Record-breaking loss for Sochi. January 10 round-up
Vityaz maintained its playoff push with a 3-2 win at Sochi. In the process it handed a 20th straight loss to the Leopards, who now hold an unwanted KHL record losing streak. Elsewhere, the individual performance of the day came from Severstal’s Alexander Petunin who had a hand in all four goals before his team defeated Torpedo in a shoot-out. Avtomobilist snapped its eight-game losing streak with a good win against CSKA, while Western Conference leader SKA edged Spartak 3-2. Dynamo Moscow defeated Salavat Yulaev by the same scoreline, despite seeing a 2-0 lead evaporate in just 26 seconds.
Motormen win at last
Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 4 CSKA Moscow 2 (1-1, 1-0, 2-1)
After nine successive losses, Avtomobilist ended its skid. And the Motormen did it in some style, defeating in-form CSKA to consolidate their place at the top of the Eastern Conference.
Both teams made changes for this game. Avtomobilist raised eyebrows by putting Vladimir Kuznetsov and Dmitry Zhukenov into the top six. Both forwards have spent the bulk of this season in the VHL. CSKA, meanwhile, rotated its lines and also brought Adam Reideborn back as starting goalie.
The visitor might have grabbed a first minute lead when Anton Slepyshev got a one-on-one chance against Igor Bobkov. However, the goalie made the save and despite a poor start from the home team, it was Avtomobilist that opened the scoring through Brooks Macek. CSKA responded midway through the opening frame, when the home defense broke down trying to clear its zone and Nikita Nesterov found himself perfectly placed to fire home.
The game remained deadlocked until the first intermission. CSKA had more time on the attack, but neither team was able to create many clear chances. That pattern continued at the start of the second. The Muscovites territorial advantage was neutralized by disciplined home defense, while at the other end Avtomobilist had a couple of breakaways that generated more anticipation than genuine danger.
However, once Avto got a power play chance, the home side took advantage. Zhukenov marked his return to the first team with the go-ahead goal, helped by a deflection off Fredrik Claesson’s skate. Strangely, that goal seemed to quiet both teams. It was not until late in the middle frame that CSKA woke up, while Avtomobilist showed little apparent interest in extending its lead.
In the third period, Avto created a couple of great chances. The second fell to Andrei Obidin, who failed to score but drew a double minor. Sergei Shirokov, once a CSKA player, converted that chance in his trademark style.
That effort left CSKA needing to pull back two goals in the final 10 minutes, something that no team has managed against Avtomobilist so far this season. The Muscovites tried hard to change that record and managed to get one goal back through Slepyshev on the power play. That prompted Sergei Fedorov to withdraw his goalie three minutes from the end, but the gamble backfired. Kuznetsov scored into the empty net to get his team back to winning ways.
Petunin outpoints Kovalenko, Severstal edges Torpedo
Severstal Cherpovets 5 Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 4 SO (2-1, 1-2, 1-1, 0-0, 1-0)
Alexander Petunin followed up a game-winning performance against Kunlun Red Star with an even more productive evening against Torpedo. The Severstal forward scored a hat-trick and assisted on Kirill Pilipenko’s goal as the teams tied 4-4 in regulation. Then he handed over to Robin Press as the Swedish defenseman got the decider in the shoot-out.
Petunin had 2+1 in his previous game, and set about improving on that here. After Nikolai Kovalenko gave Torpedo an early lead, Petunin scored twice in the first period to give the home team the edge. In the second session, Kovalenko scored again to tie it up before Pilipenko quickly restored Severstal’s advantage.
Four seconds before the intermission Denis Yan tied the game at 3-3. Remarkably, this was only goal of the eight scored in regulation that involved neither Petunin nor Kovalenko. Early in the third, Torpedo moved ahead once more on a short handed tally from Maxim Letunov (Kovalenko this time among the helpers) but before the power play was done Pilipenko set up Petunin for his hat-trick.
The remaining 12 minutes of regulation could not produce a winner, and nor could overtime. Perhaps surprisingly, Petunin was not seen in the shoot-out. At the other end, Kovalenko’s attempt was saved by Alexander Samonov before Press settled it in Severstal’s favor. Torpedo suffered its first loss in 2023, having finished 2022 with a 2-3 reverse here in Cherepovets.
Lilja halts Ufa comeback
Dynamo Moscow 3 Salavat Yulaev Ufa 2 (1-0, 1-0, 1-2)
Salavat Yulaev battled back from 0-2 to tie this game in Moscow, but ended up falling to a late goal from Jakob Lilja. The Swede struck in the 58th minute to halt Ufa’s three-game winning streak. Earlier in the third period, two goals in 26 seconds from the visitor had threatened to turn the game on its head. Instead, though, Dynamo took the verdict and remains in the thick of the race for a top-four finish in the West.
