Lada snapped a six-game losing streak with a road win at Ugra, sending the host to a first loss in three games.
The build-up had been overshadowed by news of Lukas Kaspar’s five-game ban for the Khanty-Mansiysk team, while Ugra also celebrated the signing of goalie Barry Brust from Medvescak. Brust did not feature in today’s game, however, with Stepan Goryachevskikh on duty between the piping.
He was beaten in the fifth minute by Semyon Valuisky, and the game swung decisively in Lada’s favour early in the second period. Georgy Belousov and Anton Shenfeld (pictured) scored in quick succession, both getting an assist on the other’s goal into the bargain.
Artyom Bulyansky gave Ugra hope when he converted a penalty shot and Denis Sokolov made it 3-2 with barely two minutes left to play, but Lada held on to end its losing streak.
