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Last-gasp drama on a packed Friday card. October 27 round-up
It was a day of late goals. A last-minute effort for Sochi earned a 5-4 win over SKA. Torpedo sealed its 4-2 victory over Avtomobilist in the final seconds, and Lada scored two empty-netters in a 6-3 verdict over Ak Bars. Elsewhere, latecomers weren’t so successful. Neftekhimik tied KRS with three seconds to play, but lost in a shoot-out. Barys suffered a similar fate at home to Dinamo Minsk, making it 1-1 in the 59th minute but losing in OT. Traktor had no need of any late drama, easing to a 5-1 win over Metallurg thanks to three unanswered markers in the second period, while Lokomotiv withstood a Severstal fightback to end its losing run.
Hamilton’s helpers lead Minsk to victory
Barys Astana 1 Dinamo Minsk 2 OT (0-0, 0-0, 1-1, 0-1)
Barys returned home after winning two out of four on its recent road trip. Visitor Dinamo Minsk went to overtime in its two latest games, losing to Kunlun before beating Salavat Yulaev.
It took a long time to see either team find the net in this game. Although Dinamo had the edge in the first period, its best chance came when Vitaly Pinchuk almost grabbed a shorthanded goal. In the second period, the Bison looked stronger still, but could not find a way past Eddie Pasquale in the home net.
Finally, Minsk’s pressure paid off in the 54th minute when Alexander Volkov broke the deadlock. That might have been enough to win it, but Barys replied on 58:25 when Adil Beketayev tied the game. However, Pasquale was always the busier of the goalies and he was beaten once again in overtime when Rob Hamilton’s second assist of the game set up Vadim Moroz for the game winner.
Traktor enjoys third derby win
Traktor Chelyabinsk 5 Metallurg Magnitogorsk 1 (1-1, 3-0, 1-0)
Everybody loves a local derby – except, apparently, Metallurg. Magnitka met Traktor for the third time in eight days, and suffered a third loss. Moreover, this was the heaviest of the three.
Metallurg head coach Andrei Razin scratched imports Robin Press and Luke Johnson following a 2-4 loss on home ice last time out. That formed part of some sweeping changes to the team, and the new-look line-up made a good start. In the fourth minute, Maxim Karpov found Pavel Akolzin at the back door and Akolzin converted the feed to open the scoring. However, it wasn’t long before the scores were level. Traktor always had the edge on the draw, and a face-off win set up Sergei Telegin to score from the blue line.
The home team made a flying start to the second period. Maxim Shabanov almost grabbed a goal, then we saw two in three minutes as Traktor took control. Anton Burdasov got the go-ahead marker, making it two from two for him on his return after injury. Then Ilya Karpukhin let fly to make it 3-1. For the second game in a row, Metallurg goalie Artyom Zagidulin was replaced as Razin looked to make changes.
Coming off the bench, Ilya Nabokov immediately found himself with work to do. Traktor outshot Magnitka 16-6 in the middle frame. That brought a fourth goal, scored by Semyon Der-Arguchintsev, and also a fight when Akolzin objected to some rough stuff from Charles Robinson and ended up fighting with Sergei Kalinin.
Faced with a long road back into the game, Razin gambled on a sixth forward as early as the 44th minute with Magnitka on the power play. However, that had no impact on the scoreline and it wasn’t until the final moments that Artyom Blazhiyevsky produced an empty net goal to wrap up a convincing home win.
Motormen score six on Ak Bars, move to within a point of the summit
Lada Togliatti 6 Ak Bars Kazan 3 (1-0, 2-3, 3-0)
Today’s win over Ak Bars lifts Lada to within a point of the Eastern Conference summit. The KHL newcomer continues to impress this season and seems to have shrugged off a four-game losing streak early in October to maintain its position among the high-flyers.
Ak Bars, meanwhile, expects to be up at the top. Today’s game offered a chance to take an outright lead in the East, but in a high-scoring encounter the home team had the answers. Zinetula Bilyaletdinov’s team led for just 33 seconds all evening.
