Well, that's the first round in the VHL championship - the Silk Road Cup. It was completed by our team in Samara, where the CSK VVS was beaten today.

VHL - Silk Way Cup | Regular season

CSK VVS (Samara) - HC "Tambov" (Tambov) - 1: 4 (0:2, 1:2, 0:0)

CSK VVS:Zhuchin (00.00 - 20.48), Skatov (20.48 - 60.00); Bulatov - Shafigullin, Mnikhovich (K) - Kutyavin - Avtsin; Manukhov - Semenov, Ugolnikov - Nabiullin - Poryadin; Ryzhykh - Gusev, Khafizov (A) - Teslenko - Yungov; Sennikov - Pangelov-Yuldashev (A), Razumnyak - Gareev - Syromyatnikov.

"Tambov":Lozhkin; Marchenko - Dynkov, Shingareev - Nogin (K) - A. Voronkov; Pavlikov - Ignatov (A), A. Gimbatov - M. Gimbatov - Bain; Krivosheev - Ermoshenko, Klochkov - Krasheninnikov - Nikiforov; Islyamov - Konkov, Efimov - Svintsitsky - Zhilov.

Goals:0:1 - KLOCHKOV (Krivosheev, Nikiforov, 02.07); 0:2 - KLOCHKOV (Nikiforov, 08.13); 0:3 - M. GIMBATOV (A. Gimbatov, Pavlikov, 20.48, bol.); 1:3 - Teslenko (Manukhov, Khafizov, 28.18); 1:4 - SHINGAREEV (Nogin, Ignatov, 39.02, men.)

Throws:42 (5 + 22 + 15) – 21 (6 + 10 + 5)

Judging team: ZABOLOTNEV, MISYUR. Khafizov, Safiullov.

Fine:10 – 10

After the defeat in Tolyatti, the coaching staff of the Tambov team decided to change the composition. So, Nikita Lozhkin took the place at the gate. Instead of Alexander Rodionov, who was injured in the match with Lada, Nadir Islyamov was announced. Evgeny Viksna was not included in the application. But Vitaly Konkov was declared as a defender. Vasily Zhilov and Nikita Svintsitsky, who had not played for a long time, appeared on the court.

The game itself started off without a hitch. And already in the third minute Alexei Klochkov opened the score - 0:1. A few minutes later, he also doubled the score, having converted a 1 on 1 exit in an excellent style. In general, in the first twenty minutes, the Tambov team had the advantage and rightfully led the score.

At the start of the second period, Magomed Gimbatov's impeccable shot made the refereeing team doubt that the puck had hit the top nine. But either there was a hole in the net of the Samara gate, or Magomed threw it so bitingly that the puck flew right through. Not the essence - 0:3. After that, the hosts stepped up and created a dozen dangerous moments. In one of them, Nikita Lozhkin was nevertheless pierced. But towards the end of the second twenty-minute period, Timur Shingareev clearly completed the excellent combination of the Tambov guys. Thus summing up the point in today's match, as we no longer saw the abandoned pucks.

Thus, HC Tambov played 28 games in the first round, in which he scored 25 points. The playoff zone is close and we really hope that according to the results of the second round, that is, the regular season, the top 16 will be quite within reach. The Tambov team will play the next match at home. On November 29, Andrei Lunev's wards will fight with the Angarsk Yermak. Cheer for ours!

Now the VHL competitions are entirely called: "VHL - Silk Road Cup". There is no logic behind this decision as the Silk Road Cup is awarded regular season winner, and the Petrov Cup (thanks for leaving) - strongest playoff team. Cursed before the "Chinese partners" ...

Silk Road. Personally, I immediately remembered caravans loaded with Chinese tea and porcelain, then a rally passing through the territory of Russia, Kazakhstan and China. Also, the Silk Road is a project of the pan-Asian transport system. A harmless, seemingly at first glance, change, which may hide a far from rosy prospect for the League.

The name was changed "within the framework of international cooperation, as well as taking into account the development strategy of the Higher Hockey League." According to the words Roman Rotenberg, the strategy is that in the near future a separate tournament will be created on the basis of the VHL - the Silk Road Cup, which will include clubs from the HSE, European and Asian Leagues. No wonder they wanted to include two more Chinese teams in the VHL this offseason. And we forget about domestic clubs. The VHL as a project "hockey - for the Russian regions" is gradually fading into oblivion, like the lamp atmosphere of those distant times when THC, Titan, Kristall, Kuban, Ariada, Lipetsk and Dynamo played from Balashikha. Somewhere there was a youth team in the NMHL, as in Tver, Kristall plays in the VHL Championship. More recently, we have seen Sputnik perish with complete connivance. The Tagil team didn't get off with little blood, because Sputnik was not even allowed into the VHL-B. Molot-Prikamye was in the balance for almost the entire off-season. In relative suspended animation "Izhstal". The Izhevsk club was admitted to the championship, but it still does not have a head coach and there is no pre-season. And the FHR, an organization that conducts VHL competitions, talks about development, is engaged in international cooperation, when in their Fatherland it’s not like smoke - fire.

