By Dmitry Komashko
Sergey Makarov captained the Chelyabinsk veterans, including local stars such as Karpov, Gusmanov and Gomolyako. Meanwhile, Vyacheslav Fetisov’s Moscow team boasted coaches from Spartak and SKA, Fiodor Kanareikin and Alexey Gusarov, alongside the leader of the KHL trade union, Andrey Kovalenko, and the manager of the women’s team, Alexey Yashin. Chelyabinsk Governor Mikhail Yurevich also took part, in addition to KHL President Alexander Medvedev.
The squads also featured Belarusians, including the Director of Minsk Dinamo, outstanding Igor Matushkin, who scored during the game. Sadly, during the third period, Vyacheslav Fetisov and Sergey Fiodorov tied the score to 4:4.
The skills round was won by Zapad, which included Minsk Dinamo player Tim Stapleton. The latter also helped Zapad in the final match of the weekend. The squad’s eighth goal came early in the third period, claimed by Varnakov, which reduced the 11 point lead by Vostok. Then, Zapad scored three more times, with Ilya Kovalchuk’s puck hitting the net just 35 seconds before the end of the match. However, the final score of 11:18 left Vostok with a clear victory and a near record score, only matched by Jagr in the 2011 All-Star Game.
