KHL press office
exclusive for khl.ru
Severstal wins a thriller, Galchenyuk opens KHL account. September 23 round-up
SKA started a busy Saturday of KHL action with a 4-0 win at Amur, a game notable for Alex Galchenyuk potting his first two goals for his new club. He wasn’t the only man to score twice: Shane Prince helped Spartak to victory over Traktor, while Riley Barber and Maxim Karpov finished on the losing side at Sibir and Severstal respectively. Karpov was especially unfortunate: he tied the game for Metallurg in the 58th minute, but Severstal claimed a shoot-out win despite trailing 0-3 after six minutes. Elsewhere, CSKA got a hard-fought win at Lokomotiv, Lada moves to second in the East after thrashing Kunlun, and Dynamo stays top of the West thanks to a 5-4 verdict at Admiral.
Galchenyuk inspires SKA
Amur Khabarovsk 0 SKA St. Petersburg 4 (0-1, 0-1, 0-2)
Alex Galchenyuk scored his first KHL goals to lift SKA to a comfortable shut-out win at Amur. Roman Rotenberg’s team arrived in the Far East with renewed confidence after snapping its five-game losing streak at home to Severstal on Wednesday. Today, the Western conference powerhouse built on that success.
SKA continued with youngster Artemy Pleshkov in goal and Alexander Kadeikin continued as captain. There were three changes among the forwards, with Marat Khairullin, Marat Khusnutdinov and Arseny Gritsyuk replaced by Stepan Starkov, Mikhail Vorobyov and Pavel Dedunov. Amur was unchanged from the team that lost to Dynamo in OT.
The visitor benefitted from an early goal, gifted by Cam Lee’s air shot as he sought to get the puck away from his net. Vladimir Alistrov popped up behind the Amur defenseman and placed a low shot beyond Dmitry Lozebnikov.
In the middle frame the teams continued to play a hard-hitting game – and that inevitably led to penalties. SKA’s first power play almost ended in disaster: as Viktor Baldayev emerged from the box he took a pass from the Amur defense and came close to tying the scores. However, later in the session Galchenyuk arrived at the back door in time to convert Alistrov’s feed and double the lead with his first goal since joining SKA.
Galchenyuk potted his second goal midway through the final stanza. Kadeikin’s hard work in the corner enabled the veteran forward to get the puck to the slot, where Galchenyuk’s one-timer made it 3-0. Late on, Alistrov picked up his third point of the game, pouncing on a loose puck behind the home net to set up Vasily Glotov for SKA’s fourth.
Dynamo holds on
Admiral Vladivostok 4 Dynamo Moscow 5 (0-0, 1-2, 3-3)
Dynamo held off a late fightback to beat Admiral by the odd goal in nine. The win keeps the Blue-and-Whites on top of the Western Conference and stretches the team’s current hot streak to seven games.
The first period was a tough test for home goalie Pavel Khomchenko, who was preferred to regular starter Nikita Serebryakov. He faced 23 shots as Dynamo dominated the opening frame, but proved his worth as the teams remained deadlocked at the intermission.
However, even Khomchenko’s heroics had to come to an end. Jordan Weal opened the scoring in the 25th minute, then Pavel Kudryavtsev doubled the lead. The goalie was not downhearted, and pulled off a magnificent save to rob Ilya Kablukov of a third Dynamo marker. Almost immediately, Alexander Shevchenko went down the ice to get the Sailors on the board.
If that raised hopes of a comeback, Dynamo seemed to have everything under control in the third. Ivan Muranov scored early before Weal’s second stretched the lead to 4-1. With 11 minutes left, it felt like game over.
But Admiral kept going. Yegor Nikitin pulled one back to keep it interesting, then Nikita Gusev took a penalty in the 57th minute. The Sailors went six-on-four and Alexei Solovyov got it back to 3-4. With Gusev out of the box, Eric O’Dell restored a two-goal advantage for Dynamo but in the last minute another penalty for the visitor saw Solovyov pot his second six-on-four goal of the game with 19 seconds to play. Admiral pushed for a dramatic late goal, but Dynamo ran down the clock to claim the win.
