Magnitka battles back

Metallurg Magnitogorsk tightened its grip on third place in the Eastern Conference with a comeback 2-1 win over Avangard Omsk - despite the visitors dominating for long periods. Avangard took the lead in the first period when Roman Cervenka reacted first after Georgjis Pujacs shot from the blue line was charged away. But Magnitka equalized on 28:56 when Yury Alexandrov was caught in possession trying to clear Avangard’s lines: Tomas Rolinek’s deft lay-off enabled Juhamatti Aaltonen to fire past unsighted goaltender Karri Ramo. And Ramo was beaten again on 46:20 when Anton But produced an inch-perfect finish to settle the game. While Ramo was withdrawn, his Finnish compatriot Ari Ahonen remained on the ice to pull off 35 saves on the night.