Russian Cup Gets Underway in Moscow, Kemerovo

BOULDER, Colorado -- The first leg of the Russian Cup began on Tuesday, with Moscow playing host to the West Division teams in Group I, and Kemerovo hosting Group II.

The tournament is a round robin that lasts until September 16. The top eight teams in each group will then move on to the second round, in which the 16 teams are divided into four groups, and again they play a round robin tournament. Finally, the first- and second-place finishers in each group of the second round move on to the single-elimination finals, to be held in Moscow November 3-5.

This upcoming season, the citizens of Orenburg will not be able to see their team, Lokomotiv, take part in the Cup or play in the top league, as their last place finish relegated them to the lower division. Their place in the West Division will be taken by Zorky-2, Zorky Krasnogorsk's alternate squad.

Here are the scores from the first two days of competition:

August 14

Zorky Krasnogorsk 12-2 Stroitel Syktyvkar (Group I)
Sayany Abakan 6-4 Metallurg Bratsk (Group II)
Sibselmash Novosibirsk 8-4 Lesokhimik Ust-Ilimsk (Group II)

August 15

Raketa Kazan 5-5 Rodina Kirov (Group I)
Sayany Abakan 2-1 Yenisei Krasnoyarsk (Group II)
Sibselmash Novosibirsk 8-2 Metallurg Bratsk (Group II)

Baikal-Energia Irkutsk does not begin their Russian Cup season until August 23, when they will take on SKA-Sverdlovsk Yekaterinburg. Here's the rest of Baikal's first round schedule (all times Eastern):

August 23 - SKA-Sverdlovsk Yekaterinburg, 2am
August 24 - SKA-Zabaikalets Chita, 2am
August 26 - SKA-Neftyanik Khabarovsk, 2am
August 27 - Mayak Krasnoturinsk, 2am
August 28 - Kuzbass Kemerovo*, 5am
September 9 - Yenisei Krasnoyarsk, 8am
September 11 - Sayany Abakan, 8am
September 12 - Metallurg Bratsk, 11pm
September 15 - Sibselmash Novosibirsk, 8am
September 16 - Lesokhimik Ust-Ilimsk, 8am

*Games marked in bold are key match-ups and/or regional rivalries for Baikal-Energia