Dynamo wins at Vityaz, Dragons edge VHL opponent

Young Dynamo goalie Maxim Motorygin had a good game to help his team win 2-1 at Vityaz, while Kunlun Red Star needed a shoot-out to get past AKM Tula.

Vityaz Moscow Region 1 Dynamo Moscow 2 (0-1, 0-1, 1-0)

After a couple of heavy losses in its last two games in Ufa, Dynamo came to Vityaz looking for improvements. The home team, meanwhile, was boosted after a shut-out win over Severstal earlier in the week.

In that game, Vityaz took the lead in the first minute. Today, though, it allowed a goal in the first minute. Yegor Martynov’s point shot got a redirect from Yegor Petukhov to open the scoring.

After that bright start, Dynamo continued to have the better of the play but could not add to its lead in the first period. A second goal had to wait until early in the second, when Jordan Weal added a solo effort to make it 2-0.

Gradually, Vityaz began to ask questions of young Dynamo goalie Maxim Motorygin, who is enjoying plenty of ice time this summer. He responded well to the challenge, and was only beaten late in the game after Ivan Muranov was ejected from the game for picking a fight with Ruslan Pedan. That major penalty finally saw Vityaz on the scoreboard thanks to Vladimir Galuzin. In the closing moments, Derek Barach had a chance to tie it up, but Motorygin once again made the save to seal Dynamo’s win.

Kunlun Red Star 3 AKM Tula 2 SO (1-0, 0-1, 1-1, 0-0, 1-0)

The Dragons edged a shoot-out win against VHL opposition, helped by a debut goal from an on-loan defenseman. Nikita Parfenyuk came to Mytishchi from Dinamo Minsk, and wasted no time in introducing himself to his new club. He converted a Zac Leslie pass in the second minute to open the scoring.

However, despite a flying start against lower-league opposition, Kunlun struggled to put the game away. A couple of penalties helped AKM get a foothold in the game and the visitor eventually tied the scores in the second period.

At the start of the third, Ryan Sproul’s well-placed wrister converted a great pass from Spencer Foo. The latter kept up his productive run and has scored in every KRS game this summer. The third period also saw goalie Alexander Lazushin come into the game in place of Jeremy Smith, who made his first appearance of the summer at the start of today’s action. Lazushin was busy, and ultimately allowed a tying goal in the 52^nd minute. However, he finished on the winning side in the shoot-out, with Jack Rodewald having the decisive contribution.