Barber’s double in vain for Barys
Sibir Novosibirsk 4 Barys Astana 2 (1-1, 1-0, 2-1)
A couple of weeks ago, these teams met in the opening game of Sibir’s new arena. On that occasion, they could not manage a goal between them without a shoot-out. Since then, both have perked up their offensive play and today, fans saw rather more attacking play. Riley Barber scored twice for Barys, but finished on the losing side after Andy Andreoff potted a third-period game-winner for Sibir.
The home team made a bright start and head coach David Nemirovsky saw one of his pre-game decisions pay off. Pavel Gogolev, who had featured just three times in the KHL, was promoted to the top line and obliged with his first goal in the fourth minute. However, Barys tied the scores with a power play goal late in the first period: David Sklenicka, wearing the ‘C’ during Roman Starchenko’s injury absence, extended his productive streak to four games with an assist for Barber.
A 1-1 scoreline was a fair reflection of an even first period, but in the middle frame Sibir began to look the more likely team. When Rudolf Cerveny, a recent acquisition for Barys, took a major penalty midway through the second, Sibir took advantage. Ivan Klimovich got through on Eddie Pasquale’s net and, despite being fouled from behind by Sklenicka, managed to steer the puck home as he fell.
Early in the third, Andreoff scored another power play goal to extend Sibir’s lead. Barber pulled one back midway through the session, but Taylor Beck’s empty net goal extinguished Barys’ hopes.
Prince leads Spartak to victory
Spartak Moscow 3 Traktor Chelyabinsk 2 OT (0-1, 1-0, 1-1, 1-0)
Defeated in its last two games, Traktor made changes for the trip to Spartak. Most notably, Nikita Tertyshny was left out – head coach Anvar Gatiyatulin said it was due to the forward’s game readiness – and youngster Alexander Rykov replaced him on the second line.
The 18-year-old forward made the most of his chance, getting the only goal of the first period when he finished off a swift counterattack a minute before the hooter. However, the visitor struggled to create much in a first period that was solid but rarely spectacular.
In the second, penalties began to undermine Traktor’s game. Nikita Soshnikov sat for tripping and Shane Prince converted the power play to tie the scores. Early in the third, Prince struck again – this time a short-handed tally – to put the Red-and-Whites in front for the first time in the game.
This time, the lead did not last long. Anton Burdasov quickly brought Traktor level and ultimately steered the game to overtime. However, to get there the visitor had to kill a penalty in the closing moments.
In OT, Traktor again found itself a man down. This time, Spartak was able to take advantage and Pavel Poryadin’s close-range effort settled the outcome in the final minute of the extras.
Newcomer climbs to second in the East
Lada Togliatti 5 Kunlun Red Star 1 (2-1, 1-0, 2-0)
Lada had lost all four of its previous KHL meetings with Kunlun. More recently, it also suffered defeat here as the Chinese team won the pre-season Lada Cup tournament last month. Today, though, the Motormen rolled over the Dragons in some style.
The home team had to kill an early penalty, but took control shortly after returning to full strength. Ostap Safin opened the scoring, then Alexei Ozhgikhin doubled the lead a couple of minutes later. Red Star responded midway through the frame and Nolan Moyle pulled a goal back.
After two games in the Far East that saw Kunlun’s goalies worked hard, the Dragons defense allowed just 11 attempts at Jeremy Smith in a fairly even first period here. However, in the second the home team began to exert more dominance. That brought a third goal, albeit in somewhat unexpected circumstances. Pavel Koltygin potted a shorthanded effort as the host struggled with its discipline early in the session.
Red Star’s hopes of a fast start to the third took a knock when Brandon Yip picked up an early penalty. Although the visiting PK held on, Lada’s momentum soon brought goals for Donat Stalnov – his first for his new club – and Scott Kosmachuk. The latter was assisted by Troy Josephs, who stretched his productive streak to seven games (6+3 points).
Victory lifts Lada to second in the eastern conference. Earlier in the season, KRS enjoyed a similarly lofty status in the west. Now, however, the Dragons are settling into a more accustomed position in the thick of the battle for a playoff spot.
Wolves snap losing streak
Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 2 Avangard Omsk 1 OT (1-1, 0-0, 0-0, 1-0)
It’s been a tough start to the season for Neftekhimik, with just one victory in the first eight games. However, there’s little sign of panic in Nizhnekamsk: a year ago, the team made an even slower start but still recovered to make the playoffs.
