SKA-VMF begin competition with slender Admiral loss

VHL side SKA-VMF came close to upsetting KHL opponents Admiral Vladivostok in the opening game of the 2026 Nikolai Puchkov Tournament, suffering an avoidable 1:2 defeat.

Dominant for long spells, our players created more than enough opportunities and pinned Admiral deep inside their own zone, but their profligacy in front of goal proved their downfall.

Mikhail Grass drew first blood for Vladivostok in the early stages of the first frame, with his pass inadvertently being turned into his own net by an opponent.

After SKA-VMF had wasted a ton of clear chances, Ivan Muranov sealed the deal for Admiral with their second in the 56th minute.

Maxim Kazakov did cut the deficit in half with 90 seconds remaining on the clock, but it was too little, too late.

SKA-VMF will now prepare to face Barys Astana tomorrow at the SKA Arena. Puck-drop is scheduled for 14:00 local time.

Match protocol:

SKA-VMF – Admiral – 1:2 (0:1, 0:0, 1:1)

Goals:

0:1 Grass (Khulapov, Vashchenko), 06.04

0:2 Muranov (Moiseev, Korbit), 55.41

1:2 Kazakov (Barabanov, D. Popov), 58.30

Goalkeepers: Saranchuk – Boyarkin

Shots: 60 – 30

Shots on target: 26 – 13

Faceoffs: 29 – 26

Blocked shots: 7 – 16

Hits: 38 – 27

Penalty minutes: 2 – 8

Referees: Kochetov, Oskirko

Linesmen: Lyubomirov, Sysuev

27.08.2026.