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Coach Bill wins in his 1,200th game. September 4 round-up
It was a day of milestones. Zinetula Bilyaletdinov’s 1,200th game as head coach ended in a rousing 5-3 win over Traktor, but Grigory Panin’s 1,000th game on defense finished as a 1-2 loss at Avtomobilist. Nikolai Goldobin grabbed a hat-trick in the day’s best individual performance, helping Spartak to a 6-4 win over Severstal. Nikita Gusev’s first of the season completed a 3-1 win for his new club, Dynamo, against Amur. Dinamo Minsk was the day’s top scorer, firing seven past Vityaz. There were also wins for SKA at Lada, Sibir at Barys (after trailing 0-3) and Kunlun Red Star over Sochi.
Sibir fightback stuns Barys
Barys Astana 4 Sibir Novosibirsk 5 OT (2-0, 1-2, 1-2, 0-1)
David Nemirovsky got his first win as Sibir’s head coach, but only after an epic battle in Astana. For Barys, this was a second loss of the season – and a painful one after leading 3-0.
The first period went perfectly for the home team. Two power play goals put Barys in control with defensemen David Sklenicka and Alex Grant both on target. The pair were previously team-mates at Jokerit and could be a useful two-way proposition in Kazakhstan this season.
In the second period, another import got another power play goal. This time it was forward Riley Barber, adding to his assist on Grant’s tally. Up by three after 26 minutes, Barys may have felt the hard work was done.
But Sibir quickly reminded the host that the game was still alive. Ilya Morozov pulled a goal back, then a bench challenge denied Barys a fourth power play goal on 33 minutes. Roman Starchenko’s effort was called back after a review found interference on goalie Anton Krasotkin. The bench challenge was a high stakes play: had the officials confirmed the Barys goal, Sibir’s struggling PK would have been back in action to deal with the consequent delay of game call. Instead, Vladimir Butuzov got a second for Sibir moments before the intermission and it was a one-goal game going into the final frame.
At the start of that session, Sergei Dubakin’s skate deflected the puck past Eddie Pasquale to tie the scores. This time, the video official called for a review but there was no change to the on-ice verdict. Midway through the session, Barys regained the lead with Starchenko getting his third helper of the night on Batyrlan Muratov’s marker. Once again, though, Sibir hit back to tie it up through Alexei Yakovlev. That took us to overtime, but not for long: Trevor Murphy needed just nine seconds to find the winning goal.
Golyshev crashes Panin’s party
Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 2 Salavat Yulaev Ufa 1 (1-0, 0-1, 1-0)
The pre-game talk was all about Grigory Panin, the Salavat Yulaev defenseman making his 1,000th appearance in the top league of Russian hockey today. He’s only the 16th man to reach that landmark, having made his top-flight debut with Lada back in 2005.
However, he did not get to celebrate the big day with a win. Avtomobilist, which opened its season with a 3-2 success over Metallurg, kept up its tradition of fast starts in the KHL with another victory here.
The Motormen had to absorb some early pressure, with Ufa looking to get pucks as deep as possible, as quickly as possible. Avto frequently turned over the puck as it tried to respond with swift transitions of its own.
Despite this, the home team created the first really dangerous chance of the game when Sergei Shirokov found Anatoly Golyshev in a promising position. The visiting D scrambled to disrupt the forward on that occasion, but it wasn’t long before Golyshev opened the scoring with a power play goal in the ninth minute. Worse for Panin, it was his misplaced clearance that set up the goal. For the rest of the opening frame, the home team enjoyed the better of the play but could not add to its lead.
After the intermission, Salavat Yulaev picked up the pace and caused chaos in front of Evgeny Alikin’s net but could not force a quick goal. However, once Avto ran into penalty trouble, Sergei Shmelyov made it 1-1 on a 5-on-3 power play. Later, Avtomobilist had a similar power play chance and created four shooting chances for Brooks Macek in his favored spot in the left-hand circle. There was no success for the forward today, though.
The winning goal came early in the third when a positional error in the Ufa defense enabled Golyshev to collect a timely feed and elegantly beat Alexander Samonov. And Salavat Yulaev’s hopes of forcing a late tying goal were hampered by a couple of penalties in the closing moments, undermining Viktor Kozlov’s plans for a late surge. Avtomobilist held on to claim its first regulation time win over Ufa since Dec. 2020.
