Buteets Shines In Debut, Dragons Earn A Point In Overtime Loss To Metallurg

The Shanghai Dragons delivered a much more disciplined performance in their second game of the Minsk Cup, but Metallurg Magnitogorsk rallied late before claiming a 3–2 overtime win.

Shanghai spent far less time in trouble around its own net than it did in the tournament opener. When Metallurg did break through, the Dragons’ defense — and Vyacheslav Buteets behind it — was there to clean things up.

It was a demanding Dragons debut for the young goaltender, who faced 35 shots and turned aside 32, coming up with several key saves to keep Shanghai in the game.

Special Teams Deliver Again

After a scoreless opening period, Metallurg struck just 31 seconds into the second. Daniil Palivko opened the scoring, giving Magnitogorsk a 1–0 lead.

The Dragons responded by going to work on the power play.

At 27:49, Nick Cicek stepped into a shot from the blue line and beat Yegor Zavragin to tie the game at 1–1, with Semyon Koshelev and Vladislav Barulin picking up the assists.

It was another sign of encouraging early-season special-teams play for Shanghai. Both the power play and penalty kill have produced positive results through the opening two games in Minsk.

And the power play wasn’t finished.

Murray Puts Shanghai Ahead

With just over eight minutes remaining in regulation, Shanghai’s man advantage struck again.

Brett Murray established position at the net front and got his stick on a setup from Nick Petan and Brennan Menell, redirecting the puck home for his first goal as a Dragon and a 2–1 lead at 51:29.

That left Metallurg chasing the game, and the pressure increased as the clock wound down.

Magnitogorsk eventually pulled Zavragin for the extra attacker, and the move paid off. Yegor Zelenov scored at 57:59 to tie it at 2–2 and send the game to overtime.

Decided in Overtime

Shanghai had battled its way through another tight game, but the deciding moment came 2:33 into overtime.

Metallurg was awarded a penalty shot, and Igor Nechayev converted to give Magnitogorsk the 3–2 victory.

The result wasn’t the one Shanghai wanted, but the Dragons came away with plenty of positives: a composed performance from Buteets in his debut, two more power-play goals and a much tighter defensive effort.

This time, the margin between victory and defeat was razor-thin.

Minsk Cup Preseason Tournament — Day 2
Metallurg Magnitogorsk – Shanghai Dragons 3–2 OT (0–0, 1–1, 1–1, 1–0)

August 14 | Minsk, Olympic Arena | Attendance: 300
Goaltenders: Zavragin – Buteets

Scoring Summary

1–0 — Palivko (Korobkin, Siryatsky) — 20:31
1–1 — Cicek (Koshelev, Barulin) — 27:49 (PP)
1–2 — Murray (Petan, Menell) — 51:29 (PP)
2–2 — Zelenov (Tolchinsky, Vovchenko) — 57:59 (6-on-5)
3–2 — Nechayev — 62:33 (EN OTW)

Shanghai Dragons Media Relations, Minsk