KHL press office
exclusive for khl.ru
Last second goal sinks SKA, Dynamo stays on top. November 6 round-up
Today’s drama centered on teams from Moscow. Spartak defeated SKA in dramatic fashion, snatching a 3-2 win on a goal in the final second. Dynamo came from behind to win at Vityaz, scoring twice in the last five minutes to remain on top of the table. Lokomotiv got a morale-boosting 4-1 verdict at Amur on a day dominated by teams on the road. Apart from Spartak, every other game went to the visitor, with Neftekhimik edging Salavat Yulaev, Avangard beating Dinamo Minsk and Severstal winning at Kunlun, all by the same 4-3 scoreline. The one exception was Sibir, which had a 3-2 verdict at Avtomobilist.
Lokomotiv improves after bad run
Amur Khabarovsk 1 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 4 (0-1, 0-0, 1-3)
The opening action of the day saw Lokomotiv overpower Amur in the Far East. The Railwaymen arrived in Khabarovsk under something of a cloud, having lost six of their previous seven games. However, the long journey apparently gave Igor Nikitin’s team a chance to reflect and regroup before delivering a convincing win.
Nikitin had to make changes to his team. Most notably, Yaroslav Likhachyov missed out on a return to the arena where he impressed on loan last season. The young forward was injured and Daniil But took his place. It was a big occasion for Amur’s Yegor Korshkov, who lined up against his former club for the first time since joining the Tigers and also made his 400th KHL appearance.
Lokomotiv got on top at the start. The early stages saw Amur under pressure from all angles and it wasn’t until midway through the first period that the Tigers managed to flex their claws. That couldn’t stop the visitor from turning its advantage into an opening goal, scored by Alexander Polunin in the 18th minute.
The pattern of play was largely unchanged in the second period, with Lokomotiv continuing to press and Amur battling to stay in the game. The home defense worked hard and did the dirty work to block shots and keep Loko away from the danger zone as far as possible, ensuring there was no further scoring in the idle frame.
Early in the third, however, Lokomotiv deservedly extended its lead. The loss of Stepan Nikulin to injury forced a reshuffle, with Maxim Beryozkin taking over his spot on the third line. Beryozkin settled in fast, setting up Denis Alexeyev to make it 2-0. Subsequently, Amur tried to generate more offense but fell further behind on a goal from Pavel Kraskovsky.
Korshkov pulled one back for the home team in the 49th minute, a moment that will surely mean a lot to a graduate of Loko’s academy but had little bearing on the outcome of the game. Beryozkin added a power play goal to make the final score 4-1.
Fast start isn’t enough for Avtomobilist
Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 2 Sibir Novosibirsk 3 SO (2-0, 0-2, 0-0, 0-0, 0-1)
For the first time this season, Avtomobilist could ice a full-strength roster. Defenseman Nick Ebert returned to action after two months out injured, while captain Sergei Shirokov was back after missing the previous game.
That gave the home team an immediate lift, and many fans were still filing into the arena when Alexei Byvaltsev opened the scoring for the Motormen after 28 seconds. It wasn’t long before Andrei Obidin doubled that lead and Sibir was in trouble. The visitor managed just 10 shots on goal in its previous game, prompting head coach David Nemirovsky to reshuffle his lines today, and it would take a big attacking improvement to save this game.
For a time, there was little sign of any change: Avtomobilist spent much of the first period on the front foot, and it took some good work from Anton Krasotkin to ensure that the deficit was only two goals at the intermission as the home team led the shot count 15-3.
In the second, though, Sibir managed to calm things down. Finally the visitor managed to spend some time in the Avtomobilist zone and eventually that opened a way back into the game. Midway through the session Artyom Zhukov scored on the power play. A couple of minutes later Nikolai Prokhorkin tied the scores. Now both teams had produced a quickfire double and after 33 minutes we were all square once again.
