Zvezda Moscow vs Khimik

Khimik came flying out of the blocks. The Voskresensk side opened the scoring at 09:00 of the first period, doubled their lead at 15:00, and struck a third at 20:00 — right on the first-period buzzer — to head to the locker room 3-0 up.

Zvezda Moscow responded inside 60 seconds of the middle frame. They pulled one back at 21:00 (1-3), then struck again at 37:00 to cut the deficit to a single goal at 2-3. The Moscow outfit had momentum and 23 minutes of regulation time to find an equaliser.

But Khimik steadied. They killed the Zvezda momentum and restored their two-goal cushion at 52:00 of the third period, making it 4-2 and securing the win.

Khimik's third goal at 20:00 — timed just as the first period expired — was pivotal. A 2-0 lead would have been manageable for Zvezda; a 3-0 deficit after 20 minutes forced them to chase the game from an almost impossible position. Zvezda's two quick goals in the second period brought the score back to 2-3 and briefly flipped the momentum, but Khimik's 52nd-minute strike snuffed out any prospect of a full recovery.

Penalty minutes told part of the story. Zvezda were whistled for just 4 minutes, while Khimik accumulated 8, reflecting a more physical approach from the tournament's eventual champions. Yet Khimik's penalty kill held firm when it mattered most, preventing Zvezda from capitalising on any powerplay openings to draw level.

This was the second match of the Drozdecki Memorial for both sides. Zvezda had opened with a 2-1 win over Gornyak-UgMK on 10 August, while Khimik beat the same Gornyak side 2-0 on 11 August. The fixture proved to be the nearest anyone got to Khimik in the tournament: Bashtakov's team swept all four games, adding a 3-2 overtime win over Sokol Krasnoyarsk on 13 August and a 5-2 demolition of SKA-VMF on 14 August.

Zvezda recovered from this defeat to hammer Sokol Krasnoyarsk 4-1 two days later, finishing the tournament with two wins and two losses.

For Khimik, the performance vindicated pre-season favouritism. Head coach Yegor Bashkatov — entering his third season at the helm — has kept the core of a side that finished as VHL runners-up in back-to-back seasons (2024 and 2025). Key figures Ignat Korotkikh, Stanislav Yarovoy and veteran KHL-experienced defenceman Roman Rukavishnikov all featured, and the team's early sharpness bodes well for the regular season.

Zvezda, under head coach Oleg Leontiev (retained after a disappointing finish that saw them miss the VHL play-offs in 2025/26), showed resilience in mounting a second-period fightback. The attacking line remains a work in progress — four goals across their first three tournament games before the 4-1 explosion against Sokol.

The period scoring — 3-0, 0-2, 1-0 — tells the story of a game of two distinct phases. Khimik's first-period x-factor was efficiency: three goals on limited opportunities. Zvezda's second-period response (two goals conceded none) showed tactical adjustment at the break, but they could not sustain it through the third. The penalty differential (4-8 in Zvezda's favour) suggests discipline was not the issue; rather, finishing the chances created in the final frame.

Khimik's early blitz was the difference. Zvezda's second-period rally showed they are more competitive than the first 20 minutes suggested, but against a side of Khimik's quality — unbeaten all tournament — a single-period fightback was never likely to be enough. The defensive structure that Khimik's Rukavishnikov-led unit brought proved the decisive factor when Zvezda pushed hardest.