SKA’s new boys blitz SKA’s old boy
Lada Togliatti 0 SKA St. Petersburg 3 (0-0, 0-3, 0-0)
Lada suffered a second home loss on its return to KHL action – and this one was a day to forget for Vladislav Podyapolsky. The Togliatti netminder was one of many players facing their former club, after he swapped SKA for Lada during the summer. However, his evening ended early when he allowed three goals in five game-breaking minutes early in the second period. That proved enough to secure a second road win of the campaign for SKA.
In fairness to Podyapolsky, he played well in the first period and made 11 saves to keep the game goalless at the first intermission. But the middle frame saw SKA’s newcomers take a grip of the game. Brendan Leipsic was the first to open his goal account for his new club, cashing in on a crazy rebound off Podyapolsky’s pad. Next came Ivan Zinchenko, scoring a short-handed goal. Both those plays were assisted by another newcomer, Vladimir Alistrov, and the former Dinamo Minsk man scored the third Lada’s starting goalie stayed in the game until the intermission, but did not return for the third period, giving way to Alexander Trushkov.
At the other end, Sergei Ivanov got the start for SKA in place of Johan Mattsson. The youngster recorded his first KHL shut-out and had a big save late in the second to deny Sergei Shumakov a potentially valuable goal. He finished with 30 saves.
Bison thrash Vityaz
Vityaz Moscow Region 0 Dinamo Minsk 7 (0-1, 0-4, 0-2)
After a hard-fought win at Neftekhimik, Dinamo enjoyed a more comfortable time in Balashikha. Dmitry Kvartalnov’s team blasted Vityaz to leave the home head coach Alexander Zavyalov still searching for his first win in the KHL.
Dinamo got in front late in the first period on a short-handed goal from Alexander Volkov. New signing Madison Bowey had an assist to open his account in the league. But it was the middle frame that decided this game. The Bison potted four unanswered goals, eventually forcing goalie Maxim Dorozhko out of the game. Kodie Curran, Vadim Moroz, Vitaly Pinchuk and Timofei Kovgorenya provided some clinical finishing as the Belarusians scored four from 12 shots.
With the game won, Dinamo went on to complete the highest-scoring performance of the season so far. The final frame saw back-up goalie Dmitry Shikin beaten by Roman Gorbunov and Andrei Stas – the second also scoring a shorty. At the other end, Alexei Kolosov secured a shut-out, making 25 saves to ensure there were no blemishes on a strong performance.
Ak Bars recovers to down Traktor
Ak Bars Kazan 5 Traktor Chelyabinsk 3 (0-2, 2-1, 3-0)
This was Zinetula Bilyaletdinov’s big day. The Ak Bars head coach celebrated 1,200 games behind the bench in Russia’s top league. A glittering career, studded with trophies for Dynamo Moscow and Ak Bars, demanded an occasion to match that milestone. However, Traktor was not about to play the role of obliging guest.
Anvar Gatiyatulin’s team arrived after victory at Lada and showed that it is capable of testing the strongest opposition this season. With 34 seconds played, the visitor was ahead. Vladimir Tkachyov, a former Ak Bars man who played under Bilyaletdinov at the start of his KHL career, got the opening goal after an Anton Burdasov blast dropped kindly for him. Ak Bars struggled to get its game going, and Traktor doubled its lead on the power play when Burdasov added to his early assist.
When Dmitry Kagarlitsky pulled one back for the home team at the start of the second, it was tempting to assume that normal service would be resumed and Ak Bars, fresh from winning the Opening Cup on Friday, would steadily take control of the game. It didn’t quite work out like that. Nikita Soshnikov quickly restored Traktor’s two-goal lead, and home frustrations were compounded by penalties for Kirill Adamchuk (his second of the night) and Dmitrij Jaskin before the half-hour mark.
In the latter stages of the period, though, Ak Bars began to assert itself. Artyom Lukoyanov pulled a goal back in the 37th minute, potting the rebound from Dmitry Yudin’s point shot, and the game was finely poised going into the third.
That third period began like the second, with Ak Bars grabbing a quick goal. Jaskin was the scorer – two in two games for him at his new club – and there was a sense that this could be the tipping point. Traktor continued to fight, but was undone late in the game when Vitaly Kravtsov took a high-sticking penalty. That 54th minute call was the first chance for the Ak Bars power play to flex, and it ended with Jaskin on target again to wrap up a play involving Alexander Radulov and Vadim Shipachyov.
