MHC Spartak vs SKA-Akademiya

The opening period was tight — Spartak outshot Akademiya 18–13 but neither side found a breakthrough until the dying seconds. Plesovskikh broke the deadlock at 19:29 of the first period, scoring unassisted on a play that sent Spartak into the break 1–0 up.

The second period belonged entirely to the home side. Maxim Seldemirov doubled the lead at 36:53, assisted by Savely Morozov and Miron Tatsi, before Plesovskikh struck again at 39:51 — this time set up by Arseniy Ilyin and Stepan Tarasenko — to make it 3–0 heading into the second intermission.

Spartak kept the accelerator down in the third. Tarasenko scored on the power play at 41:28 (assist: Ilyin) to push the lead to 4–0, the goal coming just 69 seconds into the period. Akademiya finally got on the board at 47:37 through Yaroslav Yadovin, assisted by Matvey Kovalyov and Arseniy Samoilov. But any hopes of a rally were snuffed out when Dmitry Yenenko restored the four-goal cushion at 53:18 (assist: Alexey Krylov), closing the scoring at 5–1.

Plesovskikh's opener at 19:29 of the first period. With the period winding down and both teams feeling each other out, the late strike flipped the psychological balance entirely. Spartak had dominated possession (18–13 shots in P1) but had nothing to show for it until that moment. The goal just before the buzzer gave them a tangible reward and set the tone for the second-period explosion of three unanswered goals across the middle frame.

• Alexander Plesovskikh (MHC Spartak) — 2 goals (19:29, 39:51), including the game-opening strike. Clinical finishing from limited looks. Player of the Match.
• Stepan Tarasenko (MHC Spartak) — 1 goal + 1 assist (41:28 PPG, 39:51 assist). Involved in two of the five goals.
• Arseniy Ilyin (MHC Spartak) — 2 assists (39:51, 41:28). Threaded key passes through traffic.
• Anton Kayris (MHC Spartak) — Started in goal: 15 saves on 16 shots faced (93.8% save percentage). Solid if not heavily tested.
• Arseniy Perov (Akademiya SKA) — Faced 27 shots, conceded 5. The shot volume told much of the story.

The 54–36 total shots disparity tells the clearest story: Spartak controlled the game territorially, particularly in the third period where they outshot Akademiya 26–11. Shots on goal finished 27–16, reflecting Spartak's superior quality of chances. Spartak also won the faceoff battle 32–23 (58.2%), controlled possession through the neutral zone, and out-hit their opponents 17–9. The penalty differential was stark — Spartak took just 2 minutes in penalties compared to Akademiya's 8 — and Spartak converted one of their four power-play opportunities, while their penalty kill remained perfect (1/1).

Despite the lopsided scoreline, Akademiya blocked 16 shots to Spartak's 12, showing they were not passive under siege.

This was Spartak's first win of the Spartak Cup after losing their tournament opener 3–1 to MHC Dynamo Moscow on 26 August. With two group-stage fixtures remaining — against Loko (28 August) and Krylya Sovetov (29 August) — Spartak sit in a strong position to advance. The result also extends Spartak's perfect record against Akademiya SKA across all competitions: they have now won all three meetings in 2025–26 (5–2 on 2 August in pre-season, 7–1 on 12 March in MHL regular season, and this 5–1 victory).

For SKA-Akademiya, the defeat follows a challenging pre-season run. Having lost 2–5 to Spartak on 2 August and now 1–5, they face MHC Dynamo Moscow next on 28 August in their second Spartak Cup match.

A thoroughly professional pre-season performance from MHC Spartak. The 1–0 scoreline after one period flattered Akademiya, and Spartak's second-period surge was inevitable given the sustained shot differential. Plesovskikh's late first-period strike was the hinge — without it, Akademiya might have clung to a goalless draw into the second. With it, Spartak never looked back and made it three wins from three all-time meetings against their opponents.