That said, Ak Bars settled into the game quicker and had the better of the opening exchanges. However, Lada played an active defense, depriving the opposition of time and space. Alexander Radulov fired a shot against the piping, but immediately afterwards, the Motormen took the lead. Timur Bilyalov stopped a two-on-one break, but was powerless in the face of Vladislav Syomin’s effort on the rebound. It was a goal against the run of play, but some hard work on defense (including eight blocked shots) meant it was the only score of the opening stanza.
At the start of the second, Ak Bars tied the game through Maxim Bykov. In general, the visiting offense looked good throughout the game, but the defense was not at the same level. Too many errors ensured Lada kept getting chances and one of them saw Scott Kosmachuk restore the home lead. This time, Ak Bars hit back with two goals in barely 90 seconds. Dmitry Kagarlitsky redirected a Slava Voynov shot home, then Dmitrij Jaskin banged in a feed from Radulov.
The lead was short-lived, and those defensive gremlins struck again: Ivan Demidov was invited to shoot, and nobody rushed to win the rebound before Ostap Safin beat Bilyalov at the second attempt.
Early in the third, Lada went back in front. Demidov was involved once again as Yegor Babenko made it 4-3. This time, the lead endured. Ak Bars pushed hard, but could not find a way past Alexander Trushkov; Lada relied on counterattacks and eventually sealed the score with empty net goals from Dmitry Kugryshev and Ivan Romanov. Demidov’s assist on the latter brought him a hat-trick of helpers in a memorable home win.
Late goal can’t save Neftekhimik
Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 3 Kunlun Red Star 4 SO (0-0, 2-1, 1-2, 0-0, 0-1)
The Dragons snapped Neftekhimik’s five-game winning streak after a fightback win in Nizhnekamsk. The Chinese franchise had just one win in its last 13 games, and seemed to be in trouble again at 0-2 midway through the game. Kunlun recovered to lead in the third, and then overcame the disappointment of allowing a tying goal with three seconds to play before winning in a shoot-out.
The opening frame was goalless, although Neftekhimik had a slight advantage. The home team built on that and seemed to have the game entirely under control in the middle frame. Danila Popov opened the scoring in the 33rd minute, then a five-on-three power play saw Andrei Belozyorov double the advantage.
But Red Star responded. Five seconds before the intermission, Jake Chelios gave the visitor hope and early in the third Kunlun turned things around. Ryan Merkley’s second goal for the club tied the game in the 46th minute, then club stalwart Luke Lockhart made it 3-2 on 47:35.
The closing stages saw Neftekhimik try to save the game and preserve its unbeaten run. Goaltender Filipp Dolganov went to the bench with more than two minutes left, and as tempers boiled over, Dmitry Zhukenov and Devin Brosseau were removed for roughing in the last minute. That did not distract the Wolves, and with just three seconds left to play, Alexander Dergachyov grabbed a dramatic, game-saving goal.
It was the second time this season the teams had gone to OT. Previously, Neftekhimik came out on top in Mytishchi thanks to a goal from Bulat Shafigullin. Today, though, Kunlun made it to the shoot-out. Goalie Dmitry Nikolayev took over for the home team, but it was Matt Jurusik who made the difference. The KRS netminder stopped everything, while Brandon McMillan and Luke Lockhart were on target at the other end to give Red Star a fourth success in five shoot-outs this season.
Loko snaps skid, Severstal fightback falls short
Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 4 Severstal Cherepovets 3 (2-0, 2-1, 0-2)
The Railwaymen withstood a third-period fightback to secure victory over Severstal. The result ends a four-game skid for Lokomotiv and moves Igor Nikitin’s team up to second in the Western Conference, three points behind Spartak and level with Dynamo Moscow. For the Steelmen, despite a rousing finale, this was a sixth loss in seven games as Andrei Kozyrev’s team remains outside the playoff places.
It was a straightforward first period for the home team. Rushan Rafikov’s early goal settled any nerves and Loko proceeded to dominate much of the play. Yaroslav Likhachyov’s power play tally doubled the lead, and Severstal found it tough to make an impression on the home defense. Although the teams shared similar amounts of attacking possession, Lokomotiv had a clear lead on the shot count and that would have been greater still without eight blocked shots from the visitor.