Avangard arrived in Tatarstan after defeat at Sibir. Mikhail Kravets’ team then made a slow start here, falling behind in the first minute to an Ilya Khokhlov goal. After that, Neftekhimik ran into penalty trouble and midway through the first period Ivan Nikolishin tied the scores.
The lack of further scoring was perhaps not entirely surprising. Neither offense really hit top speed in the first period, and in the middle frame Neftekhimik had the better of the action without managing to beat Andrei Mishurov, who enjoyed a rare start in the Avangard net. The third period was increasingly tense as both teams were aware that any goal would likely prove decisive, and also finished goalless.
It looked like overtime would go the same way. Avangard withdrew Mishurov and played with an empty net, hoping to force the pace. However, Filipp Dolganov in the home net stopped the four shots he faced, then Vladimir Tkachyov took a tripping minor with eight seconds left. Neftekhimik called a time-out, plotted its next move and, in the final second of play, Andrei Belozyorov grabbed the winner after a flurry of shots at the Hawks’ net.
CSKA gets revenge win
Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 1 CSKA Moscow 2 (1-1, 0-1, 0-0)
Five days earlier, these teams met in Moscow and Lokomotiv came out on top by the same 2-1 scoreline. The result formed part of a run of just one win in five games for the defending champion, which found itself outside of the playoff places ahead of today’s rematch.
This time, though, the Muscovites took a similarly tight verdict to arrest the slide. CSKA made a great start, opening the scoring in the third minute. Daniil Isayev managed to stop the initial shot from Anton Slepyshev, but Pavel Karnaukhov retrieved the puck from behind the net and got back in front to make it 1-0.
The lead did not last long. CSKA failed to convert its first power play of the game, and as the teams got back to equal strength, Lokomotiv tied it up. The home team won an attacking face-off, the puck went to Artur Kayumov, and the forward fired past Ivan Fedotov to score at the second attempt.
If the opening minutes belonged to CSKA, the latter part of the first period saw Lokomotiv get back into the game and a 1-1 score was fair after 20 minutes. The second period, though, did not see much from either attack. For long spells, the two teams cancelled one another out. However, late in the session CSKA managed to push Lokomotiv deep into its own zone. That pressure paid off: Maxim Sorkin unleashed a powerful shot to convert a Maxim Mamin feed and restore the visitor’s lead.
At the start of the third, Lokomotiv tried to step up the tempo. However, all too often the home team was unable to produce the key pass that might unlock the visiting defense. A power play midway through the frame summed up the problem: Loko could establish itself in CSKA territory, but when it came to testing Fedotov the forwards were found wanting. Back at full strength, Sergei Fedorov’s team put the emphasis on closing out the game and finished with a narrow win.
Thrilling fightback win for Severstal
Severstal Cherepovets 5 Metallurg Magnitogorsk 4 SO (0-3, 2-0, 2-1, 0-0, 1-0)
Whenever Andrei Razin is behind the bench, you can expect excitement and unconventional decisions. So it may not be a surprise that when he took his Metallurg team to face his former colleagues at Severstal, we saw one of the most enthralling games of the season. Severstal rallied from 0-3, lost the lead with less than three to play, then snatched a shoot-out victory after an absorbing battle.
After 20 minutes, Razin was surely enjoying his return to Cherepovets. His Magnitka team did everything right in the first period, jumping to a 3-0 lead. Maxim Karpov opened the scoring on 29 seconds, then Jean-Sebastien Dea double the advantage after two minutes. When Denis Zernov added a third, Razin’s replacement at Severstal, Andrei Kozyrev, replaced starting goalie Konstantin Shostak with Dmitry Shugayev with less than six minutes played.
That did not immediately change the shape of the game. Metallurg stopped scoring at will, but held a commanding three-goal lead. However, early in the second session, Adam Liska and Alexander Skorenov found the net to cut the deficit to a minimum. Now the whole feel of the action changed. Severstal believe it could complete the recovery, Metallurg knew it could take nothing for granted.
In the third, the home team completed its fightback. Danil Aimurzin tied the scores before Nikita Sedov made it 4-3 for Severstal. Now the onus was on Razin to find something special to salvage a game he thought he had won. And Metallurg delivered: on 57:04 Karpov potted his second of the game, taking us to overtime.
The extras brought no further scoring, and the shoot-out saw Shugayev reign supreme. He saved all three of the attempts he faced, while at the other end Severstal scored three out of four on Artyom Zagidulin to take the verdict.
