Women’s Hockey Update: August 28th, 2018

Agidel Ufa players and coaches receive their gold medals as 2017-18 Champions of Russia in a ceremony on Tuesday.

We have hockey games to talk about! Both Russian women’s national teams (Senior and Under-18) played their first tournaments of 2018-19 late last week, and, well, fortunes were mixed.  Read on, for full recaps of those tournaments, major transfer news from the Women’s Hockey League, a sneak preview of the teams that will take part in the amateur national championship, and some other notes!

We’ll start with some quick updates on the case of Zhanna Batova, the young SKIF Nizhny Novgorod player struck by a motorcycle and severely injured two weeks ago.  Batova remains in hospital, and underwent surgery twice last week to repair her tibia and collarbone.  SKIF have appealed for financial help to pay for medications, rehabilitation, and the like.  Police in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast are currently investigating the case as an Administrative Offence (similar to a summary traffic offence), but criminal charges against the motorcyclist, who was reportedly not licensed and riding an unregistered bike, are also under consideration.

We’ll keep you posted on this story, and best wishes to Zhanna Batova for a complete recovery from her injuries!

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The Russian senior women’s national team began their 2018-19 Euro Hockey Tour campaign with a four-nations tournament in Hodonín, Czechia, last week, and the opening game against the host country would be one that the Russian players and coaches will wish to forget.  The first period was good enough; goals by Valeriya Pavlova and Yelena Dergachyova book-ended a Czech tally from Tereza Vanišová to give Russia a 2-1 lead at the break.  But things fell apart thereafter.  Klára Hymlarová tied it up for the Czech side early in the second, and they went ahead on Aneta Lédlová’s marker eight minutes later.  The one-goal lead became two early in the third frame, when Kateřina Mrázová scored short-handed, and result was put beyond doubt with six minutes left on Lédlová’s second goal of the game.  At this point, tempers frayed between these old rivals; a couple of minor scuffles broke out, and Czech forward Martina Mašková was dismissed for kicking Russian defender Anna Shibanova.  Late on, Anna Zíková scored a short-handed empty-netter to make the final score 6-2; it was a fair result, although the score itself may have flattered the winners a bit, given that the teams finished level on shots at 29 apiece.

Alexandra Vafina. (Image Source)

The Russian team’s fortunes were much better in Game 2, against Sweden.  Goalie Valeriya Tarakanova had struggled in the opener, so Head Coach Alexei Chistyakov switched to the more experienced Nadezhda Morozova, and it paid off.  After a Yekaterina Nikolayeva goal had given Russia a 1-0 first-intermission lead, they broke things open in the second period; Alevtina Shtaryova doubled the advantage, and then Anna Shokhina made it 3-0.  Straight off the ensuing faceoff at centre-ice, Alexandra Vafina muscled the puck through the Swedish defence for the 4-0 goal — six seconds the elapsed time between those two markers.  In the third period, Team Russia locked things down, and Morozova did the rest in recording a 21-save shutout (the Russians put up 28 shots in the game).  4-0 the final, and it was a particularly good day for the big line from Tornado Moscow Oblast; Shokhina finished with three points (1g, 2a), Shtaryova with two (1g,1a), and the Yelena Dergachyova added an assist of her own.  The result, and the performance, did much to remove the bad taste left by Game 1.

Russia came into the tournament’s final day with all four standings positions still available, but the opponent would be a tough one in Team Finland.  Morozova returned to the net to face Noora Räty in the Finnish cage, and the game went scoreless to the middle of the second period.  The first breakthrough came for Finland, as Jenni Hiirikoski found the net, and just a minute and a half later she did it again to make the score 2-0.  Russia then answered, when Alexandra Vafina scored her second goal of the tournament.  Just 30 seconds after that, however, the Finns restored their two-goal advantage, as the ageless Riikka Välilä scored to make it 3-1.  The third period passed by without further scoring, and the final stood at 3-1, with Finland having outshot Russia by 32-27.  The result meant that Chistyakov’s team finished fourth and last in the tournament, while the Finns took home the gold.  Sweden, who had taken Finland to OT and beaten the Czechs, finished second, and the host country ended up in third.

