Varfolomeev Makes History: KHL 3×3 Championship Round 24 Review

Pavel Varfolomeev reached 125 points, Vitaly Pinchuk scored a game-winning hat-trick, and Salavat Yulaev played cautiously – a recap of the KHL 3×3 Championship matches held on June 29.

Finishing with 125 points, Pavel Varfolomeev has cemented his place as the leading scorer in the inaugural KHL 3×3 Championship. Throughout the season, he rarely gave cause for doubt, though teammate Sergey Shmelev occasionally challenged his lead before Varfolomeev would regain his position. Shmelev had an opportunity to surpass Varfolomeev at the start of this round, as both were tied at 117 points, but Pavel missed two games due to suspension. Shmelev couldn`t capitalize significantly, adding only two assists. Upon his return the following day, Varfolomeev netted four goals against Dynamo Minsk. In total, in Round 24, Pavel amassed 12 points (8 goals, 4 assists), including two points in the final game against the same Dynamo Minsk. The match started with high intensity, seeing four goals scored by the end of the first period. The hero of this game was Dynamo`s leader, Vitaly Pinchuk, who recorded a hat-trick, including the decisive winning goal.

The final match of the round carried extra weight: the winner would face Metallurg in the Supergame. Salavat Yulaev (Ufa) needed just one point, while Sibir (Novosibirsk) required a regulation win. Salavat Yulaev established an early lead in the first period with goals from Bulat Khammatov and Eduard Gimatov, making it 2-0. Sibir fought back in the second period, narrowing the deficit. Sibir`s goalie Mikhail Podlipaev faced only nine shots, whereas Yuri Sirotkin for Salavat Yulaev was kept busy, making 24 saves. In the shootout, Ilya Ivanov scored the lone successful attempt.

Metallurg, entering the Supergame as favorites, played cautiously, even more so than in their previous match against Dynamo. They spent most of the game trailing. Gimatov opened the scoring for Salavat Yulaev in the second minute. Pavel Kutyakov doubled Salavat Yulaev`s advantage early in the second period, and the score reached 3-0 by the end of the period. Metallurg didn`t aggressively push forward but still came close to tying the game late. In the final 75 seconds, Salavat Yulaev faced three penalty shots, but Sirotkin impressively stopped all of them. Anton Shenfeld`s goal early in the third period was the only one that beat Sirotkin, who finished with 13 saves. This match concludes the KHL 3×3 Championship season at the arena in Shcherbinka. The Superfinal, set to begin on July 6, will be held at CSKA Arena.

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