Ak Bars grabs OT win, Sochi suffers another OT loss. November 6 round-up
Severstal rallied from 0-2 in Sunday’s big game against Ak Bars, only to fall to a goal in the final seconds of overtime. Sochi again led 3-1 in the third period, only to let its lead slip and lose to Dinamo Minsk in overtime. Earlier in the day, Avangard defeated Vityaz 3-1 and Admiral beat Dynamo Moscow for the first time on home ice.
Dynamo loses in Vladivostok for the first time
Admiral Vladivostok 2 Dynamo Moscow 1 (2-0, 0-0, 0-1)
Admiral made a little piece of history with its first ever KHL victory at home to Dynamo. The Sailors, whose recent form has been impressive, made just one change from the previous game as former Dynamo man Nikolai Chebykin returned to the third line. Dynamo, fresh from a 4-1 win over Metallurg, welcomed Pavel Kudryavtsev back to the team.
The visitor made a strong start to the game and spent plenty of time in the Admiral zone. However, midway through the first period a penalty on Jordan Weal presented the home team with the chance to get ahead and Danil Faizullin took it. Libor Sulak’s assist extended his productive streak to four games. Late in the frame, Admiral increased its lead just as another power play was coming to an end. Alexander Gorshkov collected his 100th assist in the KHL to set up Chebykin.
In the second period, Dynamo started to look more for individual skill to unlock the home defense. However, that was unable to get past Nikita Serebryakov in the Admiral net. The Blue-and-Whites were also unable to capitalize on four power plays as the home team defended stoutly.
That, largely, was the story of the third period as well. Late in the action, Dynamo finally got on the scoreboard as Maxim Dzhioshvili notched for the fourth game in a row. However, Admiral withstood the late surge from the visitor to record its first ever win over this opponent in Vladivostok.
Hawks avenge opening-day loss
Avangard Omsk 3 Vityaz Moscow Region 1 (1-1, 1-0, 1-0)
These teams met in their opening game of the season, and a last-gasp win for Vityaz set the tone for Avangard’s bad start to the campaign. Back on home ice, the Hawks were out for revenge – and Mikhail Kravets’ team got off to a fast start against his former club.
There were just 17 seconds gone when Corban Knight placed his shot beyond Dmitry Shikin. The goalie was doubtless distracted by the advance of Reid Boucher, who crashed into the net. However, although the puck crossed the line after the goal was off its moorings, under current rules it was a legitimate play and a video review confirmed Avangard’s lead.
Vityaz responded well to adversity. In the third minute, the visitor tied the scores through Alexander Yaremchuk. After that, the game continued with plenty of scoring opportunities. Avangard had the better of them but was unable to regain its lead before the intermission.
In the middle frame, Avangard continued to enjoy the lion’s share of possession and territory. The home team also created more promising opportunities, but Vityaz did a good job of playing a counterattacking game. For much of the period, the two teams cancelled each other out. However, just before the intermission Vladimir Zharkov earned a power play for the host and once again Avangard showed off its formidable power play. Vladimir Tkachyov and Alexei Bereglazov set up a shooting chance for Boucher, who duly potted his 15th of the season.
In the third, with Vityaz forced to chase the game, the visitor looked to prove that it was capable of dictating the tempo. Vyacheslav Butsayev’s players began to take control of the puck and put ever-increasing pressure on Vasily Demchenko’s net. It was no surprise when this pressure led to a Vityaz power play, but the home defense defended strongly and there was little danger during the man advantage.
Once back at full strength, Avangard looked to manage the game for the remaining minutes. Vityaz continued to push for a tying goal, but ultimately allowed a late goal for Alex Broadhurst to wrap up the win.
Ak Bars edges OT verdict
Severstal Cherepovets 2 Ak Bars Kazan 3 OT (0-0, 0-2, 2-0, 0-1)
Both these teams were hoping that shoot-out wins in their previous outings marked a much-needed upturn in their fortunes. Severstal snapped a six-game losing streak with a 5-4 verdict against Sochi, while Ak Bars answered some of its critics by edging Salavat Yulaev 2-1.