So, a disappointing start to the 2018-19 season for the Russian national team.  There were some bright spots: Anna Shokhina was second overall in tournament scoring with a goal and four assists, while Morozova led all goalies with a .934 sv%.  And the win over Sweden was a confident and comprehensive one.  Fourth place at the end, however, was not a good sign, and while these things can happen in a short tournament, another such finish may bring coach Chistyakov under some scrutiny from the Russian Hockey Federation.  In any case, we will start to find out when the senior women’s team is next in action; the Euro Hockey Tour resumes in Switzerland from November 6th to 10th.

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The Russian Under-18 women’s national team also got its first game action of 2018-19 last week, and had a much happier time of things.  The event was a four-nations tournament in St. Gallen, Switzerland, and Russia opened the competition against the host Swiss.  After surviving some early penalty difficulties, the Russians went ahead late in the first, as Olesya Namestnikova scored.  Then they took complete control in the second, with three goals within four minutes; newly-acquired Agidel Ufa forwards Ilona Markova and Polina Luchnikova provided the first and last of those tallies (each would also add an assist), with a goal by SKIF Nizhny Novgorod’s Nadezhda Volf in between.  From there, Team Russia was content to the see out the game quietly, and help goalie Anna Alpatova preserve what would turn out to be a 20-save shutout.  4-0 was the final in Russia’s favour, and the 46-20 advantage in shots suggests that that was an accurate representation of them game.

Germany were be the opponents for the second tournament game, and Russian Head Coach Yevgeny Bobariko opted to give Yeva Gubareva her national team debut in goal.  It would be a memorable performance by the 16-year-old, who plays for the Kometa Samara 2004 boys’ team, and also by her German counterpart Lilly Uhrmann.  Neither goalie gave an inch during the game, and the first and only time a puck found the back of a net was in the sixth round of the shootout.  That goal, which would stand up as the shootout winner, came off the stick of Biryusa Krasnoyarsk’s Yelena Mezentseva, and it gave Russia the victory and a 2-0 record on the tournament.

The St. Gallen competition wrapped up for Russia with a game against the Swedes.  Alpatova, almost certainly to be Russia’s starting netminder at the 2019 U18 Women’s Worlds, returned to the net, and as in the first game Olesya Namestnikova got Russia on the board first, scoring mid-way through the second period.  Early in the third, Varvara Boriskova expanded the lead to 2-0, and from there Alpatova did the rest, making 30 saves in the game (the Russian skaters fired 24 shots at the Swedish goal).  There would some drama in the end as Jenny Antonsson scored for Sweden with 110 seconds left, but Russia held on and came away with a 2-1 victory and the overall tournament championship.  Sweden picked up the silver medal, with Switzerland third and the somewhat unlucky Germans (they lost twice via shootout) in fourth.

Anna Alpatova. (Image Source)

It was not a perfect performance for Team Russia — the failure to score against Germany was un-looked-for, for example — be we cannot complain too much.  Russia came within two minutes of not conceding a goal in the entire tournament, and both netminders deserve kudos.  Interestingly, most of the offensive contribution came from defenders; the team’s goals leader was SKIF rearguard Namestnikova, while her defensive partner for both club and country, Alyona Shmykova, led the way in points thanks to her three assists.  Mission definitely accomplished, and it is on to the next tournament for the U18s.  That will take place in Finland, in early October.

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To the Women’s Hockey League, where there was some very big transfer news this week: Canadian forward Tatiana Rafter has signed with Gorny Ukhta (formerly Arktik-Universitet Ukhta, and soon to be Gorny St. Petersburg).  Rafter, 26, has spent the last three seasons in the NWHL, playing one year for the Buffalo Beauts and two with the New York/Metropolitan Riveters.  She was an Isobel Cup champion with the Riveters last season, having posted a line 4-2-6 in 16 regular season games.  Prior to turning pro, Rafter played five seasons in the Canadian university system, for the UBC Thunderbirds.

