Metallurg joins Loko at the summit. October 15 round-up

Both conference leaders were in action on Sunday, but had differing fortunes. Metallurg trailed at Barys, but recovered to win in overtime. That put the Steelmen level on points with Lokomotiv, who failed to build on an early lead and lost at Avangard. Elsewhere, there were late goals aplenty as Salavat Yulaev beat Dinamo Minsk and Avtomobilist edged Vityaz.

Magnitka rallies from 0-2, claims OT verdict

Barys Astana 3 Metallurg Magnitogorsk 4 OT (1-0, 1-3, 1-0, 0-1)

Metallurg drew level with KHL leader Lokomotiv on 29 points, but had to come from behind to see off Barys. The Kazakhs saw a brief revival under interim head coach Galym Mambektaliev come to an abrupt halt with a 0-6 hammering against the Railwaymen, but showed signs of maintaining an upward trajectory after forcing a tie in regulation here.

There wasn’t much between the teams in an even first period. However, with 14 minutes played Riley Barber got the opening goal to give the home team a valuable boost. Things got better for Barys at the start of the second: a penalty on Valery Orekhov brought a power play goal for Roman Starchenko. That makes 400 career points for the Barys captain.

Starchenko was not the only captain to achieve a milestone in this game, though. His Metallurg counterpart Yegor Yakovlev brought up 200 career points with an assist as Nikita Mikhailis put the visitor up 3-2 on his former club. That goal was late in the second period, just 35 seconds after Nikita Grebyonkin tied the game. Earlier, Danila Yurov began the fightback.

For a time, it looked like Mikhailis might claim the gamewinner on his return to Astana. However, late in the third, Starchenko set up Rudolf Cerveny for the tying goal.

In overtime, the hosts created four presentable chances to win the game. Young Magnitka netminder Ilya Nabokov produced a big stop to deny Joey LaBate, and that save went was rewarded at the other end when Denis Zernov’s 100^th KHL goal won it for the visitor.

Hawks get their claws into league leader

Avangard Omsk 4 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 1 (0-1, 3-0, 1-0)

While Eastern Conference leader Metallurg was strengthening its position, Western top dog Lokomotiv went off the rails in Omsk. Igor Nikitin’s team lost for the first time in four games despite grabbing a first-period lead.

Artur Kayumov put the visitor in front in the eighth minute. His sixth goal of the season came on a delayed penalty and separated the teams at the intermission. Lokomotiv might have added to that lead in the first period, but the middle frame saw the game turn around.

Avangard improved after the break. A power play helped, but it was clear that the Hawks were playing with greater intensity, winning more battles and crucially taking control of the slot. That led to Denis Vengryzhanovsky tying the game when he redirected a Bogdan Kiselevich feed.

Inspired, the home team continued to press. Reward came in the final minutes before the intermission. Reid Boucher put Avangard in front on the power play then Libor Sulak added a third before the hooter.

Lokomotiv needed fast start to the third, but got the opposite. Just 13 seconds in, Vladimir Tkachyov made it 4-1 with another power play goal, derailing the visitor’s hopes of a fightback. That was the effective end of the contest, with Avangard comfortably playing out the remainder of the game.

Dinamo denied despite late rally

Salavat Yulaev Ufa 4 Dinamo Minsk 2 (2-0, 0-1, 2-1)

There was a dramatic finish in Ufa as Salavat Yulaev posted a fourth successive victory. For Dinamo, a tying goal in the 56^th minute was a brief respite before late despair as the home team hit back with two more markers.

In the early stages, this looked like a straightforward win for the home team. Salavat Yulaev scored twice in the first 10 minutes: Vyacheslav Leshchenko opened the scoring on 1:40, and Yegor Suchkov doubled the advantage.

Minsk struggled to make an impact, and when Sam Anas took the first penalty of the game midway through the second, things looked bleak for the Bison. Oddly, though, that blow served to stimulate the Belarusians and Roman Gorbunov potted a shorty to halve the deficit.

Now the game was very much alive, and it stayed that way until the very end. When Nick Merkley struck on 55:09, Dinamo looked to have salvaged at least a point and Ufa was left to rue its inability to finish the job. However, after winning the game once, Salavat Yulaev responded to do it once again. Sergei Shmelyov restored the home lead a minute later, then Evgeny Timkin wrapped it up with an empty net goal.

Vityaz denied by late goal

Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 3 Vityaz Moscow Region 2 OT (0-0, 0-1, 2-1, 1-0)

Dmitry Ryabykin is still seeking his first win as head coach of Vityaz, but today he collected his first point with his new team. However, it will feel like a point dropped rather than one gained: Vityaz led twice, and Avtomobilist tied the scores with 25 seconds left to play.

Fans at the Uralets arena in Yekaterinburg had to wait until the middle of the second period to see the first goal of the day. Derek Barach was the scorer, collecting his third of the season to give the visitor the lead.

That effort was somewhat against the run of play, with Avtomobilist outshooting its visitor by a clear margin. However, Maxim Dorozhko was in good form in the Vityaz net and kept his goal intact until the 51^st minute. Then, a power play chance saw Brooks Macek work his familiar magic to tie the scores.

Undaunted, Vityaz went back in front thanks to Igor Ugolnikov, and might have taken the points were it not for a late penalty on Nikita Almazov. That brought Avto’s PP to the fore and Macek turned provider as Anatoly Golyshev grabbed a last-gasp leveller.

German international Macek proved to be tormentor in chief for the visitor, and he settled the game with an OT goal to see the Motormen record a sixth win in seven games.