On March 11, during the 1/8 final of the Gagarin Cup, Amur hosted Metallurg and suffered a 2:3 overtime defeat. The game unfolded with both teams showcasing tight defense and a quick tempo that kept the stadium buzzing from opening horn to final horn.
Arkhip Nekolenko opened the scoring in the sixth minute, underscoring Amur’s early push. By the end of the second period, Dmitry Shevchenko found his balance and evened the score, setting the stage for a dramatic finish. As the clock wound down in regulation, the teams traded momentum. In the 57th minute, Igor Geraskin again put Metallurg ahead, lifting the visitors with a well-placed shot that pierced the net just as the crowd roared. Moments later, Alex Broadhurst leveled the tie, sending the game into overtime in a blaze of intensity.
In the extra frame, Nikita Grebenkin delivered the deciding blow, his puck finding its mark to seal the victory for Metallurg. The win propelled Magnitogorsk into the quarterfinals of the Gagarin Cup, marking them as the seventh team to reach that stage this season. Earlier, Chelyabinsk Traktor, Omsk Avangard, Spartak, Lokomotiv, SKA, and Avtomobilist had already advanced. Dynamo Moscow and Minsk were set to collide in the next game of their series on March 12, with Moscow holding the lead in that matchup.
The current holder of the Gagarin Cup is CSKA. On its 100th anniversary on April 29, 2023, the club captured the cup by defeating Ak Bars Kazan in the decisive seventh game of the final series. This milestone underscored CSKA’s enduring dominance in the league and its storied franchise history [Attribution: Gagarin Cup records and team histories].
In other coverage, a separate report highlighted a controversial moment involving SKA’s coach Rotenberg, who reportedly threw his stick during a recent game, drawing attention to on-ice emotions and the high stakes of playoff hockey. Such incidents are part of the broader narrative of the league as teams push through the pressure of late-season play and strive for postseason glory [Attribution: incident reports in league coverage].