The third day of the KHL 3×3 Championship Superfinal round robin stage will take place on July 9th at CSKA Arena.
Match Previews
15:30, Traktor vs Avangard
The first match of the day features two teams that haven`t had the best start to the KHL 3×3 Championship Superfinal. Traktor managed to defeat Dynamo Minsk (5:4) on the first day with a spectacular comeback from 1:4 down, but then suffered a heavy defeat to Ak Bars (1:6). Avangard has two losses in two games, scoring only two goals in each instance. They lost 2:3 to Salavat Yulaev and 2:4 to Metallurg.
Interestingly, these teams met quite recently in the regular part of the KHL 3×3 Championship, at the end of June. In Round 23, Avangard defeated Traktor twice (6:4, 5:4).
16:25, Metallurg vs Salavat Yulaev
Salavat Yulaev are currently undefeated in the KHL 3×3 Championship Superfinal. It`s not to say they are dominating opponents, but two wins are two wins. On July 6th, the Ufa team beat Avangard 3:2, and the following day they strengthened their position with a 3:1 victory over Dynamo Minsk. Metallurg were heavily defeated by Ak Bars 2:7 but then rebounded with a win over Avangard in the Eastern `El Clásico` format 3×3 — 4:2.
Particular attention in this match should be paid to the teams` leaders — Ilya Krikunov (Salavat Yulaev) and Pavel Varfolomeev (Metallurg) both have three points (2 goals, 1 assist and 1 goal, 2 assists respectively) after two games.
17:20, Ak Bars vs Dynamo Minsk
The day`s program will conclude with a meeting between Ak Bars and Dynamo Minsk. The Kazan team currently looks stronger than the other teams in the Superfinal — Ak Bars not only won both of their games but did so with maximum scoring efficiency, netting as many as 13 goals.
A significant contribution to these successes was made by Vladislav Shlyakhtov (2 goals, 3 assists) and Ravil Yakupov (3 goals, 0 assists), who currently lead the lists of top scorers and top goal scorers in the Superfinal. Dynamo Minsk haven`t won yet at this stage of the season, however, they have their ace in the form of Vitali Pinchuk (2 goals, 1 assist).
Gareth Tenby