Are Chinese VHL clubs adding competition? Not really. One world smeared "KRS-Heilongjiang" and "Tseng Tou" showed mediocre results. The first did not go to the playoffs at all, taking third place from the end, and “Tseng Tou” stayed for a short time in the decisive stage, without creating any special problems for “Oilman”. Even the Angarsk "Ermak" with a smaller budget And almost equal flight distances, but with great desire, confidently took sixth place in the regular season, and flew out of the playoffs in the second round.

Please, let's compete, where the majority are Russian teams, Russian names! And if you are already drawn to the Cup of Ways, then we offer an option - the "Cup of the Trans-Siberian Railway" or the "Cup of the Siberian Route". The last name, by the way, would fully reflect the geographical boundaries of the VHL, because the Siberian tract is an old land route from the European part of Russia, through Siberia, to the borders of China.

Question of the Day: Why was the VHL turned into the "Silk Road Cup"?

On Tuesday The Chinese Hockey Association and the FHR signed a memorandum of cooperation, deciding to create a new international tournament.

As part of the event, a document was signed according to which Russia and China undertake to provide comprehensive support in the development and popularization of hockey, including the exchange of experience, information cooperation, as well as the search for advertisers, sponsors and partners in the Russian and Asian markets.

Documents were also signed on the entry of the second Chinese team into the VHL. This time from Jilin City (the first Chinese club to enter the major league, based in Harbin). Thus, already this season our second league will be replenished with two Chinese teams.

But the main point was, of course, a fundamentally new competition based on the VHL. Starting from the 2018/19 season, it was decided to organize the Silk Road Cup international tournament. And here I would like to tell you more about it.

WHO WILL PARTICIPATE IN THE SILK ROAD CUP?

Sports journalists were primarily interested in how the new tournament will be combined with the current VHL championship? But it turned out that there is no conflict of interest here. Because the Silk Road Cup, in fact, will become the successor to this much more familiar tournament for Russian fans.

All teams of our current VHL, without exception, will take part in it, including clubs from Kazakhstan. As well as clubs from China, the number of which will eventually increase to ten. In addition, it is planned to attract teams from Japan and Korea to participate in the tournament. And, as the organizers assured, guests from Europe (for example, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Finland) will also be welcome. Unless, of course, they themselves want to participate in the new league, which will develop first of all in the Asian direction.

The management of the FHR did not hide the fact that it is now the Asian market that is of great interest to it. On the other hand, the IIHF, for its part, calls for support for developing hockey powers. And its president, René Fasel, has already assessed Russia's actions in this direction.

WHO WILL PAY FOR THE NEW TOURNAMENT?

That's just any new sports project first needs powerful financial injections. Who will pay for the Silk Road Cup?

According to the organizers, and in particular the FHR, an active search is now underway to attract new financial investments. The search for sponsors for a global project will go not only in Russia or China, but throughout the world. The Chinese themselves are confident that many large American companies will want to take part in the new hockey tournament in terms of promoting their products in the vast Asian market. But the main focus will still be on Chinese companies, banks and funds.

It is also planned to build new ice rinks - both in China and in Russia.

At the same time, for Russian clubs In the VHL, at least in the next championship, where two new Chinese teams will play, no additional expenses for flights to China are expected. Their FHR and the China Hockey Association are taking over.

WHAT DOES CHINA THINK ABOUT COOPERATION WITH RUSSIA?

Today is a very memorable day for us, says Long Yu Xiang, chairman of China International Cultural Center . - With the support of the leadership of China and Russia, we have achieved cooperation in various fields. And especially in sports and culture. We have signed an agreement on the creation of the Silk Road Cup. This is a great joy and a very solemn event. This is very important for the development of China's ice hockey and the strengthening of relations between our two countries. We are very grateful to the FHR for helping to create this project. The heads of Russia and China highly appreciate the development of hockey in our countries. We will learn from our Russian colleagues. First of all, to develop our youth, to teach them how to play hockey. To do everything so that our players reach the world level as soon as possible.

P. S. In conclusion, it remains only to note once again that China continues to develop our hockey territories. Following the "Kunlun" from the KHL, which already in its starting season made it to the Gagarin Cup and does not intend to stop there, the Chinese "captured" the VHL. Moreover, here they have plans much more ambitious. And it's not just about more teams. But also in the very name of the tournament, where the “Chinese note” clearly sounds.

Will we be able to help the eastern neighbor with the development of hockey? Undoubtedly. We taught the Finns and Swiss to play it. So much so that now they sometimes teach us ...

source: "Soviet Sport"

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