with Ivan Buydov.

AKM-Junior pulled one back at 58:23 of the third period through Maxim Sapogov, assisted by Gleb Shilov, to make it 4-1. But any thoughts of a comeback were extinguished 25 seconds later at 58:48, when Nikita Kichigin — with assists from Artyom Korsakov and Savely Yurgin — restored Almaz's four-goal cushion. Final score: 1-5.

The first-period blitz — four unanswered goals inside 44 minutes of game time — left AKM-Junior chasing the game from the first intermission. By the time Perminov scored his second early in the third, the deficit was effectively unassailable. AKM-Junior's goaltender change midway through the third period was a damage-limitation move rather than a tactical reset.

• Timofey Perminov (Almaz) — Two goals (25:03, 44:01), one assist on Okunev's goal. The forward was involved in three of Almaz's five goals.
• Ivan Okunev (Almaz) — One goal (47:08), one assist on Perminov's second. His goal effectively sealed the contest.
• Nikita Kichigin (Almaz) — One goal (58:48), one assist on Khomitsky's opener. Impact across the full 60 minutes.
• Anton Melchakov (Almaz) — Stopped 33 of 34 shots faced for a .971 save percentage, allowing only Sapogov's late consolation.

Player of the match: Timofey Perminov.

The match stats from the MHL text commentary show Almaz outshot AKM-Junior 61-54 in total attempts and 41-34 in shots on goal. The raw shot count was closer than the scoreline suggests, but Almaz's finishing told the story: they converted five of 41 shots on target (12.2%) while AKM-Junior managed just one from 34 (2.9%). Almaz also won the faceoff battle 35-26, controlling possession in all three zones. AKM-Junior actually generated 16 shots in the third period (tied with Almaz at 16) — but by then the game was already decided. The four-goal first period was the decisive phase: Almaz scored on four of their 14 shots in the opening 20 minutes.

This was Game 8 of the six-team Governor's Cup of Tula Region pre-season tournament, featuring MHL sides. For Almaz, the emphatic win builds momentum ahead of the 2026/27 MHL regular season. For AKM-Junior, back-to-back losses — they fell 2-1 to MHC Dynamo St Petersburg earlier in the tournament — expose defensive frailties that need addressing before the campaign proper begins. AKM-Junior's next tournament fixture is against Dynamo-Shinnik.

Almaz delivered a clinical first-period performance that AKM-Junior never recovered from. The scoreline accurately reflected the gulf between the sides on the day: Almaz were sharper in front of goal, stronger at the faceoff dot, and more composed under pressure. AKM-Junior have work to do before the regular season begins.