Weekly VHL review

TRANSFERS OF THE WEEK

THC Tver, a club which has been struggling with financial problems since the start of the season, have been forced into selling six of their leading players. With Tver long leading the VHL table until now, it has been hard for the fans to believe that their favourite team was in such trouble.

Stanislav Zabornikov, Artur Sarvarov, Artur Skorodumov, Mikhail Potyakin, Ivan Ivanov and Dmitry Kirillov all took their leave from Tver. It was a shock to see Mikhail Potyakin go, a player who had spent the past ten years with Tver.

KHL club HC Amur Khabarovsk have signed a number of VHL players. Among them are Mikhail Tikhonov and Denis Orlovich-Grudkov from SKA-Neva, players who had been at the forefront of SKA-Neva's excellent run of form. Also, American Justin Barnett has arrived from Zvezda Chekhov. Taking into account all transfers, the VHL have lost six top players.

WEEKLY SACKINGS

There was a large surprise in store for us, as HC Ryazan head coach Pavel Desyatkov was fired despite his side holding three victories on the bounce. Yes, Ryazan are in 17th place of the VHL standings, but they have been improving in recent fixtures. Interim coach Alexei Alexeev was drafted in, extending the winning series to five.

In Perm, Marat Askarov and Sergei Solomatov were given their marching orders. Sergei Vostrikov and Nikolai Kazakov have replaced the, winning their one game in charge so far against Izhstal.

SERIES OF THE WEEK

Sputnik came within one game of winning ten on the spin, dropping the tenth to Toros on penalty shots. On the other hand, Ariada NKH snapped their fifteen match losing streak in a match with Buran Voronezh.

At this moment in time, Torpedo and SKA-Neva are proving too difficult for their opponents to beat. However, Saryarka, Dizel, Bars, Buran and last season's champion Neftyanik can't buy a win

BEST PLAYERS

Zvezda Chekhov player Andrei Filonenko has been named the top goaltender. He saved 96.5% of the shots against him, has a goals against average of 0.99. Andrei recorded one shutout.

Maxim Ivanov of Ariada NKH is the best defenseman. In four matches, Maxim tallied up two assists and a plus/minus rating of +6.

Forward Georgy Sergeenko, who plays for Zvezda, is the top player for his position. He has five points (3+2) from three games and a +2 plus/minus rating.

Ariada NKH's Alexander Borisenko has been crowned the number one rookie. The forward took five points (2+3) and a plus/minus rating of +3.

Russian Ice Hockey Federation