AVS GOALIE TESTIFIES

Contradicts former girlfriend

Avalanche goalie Semyon Varlamov testified Friday that he restrained his longtime girlfriend when she attacked him in his apartment in late October 2013, but he never meant to hurt her.

His testimony contradicted what his former girlfriend, Vavrinyuk, said days earlier in a civil trial in Denver District Court. She said Varlamov kicked her, beat her and dragged her by the hair early Oct. 29, 2013, the morning after a Halloween party.

Varlamov took the stand on the fifth day of the trial.

“I was scared because I could see she wanted to fight with me,” he testified. “I was not afraid of her, but I was afraid she wanted to fight.”

Vavrinyuk filed a lawsuit against Varlamov in 2014, claiming he had beaten her for years before he was arrested on suspicion of felony kidnapping and assault. Prosecutors declined to file the kidnapping charge and later dropped amisdemeanor assault charge against Varlamov.

Varlamov’s attorney called him to the stand Friday. Through an interpreter, Varlamov described that night at the Halloween party.

He said Vavrinyuk complained he didn’t pay her enough attention. She also accused him of infidelity.

Varlamov said her accusations did not fuel an argument, but she continued yelling at him throughout the night.

“I tried to calm her down, but she was waving her hands,” Varlamov said Friday. “I really couldn’t listen anymore. I stood up and went to the men’s room. She ran after me.”

Varlamov instructed Vavrinyuk to leave the party and return to his apartment, where he met her around 5: 50 a. m. That’s when Vavrinyuk approached him in the entrance of his apartment and attacked him, he said.

Continuing his testimony, Varlamov said she struck him in the face twice and continued accusing him of infidelity. He then grabbed her arms to restrain her and led her into the bedroom, where he “laid her on the bed.”

The altercation continued moments later, he said, when Vavrinyuk chased Varlamov around the kitchen and threw two glasses at his head.

Varlamov said he attempted to lock himself in another bedroom, but she stuck her leg in the door before he had the chance. He noted that when Vavrinyuk finally calmed down, he locked the bedroom door and didn’t leave until the next morning.

Attorneys played surveillance footage of Varlamov entering his apartment building so that he could identify himself in his Halloween costume. Hewas dressed as Duffman, the beer- company mascot from the animated TV series “The Simpsons.”

During cross- examination, attorneys submitted photographs of Vavrinyuk’s injuries — some bruising on her arms, leg and chest. But Varlamov said he didn’t know where the bruises came from.

He did say the bruised areas on her arms were consistent with where he restrained her, and the markings on her leg matched with where he pushed the door against her during the fight.

The jury will hear the remaining evidence and closing statements Monday morning. A verdict is expected to be reached by Tuesday.