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SKA edges first win, Kvartalnov leads Minsk to fightback success. September 2
There were nine games and 50 goals on a Saturday full of intrigue. SKA’s 2-1 victory over Dynamo was arguably the biggest game of the day, but Dinamo Minsk’s rousing comeback from 1-4 to win at Neftkehimik produced some of the most memorable action. Severstal was the day’s leading scorer, putting six past Sochi. Lada returned to the KHL, but could not beat Traktor in its season opener.
Winning start for Ignatjevs
Spartak Moscow 3 Kunlun Red Star 4 (1-3, 1-0, 1-1)
Both teams were playing their first competitive games under new head coaches – and it was Viktors Ignatjevs of KRS who came out on top against Spartak’s Alexei Zhamnov. The Dragons were indebted to a hard-working display from goalie Jeremy Smith, who stopped 41 shots to backstop a narrow victory.
Most of Smith’s efforts came in the third period, with the Red-and-Whites outshooting Red Star 23-3. However, the home team’s only tangible reward was a late tally from summer signing Pavel Poryadin.
That was too little, too late for Spartak. Red Star got ahead with two goals in the first seven minutes. Devin Brosseau opened the scoring in the fifth minute, then Spencer Foo converted the game’s first power play. That stretched Foo’s hot streak to nine games, including his productive pre-season form.
Spartak, undefeated in pre-season, responded just before the break with a power play tally of its own from another summer addition, defenseman Michal Cajkovsky. But just before the hooter sounded, Jake Chelios stuffed home a third for KRS.
At the start of the middle frame, Nikolai Goldobin marked his KHL debut for Spartak with a goal. However, for much of the second period, Kunlun produced a solid defensive display to frustrate the home offense and protect its lead. Then, at the start of the third, Jason Fram potted a fourth for the visitor and that proved to be the difference between the teams.
Hawks battle back for derby win
Avangard Omsk 2 Sibir Novosibirsk 1 (0-0, 0-1, 2-0)
These two Siberian rivals began the new season as they finished the last, locked in derby action. In the spring, the clash ended in Avangard’s favor as the Hawks bounced Sibir out of the playoffs. Since then, things have changed in Novosibirsk and head coach David Nemirovsky took charge of his new team for the first time in the KHL. He also handed debuts to first-line center Andy Andreoff and very recent signing Nikolai Prokhorkin.
Avangard, meanwhile, had a familiar look. Head coach Mikhail Kravets remains in charge and the only significant opening day absence was forward Reid Boucher, traveling home for family reasons.
The home team had a great chance to grab an early lead as Sibir began its season with a couple of quick penalties. However, the visitor’s PK did its job and the opening frame finished goalless.
The middle frame was in danger of finishing in the same way, despite a big chance for Prokhorkin to mark his debut with a goal. However, a late power play for Avangard went all wrong, and saw Sibir go in front with a shorthanded tally. Alexei Yakovlev finished off a swift counter after a home attack broke down.
The Hawks responded at the start of the third, getting the power play right this time and tying the game through Ryan Spooner. For a long time, it seemed that Spooner’s goal would take the game into overtime. Both teams had chances, but the clock was running down with neither side finding the breakthrough.
In the end, it took a late goal from Igor Geraskin, a summer signing from Severstal, to break Sibir’s resistance and give Avangard a winning start to the season. His effort took a deflection on its way past Anton Krasotkin to give the Hawks a tight opening victory.
Barys fightback falls short
Barys Astana 2 Salavat Yulaev Ufa 3 (0-1, 0-1, 2-1)
This was a first look at two teams that have made some big changes over the summer. Salavat Yulaev lined up with new goalie Alexander Samonov, while the first line included newcomers Vyacheslav Leshchenko, Vladislav Yefremov and Alexander Sharov. There was also a KHL debut for 17-year-old forward Matvei Babenko, named on the fourth line.
Barys started with goalie Eddie Pasquale, back in Kazakhstan after a couple of seasons away. Forward Riley Barber, potentially the team’s trump card this season, joined Arkady Shestakov and Jeremy Bracco on the first line.
The early stages saw Ufa looking the better team. Their players were faster, enjoyed better control of the puck and looked a more cohesive unit. Barys needed time to settle into its game, and struggled to generate more than a few testing long-range shots.
All that led to an opening goal in the 13th minute when Alexander Chmelevski forced a turnover and skated clear of the home defense to beat Pasquale and give Salavat Yulaev a 1-0 lead. Early in the second, only a video review denied the visitor a second goal. It wasn’t long before the lead was doubled, though: Leshchenko’s cunning pass thumped home by Yefremov.
