CSKA played their season opener at home against Spartak, marking the club's 80th anniversary. There were no surprises in the Army Men's starting lineup; the coaching staff went with the lines and pairings they had dialed in during the preseason. All of the team's newcomers took to the ice, including Marat Khairullin, Yegor Zamula, Robert Hamilton, Derek Barach, and Alex Cotton, along with returning forward Maxim Mamin and 17-year-old CSKA academy graduate Nazar Privalov.
The Army Men started strong, trying to execute quick transitions and drive hard to the net. The pressure paid off with a power-play goal. Nikolai Kovalenko fed Dmitry Buchelnikov, and he went top shelf with a heavy shot. But a CSKA penalty blew the lead before the intermission. Although technically spartak scored just as the penalty expired, before the penalized player could get back on defense. In the second period, the visitors took the lead on a shot by defenseman Christian Jaroš. CSKA responded with some offense from the back end. Yegor Zamula unleashed a shot from the blue line, and Maksim Sorkin tipped it to knot the game at 2-2. CSKA failed to convert two power plays in the third period, which became one of the deciding factors. Spartak capitalized on their opportunity, took the lead back, and closed out the game. The final assault fell short.
CSKA will take on Torpedo in their next game on September 9th.