The Czech then went back to the box himself, giving Traktor a late shot at salvation. However, Ak Bars not only killed the penalty but managed to add an empty net goal from Radulov to seal the win.
Gusev gets first for Dynamo, Motorygin wins on debut
Dynamo Moscow 3 Amur Khabarovsk 1 (2-0, 1-1, 0-0)
Against SKA, Dynamo showed enough in defeat to suggest it will be a competitive force in the West this season. Amur, meanwhile, came from 0-2 to win at Vityaz. But game two for these teams was a fairly straightforward affair for the Blue-and-Whites.
The home team led on all metrics, and was good value for the 3-1 scoreline. And there’s extra satisfaction for Alexei Kudashov’s team after Nikita Gusev got his first for the club. Gusev was the big summer arrival at Dynamo after the Olympic gold medallist fell out of favor at SKA.
Dynamo handed a first KHL start to young goalie Maxim Motorygin, and clearly decided to protect him by started on the front foot. The early exchanges were largely played in front of Janis Kalnins’ net and the opening goal came in the 10th minute from Vladislav Mikhailov. Late in the first frame, Artyom Ilyenko doubled that lead and the home team looked comfortable at the break.
Next came Gusev’s big moment. Brennan Menell dropped the puck off for the forward, who advanced to the edge of the left-hand circle and wired a wrister that defied Amur’s compact defense to rip into the top corner for 3-0.
After that it was game over. The only disappointment for Dynamo was the failure to preserve a shut-out for Motorygin, who was beaten by a power play goal from Alexander Khokhlachyov. Overall, though, this was a solid home win.
Goldobin treble shoots down Severstal
Spartak Moscow 6 Severstal Cherepovets 4 (0-1, 4-1, 2-2)
These two teams suffered contrasting fortunes in their opening games. Severstal began life after Andrei Razin with a solid 6-3 win over Sochi, while Alexei Zhamnov’s Spartak debut ended in a 3-4 loss to Kunlun. Today, though, the coach of Russia’s 2022 Olympic silver medallists secured his first win behind the bench for the Red-and-Whites, while Severstal almost reversed the scoreline from Andrei Kozyrev’s debut.
The early signs were promising for the Steelmen. Dmitry Moiseyev struck in the third minute, and that lead lasted until the intermission. But everything changed at the start of the second. Dmitry Vishnevsky tied it up on the power play and, a minute later, Nikolai Goldobin made it 2-1. Severstal replied midway through the session through Kirill Pilipenko, but it didn’t take long for German Rubtsov to restore Spartak’s lead.
Goldobin went on to complete a hat-trick, scoring either side of the second intermission to stretch the advantage to 5-2 and effectively end Severstal’s chances. Moiseyev’s second of the night, on the power play, offered an outside chance for the visitor but a late exchange of goals left Spartak on top.
Dragons add to Sochi strife
Kunlun Red Star 3 HC Sochi 0 (2-0, 1-0, 0-0)
Both these clubs found last season tough, but an opening win for Red Star offered some optimism for the home team. Sochi, meanwhile, allowed six goals at Severstal, prompting early fears of another struggle ahead.
Today’s game brought more woe for the Leopards. The visitor took the first penalty of the game in the third minute, and after six seconds of power play, Brandon Yip had KRS in front. The captain was assisted by Spencer Foo, whose hot streak lasted all through pre-season and continues for the first two games of championship play.
The Dragons’ other big pre-season scorer was Devin Brosseau. He added a second goal from his team’s second PP of the game. Once again, the home team wasted little time in converting its advantage with another well-worked move.
In the second period, Sochi managed to get its PK working and stifled two Red Star power plays. However, it could not find a way to test Jeremy Smith in the home net and ended up allowing a third goal during a four-on-four passage just before the intermission. Luke Lockhart was the scorer this time, taking the game away from the visitor.
The final frame was goalless as Kunlun closed out another win. The Dragons’ new signings, Ryan Merkley and Turner Ottenbreit celebrated a winning debut, while Smith shut down Sochi’s attempted fightback with 11 saves in the third to secure his first shut-out of the season.
