Vityaz strikes again

Lowly Vityaz Chekhov followed up Wednesday’s win over defending champion Salavat Yulaev with a 3-2 victory against Ak Bars Kazan on Friday. The hosts raced into a 3-0 lead thanks to Evgeny Timkin (14:46), Alexander Fedoseyev (22:57) and Nikita Tochitsky (32:33).

That left Ak Bars on the ropes, but rising star Kirill Petrov engineered a recovery in the final period. He got the assist on Evgeny Bodrov’s goal before scoring himself to make it 3-2 with 7:24 left to play. Resolute defense - and an incredible 52 saves from goaltender Matt Dalton - ensured Vityaz clung on for a second shock win in the space of three days.

Smash and grab
The pressure on Salavat Yulaev Ufa’s coach Sergei Mikhalyov eased a fraction after his battled back to snatch an overtime win at Spartak Moscow. And it was Igor Mirnov who took the plaudits on the ice after leveling the game at 2-2 on 55:51 and grabbing the winner on 62:11. The hosts had opened up a 2-0 lead through Alexander Komaristy and Stefan Ruzicka, but could not hold on to that advantage. Vladislav Kartayev reduced the arrears on 26:09, barely two minutes after Ruzicka’s strike, then Mirnov took over.

Late drama
There was another dramatic finish in Mytishchi where Atlant Moscow Region hosted in-form Dinamo Minsk - and needed shoot-out to claim the win. Igor Musatov got the decisive goal in the series after a 2-2 draw. It seemed that last season’s runner-up had claimed a comeback win, only for Teemu Laine to pop up with his second goal of the night on 57:17. Laine had also opened the scoring on 20:20, but Atlant hit back to lead before the end of the second period despite losing Nikolai Zherdev on a 10+20 penalty after he tangled with Jere Karalahti. Ilya Kablukov and Dmitry Upper were the Atlant goalscorers.