Today, the visitor had to withstand early pressure as Severstal went out hard in pursuit of back-to-back wins. The Steelmen had the better of the first period, outshooting Ak Bars 12-5. However, it was noticeable that as the play progressed, the visitor began to look stronger, especially after killing a penalty on Nikita Lyamkin.
That gave Ak Bars confidence to take into the middle stanza, and just 18 seconds after the restart Alexander Radulov converted that into the opening goal. Radulov has been at the center of the discussions around his team’s inconsistent form. Today, he delivered his answer on the ice when he picked his spot to score with a wrister from the deep slot. That was Radulov’s ninth goal of the season, keeping out in front in team scoring this term with 17 (9+8) points from 25 games.
Dmitry Voronkov got an assist on that goal, but soon found himself in the box. Shorthanded did not mean short of power: Artyom Galimov extended the lead in the 24th minute.
Despite falling behind, Severstal did not lose its way in this game. The home team was evenly matched with its visitor throughout the second period but could not find a way to beat Timur Bilyalov. Severstal’s opening goal didn’t arrive until midway through the third, and it came in unlikely circumstances. A double minor penalty for Dmitry Moiseyev invited Ak Bars to push forward in search of a third, killer goal. Instead, though, Ruslan Abrosimov’s breakaway ended with him being fouled by Vadim Shipachyov. Abrosimov picked himself up to convert the penalty shot and put his team right back in the game with time enough to salvage something.
Then Radulov took a penalty and Severstal converted the power play to tie the game. This time Adam Liska got the goal as Andrei Razin moved to 6-on-4 hockey. Not for the first time this season, Ak Bars’ faced questions about its ability to harness its undoubted talent and convert it into a winning team.
More immediately, Oleg Znarok’s charges had to negotiate overtime against a Severstal team enjoying a rush of momentum. Razin again withdrew goaltender Dmitry Shugayev, hoping to force the pace and grab another victory. This time, though, his gamble misfired. Late in the extras, Ak Bars won possession and Ilya Safonov scored into the empty net to give his team a hard-fought verdict.
More heartache for Sochi
Dinamo Minsk 4 HC Sochi 3 OT (1-0, 0-2, 2-1, 1-0)
After a painful loss at Severstal, where basement club Sochi blew a 3-1 lead to fall to an 11th successive loss, Sergei Svetlov’s team suffered a similar fate in Minsk. Again, the visitor was up 3-1 in the third period but, again, went down in overtime.
Dinamo got ahead in the seventh minute thanks to a power play goal. Nick Merkley was the scorer, collecting a Joseph Duszak pass wide on the left and advancing into the center before shooting beyond defenseman Brandon Gormley and goalie Mikhail Berdin.
Late in the second period, Sochi turned the game around with two quick goals. Artur Tyanulin’s quick breakaway led to the tying goal: his shot squeezed behind Konstantin Shostak and Danil Avershin reacted fastest to slip the puck into the open net. That was a first KHL goal for the 20-year-old.
Soon Avershin was on his way to his first taste of victory with Sochi this season. Tigran Yarulin stripped the puck from Pavel Varfolomeyev and quickly released Yegor Babenko for a one-on-one with Shostak. The home goalie, badly exposed by his defense, could do little to prevent the struggling visitor taking a 2-1 lead into the second intermission.
Early in the third, it got even better for the visitor when Nikita Popugayev added a third. Dinamo had a chance to get back into contention with a power play shortly after that and managed to reduce the deficit with 10 to play thanks to Igor Martynov with Duszak picking up his second assist of the game. That goal came seconds after Maxim Tretyak took over from Berdin in the visitor’s net. And Tretyak was beaten again when Vitaly Pinchuk tied it up with just over three minutes to play. Pinchuk’s goal was awarded after a video review, and for the second time in two games Sochi had let a 3-1 lead slip in the third period of a game.
And that was punished in the extras when Duszak added to his two assists with a winning goal three seconds before the hooter.
