Amur Khabarovsk 2 Traktor Chelyabinsk 3 SO (0-0, 2-2, 0-0, 0-0, 0-1)
It took more than four hours, but finally Traktor scored a goal. More than that, Anvar Gatiyatullin’s team snapped a three-game losing streak after edging a shoot-out verdict at Amur.
Two days earlier, the Tigers beat Traktor 2-0. That was the third successive game in which the visitor failed to score. And the goal drought continued through the first period. Traktor created chances, and even had a brief spell of 5-on-3 power play. However, finishing off chances continued to be a problem.
Midway through the second period, though, the curse was lifted. A quick attack saw Kirill Kapustin shoot for the top corner. Evgeny Alikin stopped that one, but the puck went straight to Pyotr Khokhryakov’s stick and he made no mistake with the follow up chance. That ended a wait of 247 minutes, 15 seconds for a goal. Traktor’s previous marker came late in the first period of its game at Sibir on Nov. 7.
The wait for another goal lasted just 26 seconds. Adam Almquist doubled his team’s lead and collected his first of the season. However, Amur hit back late in the second period and goals from Sergei Lapin and Vladislav Barulin tied the scores.
It remained deadlocked right the way through overtime. However, the shoot-out went to the visitor. Nikita Tertyshny, still awaiting his first goal of the season, got the decider for Traktor.
Vityaz Moscow Region 2 Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 1 OT (1-0, 0-1, 0-0, 1-0)
After scoring 19 goals in its previous four games, Torpedo’s offense hit a bump in Balashikha. Vityaz did a good job of limiting opportunities for Igor Larionov’s men as the Moscow Region club took this one to overtime.
In the extras, Vityaz snapped Torpedo’s winning streak when Vladimir Galuzin grabbed the decisive goal. Galuzin, now 34, is a native of Nizhny Novgorod who began his career within the Torpedo system and represented the club for 11 seasons in the KHL.
Earlier, Vityaz opened the scoring late in the first half when Ivan Yezhov set up a swift counterattack for Vitaly Popov. He took the chance well, outwitting Adam Huska in the Torpedo net to break the deadlock. Huska was almost beaten again right before the intermission when he spilled an Alexei Volgin shot, but Daniil Ilyin could not stuff the rebound through the Slovak goalie’s pads.
In the second period, the home team had a second goal whistled off for a hand pass. Torpedo was struggling to generate its usual offensive fluency, but a power play chance gave the visitor a lifeline. In-form Sergei Goncharuk grabbed it, scoring the seventh goal of his five-game scoring streak. However, it would not be enough to deny Vityaz thanks to Galuzin’s OT winner.
Spartak Moscow 4 Severstal Cherepovets 2 (0-1, 1-1, 3-0)
Spartak’s new head coach, Igor Grishin, began with a game in which his team blew a 2-0 lead before winning in a shoot-out. Today, we saw almost the reverse as the Red-and-Whites rallied from 0-2 down to beat Severstal.
The winner of this game would move up the table into at least seventh place, while the loser would be left in ninth, outside the playoff spots. And it was Severstal that built the lead. Nikolai Timashov put the visitor ahead midway through the first period, then Maxim Kazakov doubled the advantage early in the second. The Steelmen, like Spartak, had won their previous two games. At this stage, they looked poised to continue that streak.
However, Spartak has shown plenty of fight since the departure of former head coach Boris Mironov. After securing back-to-back derby wins against CSKA and Dynamo, the home team was ready to continue that streak. Shane Prince pulled a goal back late in the second period, then Roman Starchenko tied it up in the third. Starchenko’s goal was subject to a challenge from Andrei Razin on the Severstal bench. He believed that goalie Dmitry Shugayev was impeded as the veteran Kazakh scored. However, the video review upheld the on-ice decision and Severstal had to contend with a bench minor for delay of game.
The visitor killed that penalty, but fell behind nonetheless when another power play presented Phil Varone with the chance to make it 3-2 in the 53rd minute. And penalty trouble continued to let Severstal down, Late in the game, Starchenko’s second of the night wrapped up a second win for Grishin in his two games behind the bench for his new club.