The game was evenly contested in the early stages. Neither goaltender was given that much work to do, but Dynamo found an opening goal midway through the session. Maxim Dzhioshvili, a forward enjoying a breakout season this term, punished the visiting defense after it lost possession behind its own net.
In the second period, Salavat Yulaev got its first power play of the game – and promptly gave up a second goal. No sooner had Ivan Drozdov hit the piping at one end, than Dynamo went to the other and made it 2-0 through Vladislav Yefremov’s first goal of the season. The visitor had plenty of time on the attack during the period but none of its 12 shots could beat Ilya Konovalov.
That all changed midway through the third, when a quickfire salvo turned the game on its head. Danil Aimurzin flashed in a shot over Konovalov’s glove to reduce the arrears. Then, 26 seconds later, Nikolai Kulemin fired home after pouncing on a loose puck in the Dynamo zone.
Suddenly, it was anyone’s game. Salavat Yulaev looked the more likely winner, but the visitor was undone in the closing stages. Bogdan Trineyev’s break down the right forced a save out of Andrei Kareyev, who sent the puck behind the net. Lilja won a battle for possession and came back to the slot to fire in a shot that deflected home off Kareyev’s skate to give Dynamo the win.
League leader edges lively clash
SKA St. Petersburg 3 Spartak Moscow 2 (2-0, 1-2, 0-0)
An entertaining game in Petersburg saw SKA edge Spartak by the odd goal in five. The visitor arrived on the back of an encouraging 5-3 win at Lokomotiv and worked hard to prove that the result in Yaroslavl was no fluke. However, SKA showed why it has led the way for so much of this season and took a win that leaves the visitor in seventh place, level on points with Severstal.
It was all SKA in the first period. The home team had the better of the game, despite three power play chances for Spartak. Pressure turned into goals, with Zakhar Bardakov opening the scoring in the eighth minute when he turned and fired home from the slot. Nikita Gusev doubled that advantage when he fired home Marat Khusnutdinov’s feed.
However, at the start of the second period, Spartak found a way back into the game. Maxim Tsyplakov hit the post with a wrist shot, and from the next attack the visitor pulled a goal back. Shane Prince broke down the wing and set up Alexander Khokhlachyov, whose effort dropped kindly for Joey Keane to stuff the puck home from close range. After that, the visitor killed two penalties but was caught out by a long-range effort from Svyatoslav Grebenshchikov. But Spartak ended the middle frame on a high. SKA had to endure 80 seconds of 3-on-5 play and, after surviving that scare, gave up a second goal. Artyom Serikov was scorer, getting his fifth of the season to make it 3-2 at the second intermission.
Serikov’s goal set up an intriguing third period. Spartak went out hard in a bid to save the game and the visitor had marginally the better of play. However, it could not find a way past Dmitry Nikolayev in the home net. The closest we came to a tying goal was in the 42nd minute, when Matvei Zaseda hit the post, but SKA survived that scare and managed to close out the verdict.
Sochi suffers unwanted record
HC Sochi 2 Vityaz Moscow Region 3 (1-2, 0-1, 1-0)
Sochi fell to a 20th successive loss and now holds an unwanted KHL record. The Leopards losing streak is the longest in the league’s history, outlasting the 19-game skid that Spartak endured following the collapse of its principal sponsor during the 2013-2014 season.
Sochi’s difficulties this season are well-known. The Black Sea team is short of experience and, while many of its youngsters show promise, they lack the guidance of more seasoned pros. To make matters worse, there has been a steady string of departures through the campaign. It all adds up to a thankless task for head coach Sergei Svetlov as he tries to compete with limited resources.
Today’s game brought Vityaz to the south of Russia. The visitor is in good form as it looks to secure its playoff spot. Vyacheslav Butsayev’s team had won four of its last five and offered early evidence that it planned to improve on that. Scott Wilson opened the scoring in the second minute and Sochi already had that familiar sinking feeling.
In fairness to the basement club, there is no shortage of fight. On six minutes, Yury Alexandrov tied the game. However, Vityaz regained the lead before the first intermission thanks to Vladimir Galuzin. Late in the second period Ivan Yezhov added a third, and that proved to be decisive.
Sochi hung around in the game and kept its hopes alive until the very end. In the last minute, playing 6-on-5, Matvei Michkov pulled a goal back. However, Vityaz held on for the remaining 43 seconds to take the win and condemn the home team to a record-breaking loss.
