Two years removed from being swept in their Gagarin Cup finals debut, Lokomotiv Yaroslavl is now in the midst of building a dynasty, repeating as champions with a 3-2 victory over Ak Bars in Game Six of the finals in Kazan.

After a second straight year with a seven game series against Avangard Omsk, the Railwaymen now faced last year’s semifinal challenger in the final instead. In a back and forth series where each team exchanged wins, meaning Lokomotiv would have to win consecutive tilts for the first time in the series to avoid a pivotal Game Seven back in Yaroslavl. An early pair of goals from Yegor Surin, paired with an insurance goal by Maxim Shalunov within the final ten minutes, would serve as enough to hold off Kazan. Despite a pair of late extra attacker goals, Danil Isayev would turn away 26 of 28 shots to give Loko their second straight Gagarin Cup, and fifth Russian league title overall.

Lokomotiv saw sixteen IHLC champions from four countries (Russia, Belarus, Slovakia and Canada) on the roster hoist the Cup, including Isayev, who with his five playoff shutouts was named playoff MVP, team captain Alexander Yelesin, and the seemingly ageless Alexander Radulov, who has turned back the clock to lead the club in points and win his third Gagarin Cup.

Our congratulations go out to the players, management and fans of Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, with those on the roster that have also held the IHLC highlighted in bold:

Photo Credit: RIA – IIHF – HHOF – IOC