1949, December 4: CDKA Moscow - Spartak Moscow 3-2
The opening game of the 1949-1950 season. Both teams play with two lines of five players, but only the starters are named:
CDKA (light shirts):
Vladimir Yelizarov – Anatoli Tarasov – Igor Kurbatov
Vladimir Menshikov – Vladimir Nikanorov
Grigory Mkrtychan
Spartak (dark shirts):
Nikolai Nilov – Igor Netto – Elmars Bauris
Anatoli Seglin – Boris Sokolov
Dmitri Petrov
Here's what the Soviet papers
Sovietsky Sport (SS),
Komsomolskaya Pravda (KP) and
Krasnaya Zvezda (KZ) wrote about the game.
First period:
SS: "The game begins with a swift attack by the army club. Their forward trio, led by Tarasov, breaks through to the Spartak goal, but they're too fussy in the goal area and fail to score. The Spartak players on their part counter with an attack on the opposing goal.
The teams change players. In the second unit of the Army team, the young player [Mikhail] Gashchenkov stands out notably. His swift runs on the wing make the experienced but not so fast Spartak defencemen Seglin and Sokolov nervous.
Another line change. The first five of CDKA are on the ice again. They attack hard and try to open the score. The Spartak defensemen shoot the puck into the other half. There it is picked up by Menshikov. His shot isn't successful and the puck lands on the stick of a Spartak foward. He quickly skates to the goal of the Army team and passes to [Vladimir] Novozhilov who puts the puck in the net. Spartak leads 1-0.
CDKA move Gashchenkov to the top five and drop Kurbatov to the second unit. Using the speed of the young player, the Army team begins to build their attacks on his breakthroughts. This tactic pays off. One of his lightning-fast attacks ends with an excellent throw that makes it 1-1."
KZ: "In the first two periods the game was hampered by heavy snowing. The puck did not slide well. The passes were inaccurate."
Second period:
SS: "In the second period, Spartak initially has a slight advantage. With quick combinations, Bauris, Nilov and Nettov take turns toward the goal of the Army team. In one of their appearances, confusion arises around the goal and Netto uses it to bring the score to 2-1.
The pace of the game is increasing. CDKA rush to the attack again and again, trying to get away from defeat."
KP: "For a long time, the attempts of the Army players to change the score failed to succeed. The Spartak defensemen skillfully destroyed their combination. Heavy snowfall significantly reduced the pace of the game and hampered the action of the players."
Third period:
KZ: "In the last period, the weather improved. The snow stopped falling and this immediately affected the pace of the game."
SS: "The Spartak players struggle to keep up with the ever-increasing pace of the game. Apparently the team is affected by the fact they didn't play a single preseason game. In the last 10 minutes, Nilov of Spartak is sent to the penalty bench for 5 minutes. However, the Army time doesn't have time to use their numerical advantage as Tarasov is also removed for 5 minutes.
Yelizarov has the puck. He moves well to the front line, goes around the goal and passes the puck back to Nikanorov who ties the game."
KP: "The attacks of the Army players became ever more insistent. At times the whole Spartak team was occupied with defending and could only launch occasional attacks. Still, five minutes before the end of the match, Nikanorov scored a goal with an accurate shot."
SS: "Nilov and then Tarasov return to the ice. In the last minute, another attack by the Army team follows and a spectacular shot by Tarasov brings his team the win."
KP: "Now Spartak made a tactical mistake that has already led to its defeat more than once. Their players threw themselves blindly into the defence and tried to maintain the draw. The whole Army team attacked. 30 seconds before the end, Tarasov scored the third and decisive goal for CDKA with a shot from a difficult position."
SS: "The champion has won a difficult, but very important victory. In the face of adverse weather (it was snowing throughout the game), the team has demonstrated an interesting, tactically well thought-out game."