In the first Ural derby of the deason, Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg edged out Traktor Chelyabinsk with a 3-2 victory in their home arena. Despite being heavily outshot, Avtomobilist's defense, led by an outstanding performance from goaltender Evgeny Alikin, who made 46 saves, was the key to securing the win. Traktor dominated the offensive play but couldn't break through Avtomobilist's resilient defense when it mattered most.

The game started with Traktor aggressively pressing, as expected from their preseason form. They spent most of the opening minutes in Avtomobilist's zone but struggled to generate high-quality chances. Avtomobilist capitalized on their first power play at 08:09 when Brendan Leipsic scored with a top-shelf shot, assisted by Anatoly Golyshev and Jesse Blacker. Just 19 seconds later, Traktor responded quickly, with Alexander Sharov's shot deflecting off Vladimir Kuznetsov to even the score at 1-1.

Traktor continued to dominate possession in the second period, but Avtomobilist's defense stood firm. At 26:56, in a short-handed situation, Curtis Valk and Stepan Khripunov executed a perfect 2-on-1 counterattack, with Khripunov finishing to give Avtomobilist a 2-1 lead. Traktor had a golden opportunity with a 5-on-3 power play shortly after but failed to convert. Avtomobilist extended their lead to 3-1 at 33:54 when Nick Ebert blasted a shot from the blue line during another power play. However, Traktor's Vitaly Kravtsov managed to score a crucial goal at 39:15, keeping his team within reach at 3-2.

The final period was dominated by Traktor, who threw everything at Avtomobilist in search of an equalizer. Traktor's relentless offense resulted in 42 shots (19 on goal) in the period alone, but Alikin was in top form, making save after save to maintain his team's slim lead. With just over a minute remaining, Traktor pulled their goalie for an extra attacker, but Avtomobilist's defense, bolstered by several crucial shot blocks, managed to hold on for the win.