Another Ufa power play saw Sharov make it 3-0 and seemingly put the contest to bed. However, in the closing stages Barys managed a fightback that fell only narrowly short. Tamirlan Gaitamirov got the home team on the board with 10 to play, then Swedish forward Pontus Aberg made it a one-goal game with a debut tally. With four minutes left, Barys now had a real chance to save the game, but Salavat held on to take the win.
Razin loses first game with Magnitka
Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 3 Metallurg Magnitogorsk 2 OT (1-0, 0-0, 1-2, 1-0)
Andrei Razin’s first game as head coach of Metallurg ended in defeat at Avtomobilist, one of his former clubs.
Razin’s first line-up saw several changes from Ilya Vorobyov’s team last season. Only two partnerships remained: Denis Zernov – Maxim Karpov, and Nikita Korostelyov – Semyon Koshelev.
In contrast, Avtomobilist continued with the same starting line-up, but handed debuts to all four summer signings (Evgeny Alikin, Kirill Vorobyov, Alexei Byvaltsev and Maxim Osipov) elsewhere on the team. Two imports, Jean-Sebastian Dea and Luke Johnson, neither of whom featured in pre-season, featured as centers in the bottom six.
The game might have gone either way. Avtomobilist made the brighter start and got the opening goal midway through the first period through Sergei Zborovsky. The opening frame was a to-and-fro battle, but despite chances at both ends, Zborovsky’s goal was the only score at the intermission.
The second session was quieter, and remained goalless. The best chance saw Yegor Korobkin clean through against Alikin, only to be halted by a foul from Sergei Shirokov. However, the subsequent power play came to naught and it remained 1-0 through 40 minutes.
In the third, Metallurg found a way through and ultimately got in front. Maxim Mukhametov, one of the new arrivals in Magnitogorsk, tie the game with 20-year-old D-man Danil Gololobov marked his KHL debut with an assist. That enlivened the visitor, and Nikita Mikhailis took advantage of some lackluster Avto defense to make it 2-1 midway through the session.
After falling behind, the Motormen revved up once more. And after stepping on the accelerator, Avtomobilist managed to tie the game late on when Brooks Macek redirected Nikita Tryamkin’s slapper. That took the game to overtime, and the extras were over done in a matter of seconds. Jesse Blacker got a chance after 18 seconds’ play and slotted the winner for the home team.
Lada back in the big league, but Traktor takes the points
Lada Togliatti 1 Traktor Chelyabinsk 2 (1-0, 0-0, 0-2)
Lada was unable to force a winning return to the KHL, despite taking the lead in its season opener against Traktor.
Oleg Bratash’s team showed plenty of promise in pre-season as it prepared for its first campaign in this league since 2018. Some astute summer recruitment suggested that this year’s team would be rather more competitive than the also-rans seen in previous campaigns. However, today’s opponent, Traktor, also had a strong pre-season.
It did not take long for Lada to celebrate its first goal back in the big time. Nikita Popugayev struck in the fourth minute, capitalizing on some slack defense from Traktor. Gradually, the visitor began posing more of an attacking threat but could not find the net. The major incident of the remainder of the period was a fight between Alexei Ozhgikhin and Artyom Blazhiyevsky.
The middle frame was goalless, although there were good chances at both ends. Andrei Altybarmakyan was close to extending Lada’s lead, then Maxim Shabanov threatened a tying goal at the other end. However, the rival goalies Vladislav Podyapolsky and Zach Fucale dealt with everything they faced.
Traktor turned the game around early in the third with two quick goals. The first came from Sergei Kalinin on the power play. Then, a couple of minutes later, Kalinin turned provider as Anton Burdasov took advantage of Podyapolsky’s error to poach the winning goal.
Steelmen off to high-scoring start
Severstal Cherepovets 6 HC Sochi 3 (0-1, 3-1, 3-1)
A new era for the Steelmen began with the visit of a Sochi team looking to improve on last year’s struggles. Severstal was embracing life after Andrei Razin, and is hoping that Andrei Kozyrev will be able to maintain the team’s position as a regular playoff contender. For the Leopards, meanwhile, after finishing rock bottom last term there was every need to produce an encouraging start to the new campaign.
The first period offered just that for Sochi. In an even game, Amir Garayev’s power play goal separated the teams at the intermission. But Severstal found its way back in the second. Kirill Pilipenko, one of the players revitalized by playing for Razin, scored twice to turn the scores around. Sochi’s summer signing, Borna Rendulic, tied the game once more, but that was the last time Sochi was able to challenge.
Late in the middle frame, Yegor Stepanov’s power play tally restored Severstal’s lead, and there was no looking back for the home team. Andrei Churkin increased the lead at the start of the third and when Nikita Rozhkov added a fifth it was game over midway through the session. Jesse Graham pulled back a consolation goal, but Adam Liska’s empty-net tally gave the host the final word.