The pattern of play did not change much in the second period: if anything, Severstal found it even harder to get shots at Daniil Isayev. However, against the run of play, Danil Aimurzin pulled one back in the 28th minute. Almost immediately, the Steelmen had a power play chance, but got it all wrong Lokomotiv scored a shorthanded goal through Pavel Kraskovsky to restore that two-goal advantage. Seconds before the intermission, Maxim Shalunov stole the puck in front of the Severstal net and added a fourth.
Outplayed for 40 minutes, Severstal made a game of it in the third. Timur Mukhanov pulled a goal back in the 45th minute, then Mikhail Tikhonov made it a one-goal game with eight to play. Suddenly, the home team was nervous, but the visitor’s enthusiasm counted against it. A too many men penalty in the closing moments took the sting out of Severstal’s last surge and Lokomotiv held on for the win.
Rising stars inspire Torpedo to victory
Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 4 Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 2 (2-1, 0-1, 2-0)
Young Torpedo forwards Vasily Atanasov and Nikita Artamonov have been at the heart of many good things for their team this season. Today they both had a hand in all four goals to earn a hard-fought win over Avtomobilist.
Neither team arrived in great form. Torpedo had just one win in the last five games as it dropped away from the top of the Western Conference. For the visitor, a 5-2 home win over Barys snapped a three-game skid but the Motormen remain closer to mid-table than the Eastern Conference lead.
Torpedo went in front in the fifth minute of Friday’s game. Artamonov got his first of the evening, with Atanasov among the assists. Avto responded through Stepan Khripunov, but then saw the same player take the first penalty of the game. Torpedo’s PP came out to play, and Artamonov had an assist on Atanasov’s power play goal.
That was all that separated the teams at the first intermission. The second period was similarly tight, but this time Avto had the slight advantage and Alexei Makeyev tied the scores midway through the game.
It wasn’t until the third period that the Torpedo offense began to seriously outshoot the opposition. Artamonov’s second of the evening, midway through, restored the home lead after the home team dominated the early stages of the period. At the time, Avtomobilist had not managed a shot at Ivan Kulbakov’s net in the final frame, but after going behind the Motormen tried to rev up their offense once more. It made for a lively finale, with chances at both ends, but the decisive strike came from Torpedo: in the final minute, Maxim Letunov scored into an empty net to seal the win. Fittingly, both Artamonov and Atanasov assisted on the knock-out blow.
Last-gasp goal sinks SKA
HC Sochi 5 SKA St. Petersburg 4 (0-2, 3-1, 2-1)
There is plenty that entwines the stories of Sochi and SKA this season – and high-scoring head-to-head meetings seem to be the result. At the start of the month the Leopards edged a 5-4 victory against the visitor and today, once again, Sochi took the verdict by the odd goal in nine.
It started well enough for SKA. Alexander Nikishin, fresh from a four-point game against Kunlun, opened the scoring midway through the first period. Then, late in the session, Alex Galchenyuk doubled the lead on the power play, collecting his first goal since Oct. 9.
In the second period, Sochi hit back with three goals in four minutes to turn the game on its head. Kirill Rasskazov started the fun when he potted a power play marker. Then Anton Sagadeyev led a counterattack down the left-hand channel to set up Dmitry Zavgorodny for the tying goal. SKA barely had time to regroup and think about regaining its lead when it found itself behind. Artur Tyanulin won the puck in center ice and needed no second invitation to gallop to the net and beat Nikita Serebryakov.
Despite that triple blow, the visitor did not buckle. Instead, SKA managed to tie the game before the intermission thanks to Mikhail Pashnin’s goal.
The action did not relent in the third. In the first four minutes, the teams traded short-handed goals. Zakhar Bardakov was first to strike, restoring SKA’s lead while Galchenyuk sat for delay of game. Then home goalie Mikhail Berdin received a similar call, and ex-SKA man Marat Khusnutdinov set Michal Kristof up for a shorty to tie the game.
Both teams had chances in the rest of the game, but the decider came late after Sochi got on one last power play. There was only 40 seconds with the extra man after Kristof emerged from the box, but that proved long enough. Jesse Graham banged in a point shot and Sergei Popov applied the redirect to seal another dramatic win over SKA.
