Gornyak vs Khimik

The opening period passed without a goal despite each side receiving three minutes of power-play time. Khimik, playing their first pre-season match of the summer, gradually took control of the neutral zone as the game wore on.

The deadlock broke at 23:29. New signing Matvey Petrov forced a turnover inside the Gornyak zone, spotted Buruyanov's run, and delivered a pass that the forward buried to make it 1-0. The assist was Petrov's first contribution in Khimik colours since arriving from Sokol Krasnoyarsk.

Gornyak pushed for an equaliser through the third period but could not solve Pavlenko, who stopped every shot he faced. With just under a minute to play, Gornyak pulled their goaltender for an extra attacker after a timeout. The gamble backfired: Stepan Zvyagin intercepted the puck at his own blue line and fired into the empty net from distance at 59:13 to seal the result.

Petrov's forced turnover that led to the opening goal shifted the match decisively. Before that moment, Gornyak had matched Khimik through a scoreless first period. Once behind, the VHL side from Verkhnyaya Pyshma lacked the finishing quality to break down a disciplined Khimik defensive structure — and the empty-net goal was a direct consequence of their desperation.

Maxim Pavlenko (Khimik) — Player of the Match. The goaltender recorded a shutout in his first appearance for Khimik this pre-season, handling everything Gornyak threw at him across 60 minutes. Khimik's official match report noted that he "made a shutout" in his debut.

Matvey Petrov (Khimik) — The off-season signing from Sokol Krasnoyarsk produced the match-defining moment: a puck recovery deep in the offensive zone and a perfectly weighted pass for Buruyanov's opener.

Stepan Zvyagin (Khimik) — Scored the insurance goal with an empty-net strike at 59:13, reading the play from his own blue line to seal the win.

Nikita Buruyanov (Khimik) — Took his chance cleanly when it arrived, opening the scoring with a well-timed finish.

While the scoreboard shows period scores of 0-0, 0-1, 0-1, the pattern tells a clearer story: Khimik grew into the match after a tentative first period, controlled the middle frame, and never allowed the equaliser when Gornyak pushed late. The empty-net goal at 59:13 means the 2-0 margin accurately reflected the run of play in the final 40 minutes. Each side had three power-play minutes in the first period but neither converted; special teams were a non-factor thereafter.

For Khimik Voskresensk — last season's VHL runners-up — this is a confident opening to the Drozdecki Memorial. Head coach Egor Bashkatov praised his younger players after the match, saying (per the club's official site): "The youth showed themselves very well, didn't lag behind in anything, created chances." Fifteen players from last season's roster dressed, suggesting continuity for a squad that will open its regular season against Zvezda Moscow on 3 September 2026.

For Gornyak, this was their second consecutive defeat in the tournament after a 1-2 loss to tournament hosts SKA-VMF St. Petersburg on 10 August. They had also lost both pre-tournament friendlies against Rubin Tyumen (3-5, 3-4). Building sharpness in the attacking zone is the clear takeaway — two goals in three pre-season matches is a concern Alexei Alekseyev's side will need to address before the VHL regular season.

A professional, patient start to pre-season from Khimik, who controlled the game after a quiet first period and took their chances when they mattered. Gornyak competed but were let down by a lack of cutting edge in the final third. Pavlenko's shutout on debut is the headline for Khimik; the search for goals continues for Gornyak.