Tigers roar in season opener
Vityaz Moscow Region 2 Amur Khabarovsk 4 (0-0, 2-4, 0-0)
For Vityaz, a bright start turned into a nightmare in its opening game of the season. The teams met recently in the Mayor of Moscow Cup, with the Balashikha boys coming out on top that time. Here, though, Amur showed that it had learned from the experience, turning a 0-2 deficit into a 4-2 win.
All the goals came in the second period. Everything looked good for the home team when Alexander Yaremchuk set up Vladimir Galuzin to make it 1-0. Within two minutes, the pair combined again on the power play, Yaremchuk making it 2-0.
But the game was far from done. Amur scored twice in a minute: Artur Gizdatullin on a delayed penalty, then Alex Broadhurst with his first since joining the club. Broadhurst soon added a second to put the Tigers in front for the first time in the game on 30:24. A burst of five goals in just over six minutes eventually slowed, but the last minute of the frame saw another tally for Amur when Alexander Khokhlachyov added a fourth. Broadhurst’s bright debut continued with an assist on that one.
In the third period, Vityaz was unable to assert the kind of attacking dominance it needed to change the outcome. The teams had even shares of possession and chances and there was no further scoring as Amur took a first win of the season.
SKA edges big Western Conference clash
Dynamo Moscow 1 SKA St. Petersburg 2 (1-0, 0-1, 0-1)
The opening game of the season served up a big battle for these two Western Conference rivals. SKA is looking to take a step forward this season after playing second fiddle to CSKA in recent years, while Alexei Kudashov’s Dynamo wants to build on the promise of last season. A head-to-head clash on day one would not determine either team’s ambitions, but it would offer a clue about the likely prospects of both organizations.
The early signs were good for Dynamo. The home team opened the scoring in the second minute. Eric O’Dell, who spent much of the summer locked in a contract saga, rewarded the Muscovites’ persistence with the first goal of the season. The Canadian battled to the slot and anticipate a feed from Dmitry Rashevsky behind the net before shooting past Johan Mattsson in the SKA net.
After that, SKA gradually asserted itself. However, as the visitor began to build an advantage on the shot count, it progress was slowed by a penalty on summer signing Alex Galchenyuk. That triggered a series of Dynamo power plays, putting the home team firmly back into the game but producing no further scoring.
SKA survived that uncomfortable ending to the first period and quickly tied the game at the start of the second. Sergei Tolchinsky was brought to Petersburg to score goals, and he did precisely that. Galchenyuk’s feed from the left was perfectly placed for the former Avangard man to open his account for his new club. Subsequently, both goalies had work to do to keep the scores level through 40 minutes.
The one thing missing in the opening two periods was a power play goal, although both teams had their opportunities with an extra man. SKA put that right early in the third when Alexander Nikishin’s cross-ice pass found Marat Khairullin at the top of the right-hand circle. Collecting the puck, Khairullin took a step towards the center and fired inside Ilya Konovalov’s far post.
That was enough to win it for SKA. Dynamo’s hard work was frustrated by SKA’s solid defense and the home team was unable to fashion the opportunity it needed to save the game.
Kaldis completes Dinamo revival
Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 4 Dinamo Minsk 5 OT (3-1, 1-1, 0-2, 0-1)
Dmitry Kvartalnov’s first game in charge of Dinamo Minsk was no short of incident. The experienced head coach masterminded a big comeback in Nizhnekamsk, turning a 1-4 deficit into an overtime win. Ioannis Kaldis marked his KHL debut with two clutch goals, tying the game late on before winning it in OT.
The early stages belonged to Neftekhimik. The Wolves shrugged off an early Sam Anas goal – his first in the KHL for Minsk – to power into a commanding lead. Anthony Camara tied it up, then Nail Yakupov grabbed his first since returning to his boyhood club. That power play effort gave his team the lead, and barely a minute later Andrei Belozyorov made it 3-1 with another PP tally. A good first period got even better at the start of the second when Danila Popov grabbed a shorty to establish that 4-1 lead.
However, there were still 37 minutes of regulation time to play, and Dinamo took full advantage to turn the game around. Yegor Ignatenko pulled one back midway through, but the action really picked up in the third. Nick Merkley struck within a minute of the restart, then Kaldis got his first on the power play with 15 minutes left. From cruising to victory, Nefetkhimik was suddenly struggling to save the game.
The home team managed to stop the rot and took the game into the extras. But the 4-4 tie was snapped after 42 seconds when Kaldis claimed his second to give the Bison the verdict.