Tatiana Rafter (#7) faces off against Anna Shokhina during a 2016 game between the New York Riveters and the Russian national team. (Image Source)

Rafter also played for Canada at the 2013 Winter Universiade, where they won gold by defeating Russia 5-0 in the final.  That Russian team included a number of players (Anna Prugova, Yekaterina Nikolayeva, and others) whom Rafter will meet again in the Women’s Hockey League this season.  One member of that Russian 2013 Universiade team, forward Oxana Afonina, played for Arktik-Universitet last season (I am not 100% sure that she we will be back for 2018-19).  Rafter has also faced the Russian national team as a member of the Riveters, during Team Russia’s 2016 and 2017 tours of the NWHL.

This is an immense signing for the club and the league.  Arktik-Universitet struggled mightily last season, winning just four games (none against any team other than SK Sverdlovsk Oblast).  The arrival of an experienced North American pro, possibly to play alongside a very good forward in Fanuza Kadirova, can only help their fortunes.  And Rafter will, if I am correct (please mention in the comments if I am not), the first North American in the league since Canadian forward Sara O’Toole played for Agidel Ufa from 2011 to 2014.  So big news indeed.

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Speaking of Agidel, they were the honorees at a nice ceremony today in Ufa, during the first intermission of the KHL pre-season game between Salavat Yulaev Ufa and Barys Astana.  The Agidel players and coaches were honoured as Champions of Russia (to make a long story short, that is distinct from the Women’s Hockey League championship), and received gold medals.  There is a short video of the ceremony at the top of this post (h/t to Denis Osipchuk).

Agidel will be on the ice this weekend for a pre-season tournament of their own, playing against amateur men’s teams.  The United Hockey Federation of Bashkortostan Cup will feature Agidel, several representative teams from men’s amateur hockey in Russia, and a team of former players for KHL team Salavat Yulaev Ufa.

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(Image Source)

We will finish up with the amateur League of Women’s Hockey, where we have a preliminary list of 2018-19 teams in the over-18 Amazon Division (link is a PDF)!  Last season, 21 teams, divided into four groups, played for the national amateur championship; the current list has 26 teams in five groups.  I remind you that this is but the preliminary list, and there may be changes before the final version.  In particular, not included on the list is the new team in Ufa that we talked about last week; however, that may simply be a delay in some paperwork, as the team has been founded and is in training (thanks again to Denis Osipchuk).

We will see what the final version holds, but for now, some notes on the preliminary list:

• Of the teams that took part last season, not on the list for 2018-19 are: Orsa Yaroslavl, Shturm Pskov, and Yugorchanka Surgut (as well as Amazonki Moscow, who were expelled from the league midway through last season).
• As far as the new teams are concerned, some are familiar names.  ZhHK Nikolai Liu Ukhta played in the league two seasons ago but sat out 2017-18 — it is very nice to see them back, as they were a good team.  Pantery Tatarsk, who iced a team in the U18 division last season, will have one in the senior division in 2018-19.  and there will be a second squad from the Angely Kirov club (the two teams will play as Angely-1 and Angely-2).
• There are also some completely new teams: Fenix Yaroslavl, Pantery Kazan, Legenda Moscow, Tankistki St. Petersburg, and Eskadrilya St. Petersburg.
• And there may for the first time be a foreign team in the League of Women’s Hockey; Everest Kohtla-Järve, from the north-eastern part of Estonia, are on the preliminary list.  That’s a fascinating inclusion, and I’ll be interested to see who is on their roster.

Once again, we await the final list, as well as the list for the U18 division of the League of Women’s Hockey.  However, it’s very good to see the league growing as it enters its fourth season of action.

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Thank you for reading!  In next week’s update, we’ll set the scene for the 2018-19 Women’s Hockey League season, and deal with any other stories that come along in the meantime.