2010-11 VHL season

The 2010–11 VHL season was the inaugural season of the Russian Major League. It started on September 11, 2010, and finished on February 28, 2011. 20 teams each played 56 games.
==Preseason==
Compared to the last 2009–10 Vysshaya Liga season where a total of 27 teams competed in 3 divisions, there will be a total of 20 teams and two conferences in the 2010–11 season: Western and Eastern. 18 of the 27 teams of the 2009–10 season compete in the 2010–11 season. Gazovik Tyumen were renamed to Rubin Tyumen, while Rubin's junior team, playing in the MHL, has the name Gazovik. Two new teams in the league are Lada Togliatti, excluded from the KHL after the 2009–10 season, and Dynamo Tver, the farm team of UHC Dynamo. The fates of the 9 of the 27 teams that participated in the league in 2009–10 but no longer do in 2010–11 are various: HC Yugra joined the KHL for 2010–11, Khimik were suggested by VHL's management to take a one year break and joined the MHL under the name MHC Khimik, the team from Orenburg, formerly known under the name Gazprom-OGU, also joined the MHL under the name Belye Tigry, Rys dissolved, the remaining 5 (e.g. CSK VVS Samara) joined the Pervaya Liga. HC Lipetsk was admitted into the league for 2010–11, but the team had to withdraw before the start of the season due to financial difficulties. Lipetsk's place was taken by Krylya Sovetov Moscow on 12 August 2010.
==Regular season==
During regular season teams are to play 4 games against teams from their conference (2 home and 2 away) and 2 games against teams from the opposite conference (1 home and 1 away). The first match of the regular season took place on September 11, 2010 in Perm. Molot-Prikamye's opponent was Toros Neftekamsk and the match ended 2 goals to 1 Toros' way after a shootout. Last games of the regular season will be held on 28 February 2011.
===Conference standings===
Western Conference 	GP	W	OTW	SOW	SOL	OTL	L 	GF	GA	Pts
PHC Krylya Sovetov 	16	8	1 	3 	0 	0 	3 	56	36	32
HC VMF St. Petersburg	15	9	0 	0 	1 	0 	5 	43	37	28
Dizel Penza 	15	7	1 	0 	2 	1 	4 	40	27	26
Neftyanik Almetyevsk 	15	5	2 	1 	2 	1 	4 	37	36	24
Ariada-Akpars Volzhsk	15	7	0 	0 	1 	1 	6 	49	50	23
HC Ryazan 	16	5	0 	0 	3 	1 	7 	37	54	19
HC Sarov 	15	3	0 	4 	2 	0 	6 	33	44	19
HC Dynamo Tver 	15	5	0 	1 	1 	0 	8 	39	51	18
Kristall Saratov 	15	3	0 	2 	0 	3 	7 	27	44	16
Lada Togliatti 	15	2	1 	0 	0 	0 	12	30	59	8
Eastern Conference 	GP	W 	OTW	SOW	SOL	OTL	L	GF	GA	Pts
Rubin Tyumen 	16	11	1 	1 	0 	0 	3	53	28	37
Toros Neftekamsk 	14	8 	0 	2 	0 	2 	2	44	22	30
Kazzinc-Torpedo 	15	8 	0 	0 	2 	0 	5	47	42	26
Yuzhny Ural Orsk 	15	6 	2 	0 	1 	1 	5	34	41	24
Zauralie Kurgan 	16	6 	1 	1 	0 	1 	7	42	41	23
Ermak Angarsk 	15	7 	0 	0 	0 	0 	8	40	36	21
Molot-Prikamye Perm 	13	5 	1 	1 	2 	0 	4	31	25	21
Izhstal Izhevsk 	14	4 	1 	2 	1 	0 	6	34	38	19
Mechel Chelyabinsk 	15	4 	1 	1 	1 	2 	6	37	38	19
Sputnik Nizhny Tagil	13	3 	2 	0 	0 	1 	7	30	34	14
===League leaders===
Source: vhlru.ru
Goals 	Alexander Zhurun (Tyumen) 	10
Assists 	Ruslan Bernikov (Moscow) 	11
Points 	Ruslan Bernikov (Moscow) 	17
Shots 	Ruslan Bernikov (Moscow) 	62
Plus/minus 	Evgeni Tunik (Neftekamsk) 	+11
Penalty minutes 	Alexander Romanovsky (Angarsk)	60
Wins (Goaltenders) 	 	
Goals against average	 	
Save percentage 	 	
Shutouts 	 	
Goaltenders: minimum 20 games played
==Playoffs==
The play-offs will feature 8 best teams of the Western Conference of the regular season and 8 best teams of the Eastern Conference of the regular season. The play-offs start 5 March 2011 and are to end on April 27, 2011 if match 7 of the final series is to be played. Conference quarter-finals and semi-finals are a best-of-five series, while the Conference finals and VHL finals are a best-of-seven series.
==References==
Category:2010 in hockey
Category:2011 in hockey
Category:Vysshaya Liga