Day of hat-tricks

Result of the day
Barys Astana – Sibir Novosibirsk 3-4. Usually, changing the coach during the season brings no good to anyone, but the Novosibirsk club have been disproving this rule. Under Andrei Tarasenko it seems there is a completely different team out there on the ice: aggressive, consistent, and ruthless.

What has the young coach changed? The first thing that catches the eye is the improvements to the last line of defense. Vladimir Semenov, the previous coach, admitted he would have gladly canceled Tomas Lawson's contract, but this would have been unwise for a club which is not one of the wealthiest. They have allowed Tarasenko to experiment with the goaltenders as he wished, and so Alexander Fomichev has already left for the lower league, Lawson has moved to the bench, and now Yury Klyuchnikov is impressing between the pipes, seemingly determined to hold on to his place at the top level.

Further changes were not needed. The defense, feeling the confidence a good goaltender gives, began to help the attackers more. And the attackers cannot get enough of such help. It seems that Alexander Kharitonov and Leos Cermak are getting to the desired level.

And the same can be said of Vladimir Tarasenko, who is considered to be almost certainly the strongest young player in the country. While they stay in the play-off zone, it is a tremendous result for Novosibirsk.

In the day’s other matches, Amur lost on their own ice to Avangard, 2-4, Salavat Yulaev defeated Metallurg Novokuznetsk, 4-2, Spartak lost to Dinamo Riga, 2-3, Neftekhimik hammered Lada, 9-2, Lokomotiv outplayed Dynamo Moscow, 3-0, Severstal were beaten by Atlant, 1-5, and HC MVD, with the narrowest advantage, overcame Dinamo Minsk, 2-1.

Two hat-tricks…
At once, two players struck three goals past their opponents. Niklas Persson of Neftekhimik had a simply unbelievable match. On top of his hat-trick, he added two assists and finished the game with a +6. Meanwhile, Nikolai Zherdev (pictured) of Atlant scored three goals in a match for the first time at this level. He had never before scored more than a double in any game in our championship.

…and more
Neftekhimik’s Maxim Yakutsenya has become only the second attacker, after Alexei Morozov, to score four goals in a match in the current championship. He beat his Kazan colleague for speed, needing only 14 minutes 59 seconds. The last time Maxim scored more than two was back in season 2007-08, when as an Avangard player he struck three goals against Metallurg Novokuznetsk. It is worth noting that, in the match with Lada, Yakutsenya has equaled the championship record, having earned a rating of +6.

Seven clubs in five years
In the match versus Avangard Omsk, 21-year-old attacker Mikhail Glukhov debuted for Amur Khabarovsk. The Far Eastern club became the seventh of his short career. After appearing for Elektrostal, Mikhail moved to Khimki, then played at Ryazan, Togliatti and Klin. Furthermore, this season Glukhov played three matches for Atlant. Glukhov is the 34th player to turn out for Amur in the current championship.

Not his day
Three times this season Amur goaltender Sergei Borisov has been substituted during the game. The match against Avangard was Borisov’s worst, when he conceded two goals from six shots. In September he was replaced in the game against Severstal, after letting in three goals from 18 attempts, and again when he shipped three goals from 25 strikes in October against Metallurg Magnitogorsk.

Nightmare November
Metallurg Novokuznetsk players will want to strike November from their memories. They lost all eight matches, collecting just a solitary point. In three of the eight games, Dmitri Parkhomenko’s team failed to score, and during the month they conceded 24 goals.

Zinovyev the leader
Salavat Yulaev forward Sergei Zinovyev, after scoring one goal and assisting in another in the match with Metallurg Novokuznetsk, now heads the list of the club’s highest scoring players, with 36 points (13+23) - one more than Alexander Radulov.

Never conceded nine before
In the last 10 years not once had Lada let in nine goals in one game. There was the heavy home defeat at the hands of Severstal, 0-7, and in the second stage of the Russian Championship, in season 2000-01, the Togliatti men were destroyed by Metallurg Magnitogorsk, 8-1.

First goalless match
For the first time this season Dynamo Moscow failed to pierce their opponents’ defense. Last season the Blue-and-Whites drew a blank four times during the regular championship and twice during the play-offs.

Figures of the day
47 shots at the Metallurg Novokuznetsk goal from Salavat Yulaev.

27 minutes 48 seconds spent in play by Barys defenseman Kevin Dallman.

80% of 15 face-offs won by Dinamo Minsk forward Jeff Platt.

7 shots at goal by Lokomotiv defenseman Alexander Guskov.

Key players
Georgy Gelashvili (Lokomotiv). Saved all 32 shots and helped his team in the match against Dynamo Moscow.

Alexander Guskov (Lokomotiv). Scored two goals, the second being the hundredth of the championship.

Lasse Kukkonen (Avangard). Scored a goal, and finished the match with a +1.

Maxim Yakutsenya (Neftekhimik). Scored three goals, and finished the match with a +6.

Niklas Persson (Neftekhimik). Earned five points, having scored three goals and made two assists, and also finished the match with a +6.

Vladimir Tarasenko (Sibir). Scored two goals and earned a rating of +3.

Quotes
“In short - skill defeated discipline.” – Amur head coach Alexander Blinov.

“We created enough chances for three games.” – Dynamo Moscow head coach Andrei Khomutov.

“Today for us was a game of three different periods.” – Sibir head coach Andrei Tarasenko.

“You still shouldn’t see such a game involving your own players.” – acting head coach at Lada Sergei Svetlov.

“No movement, no direction, no aggression.” – Spartak Moscow head coach Milos Riha.

“We cannot even guess with the goaltenders, we’re changing them practically every game.” – Severstal head coach Dmitry Kvartalnov.

Alexei Shevchenko, khl.ru