Happy anniversary

Salavat Yulaev Ufa celebrated its 50th anniversary in style with a 4-2 win over Avangard Omsk. The defending champion may still be struggling for consistency after the departure of head coach Sergei Mikhailov, but produced an improved performance to mark the big day with a big win. Igor Mirnov put up 1+1 – including the game-winning third goal – to lead the way for the hosts and ensure that Alexander Frolov’s pair for Avangard didn’t spoil the party. Salavat’s leading scorer, Oleg Saprykin, was on the mark again with his 11th goal of the season, while Alexander Radulov weighed in with an assist on Sergei Zinoviev’s goal to put the game beyond the visitors’ reach.

Ak Bars silence Metalurg
Ak Bars Kazan and Metalurg Magnitogorsk - long standing Eastern Conference rivals - clashed in Tatarstan, with the hosts winning 2-0. Forward Maxim Spiridonov, who recently moved from Magnitka to Ak Bars, got his second goal in his new club's colors to open the scoring, while goaltender Petri Vehanen pulled off 27 saves to frustrate the visitors. Danis Zaripov sealed the scoring in the third period.

Around the league
Dinamo Riga picked up a narrow road win for the second game running, beating Metalurg Novokuznetsk in a shoot-out after a 1-1 draw. As at CSKA, the Latvians took an early lead thanks to Martins Karsums, but were pegged back by an Alexander Mereskin effort on 57:49. Alexanders Nizivijs got the crucial shoot-out goal.

Konstantin Rudenko settled an entertaining game in Novosibirsk, where Atlant beat Sibir 3-2. Rudenko’s winner came on 50:12 in a game where the hosts had twice taken the lead, thanks to Alexander Chernikov and Stepan Sannikov.