A number of incidents from Thursday’s games were brought to the attention of the KHL Disciplinary Committee, and three players have received bans as a result.

The Committee reviewed the 28th-minute brawl in Ufa between Salavat Yulaev defenseman Maxim Goncharov and Spartak forward Vyacheslav Leshchenko, for which Goncharov had been given a minor plus major plus misconduct penalty by the match referee. The Committee decided the Ufa man, as the instigator of the conflict, deserved harsher disciplinary measures, and has therefore replaced Maxim Goncharov’s 2+5+10-minute penalty with a major plus game misconduct penalty (5+20 minutes) and a one-game suspension.

In the 31st minute of the game in Novokuznetsk between Metallurg and Avangard, the referee gave Omsk defenseman Denis Kulyash a major plus game misconduct penalty (5+20 minutes) for checking to the head and neck area in a hit on home forward Daniil Yerdakov. The Committee upheld the decision and imposed on Kulyash a one-game suspension for the offense. This was the player’s second 20-minute penalty of the current season, following an earlier punishment for abuse of the officials, which means he also receives an automatic one-game suspension for repeat offending. Denis Kulyash is therefore banned for two games.

The final episode to come under official scrutiny involved another game misconduct for checking to the head and neck area, in this case as a result of Sibir forward Artyom Voroshilo’s hit on Barys forward Nigel Dawes in the 13th minute of the match in Novosibirsk. The Committee supported the referee’s decision and ruled that Artyom Voroshilo serve a two-game suspension.