The first official ice hockey tournament in Gorky (the Communist-era name of Nizhny Novgorod) took place in early 1947, when the team was the winner of the first Avtozavodtsev Cup. In the 1947–48 season, the team was in the national championship. It was the official sports club of the submarine service of the Soviet Navy.[citation needed] The 1960–61 season was the most significant in the history of Torpedo, with the team winning the Avtozavodtsev Cup and the Soviet Sport Cup, reaching the final of the Cup of the Soviet Union, and finally winning the silver medal in the national championship. Torpedo was the first provincial team to place in the USSR championship in 1961. Gorkovchan's success that year is attributed, primarily, to head coach Dmitry Boginova, who managed to create a strong and cohesive team in just a few years. Goalie Konovalenko was later a two-time Olympic champion and eight-time world champion.[citation needed]
Twice the team fell just short of the bronze in 1982 and 1985. In the 1980s, Gorky twice won the Thunderstorm Authority prize. The Torpedo players in those years were constantly being called to different teams, with some seasons including the loss of up to ten players to other teams.[1] In the championships of the MHL, RHL and Russia, which have been held since the Soviet collapse, Torpedo has not achieved significant success, with the best year in 1995, when the team placed fourth in the playoffs of the MHL championship.[citation needed]
Season-by-season KHL record
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, OTW = Overtime Wins, OTL = Overtime Losses, SOW = Shootout Wins, SOL = Shootout Losses, L = Losses, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, Pts = Points