In the third, Curtis Valk had a great chance to win it when a defensive lapse left him all alone on the slot. Krasotkin bailed out his errant team-mates to keep the score level. Then Artyom Mikheyev had a similar chance at the other end, only for Vladimir Galkin to save Avto. Later, the post denied Andy Andreoff a potential winner for Sibir as the game went into overtime.
The extras could not separate the teams, despite Avto withdrawing Galkin while on the power play and enjoying a five-on-three power play. In the shoot-out, Sibir prevailed with Krasotkin proving unbeatable and Pavel Gogolev converting the only successful attempt.
Ufa fightback falls short
Salavat Yulaev Ufa 3 Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 4 (0-3, 0-0, 3-1)
A roller-coaster game in Ufa saw Neftekhimik maintain its winning streak – but only after holding off a spirited fightback from Salavat Yulaev.
The visitor handed a debut to forward Daniil Skorikov, who joined the team from Salavat Yulaev a few days earlier. After 10 years in the Ufa system, the powerfully-built forward is ready for a new challenge – and began with a quick return to familiar surroundings.
He soon made himself at home, collecting an assist as Danil Sherstobitov opened the scoring midway through the frame. His team-mates also felt comfortable here, with Vladimir Bryukvin and Nail Yakupov extending that lead to 3-0 before the first intermission.
That brought a predictable response from home coach Viktor Kozlov, who replaced starting goalie Ilya Ezhov with Alexander Samonov. That moved stopped the flow of goals, and helped Salavat Yulaev dominate the middle frame. However, there was no change to the scoreline.
In the 47th minute, Alexander Dergachyov’s power play tally made it 4-0 and seemed to put the game out of reach. Instead, though, the home team was inspired. Nicolas Meloche responded with his first goal for the club, and that triggered a rush of three goals in 100 seconds. Yegor Suchkov and Josh Leivo struck to make it a one-goal game with 10 minutes to play and the whole atmosphere was transformed. Now Neftekhimik was hanging on, but the visitor regained its composure to end Ufa’s three-game winning streak.
Severstal makes it back-to-back wins
Kunlun Red Star 3 Severstal Cherepovets 4 SO (1-1, 2-1, 0-1, 0-0, 0-1)
Severstal made it back-to-back wins at Kunlun, but had to battle all the way in the second meeting between the teams.
Yesterday, the Steelmen grabbed an early lead. Today, the roles were reversed as Teemu Pulkkinen put Red Star ahead after just two minutes. The first period was fairly even and late in the session, Mikhail Ilyin tied the scores.
In the second period, the Dragons roared ahead. Pulkkinen scored his second of the game on the power play, then Spencer Foo showed great awareness to dive in convert the rebound after a Ryan Merkley shot. Two goals in less than 90 seconds opened a 3-1 lead for the home team. However, with one second left before the hooter, Severstal grabbed a life line as Yegor Stepanov pulled one back.
The third period saw some astonishing accuracy from the visitor. Out of 19 attempts on goal, 18 were on target. Home goalie Jeremy Smith, back on the ice for the first time since Oct. 25, saved 17 of them but in the 58th minute Kirill Pilipenko potted the tying goal. That made it two goals in two days for the Severstal forward and he ended up on the winning team again after the shoot-out. The Steelmen improve to five successive victories, KRS suffered a fifth straight loss.
Late goals keep Dynamo on top
Vityaz Moscow Region 1 Dynamo Moscow 3 (1-0, 0-1, 0-2)
Dynamo remains out in front in the KHL after coming from behind to win at Vityaz. This was a bottom vs top battle in the Western Conference and the result eventually reflected the form book – but only after Dmitry Ryabykin’s team gave the league leader an early scare.
The visitor had the better of the first period in most areas. However, despite dominating the play, the Blue-and-Whites could not get past Maxim Dorozhko. Then, in the last minute, Vladislav Valentsov took advantage of a rare home chance to open the scoring.
With something to build on, Vityaz came out for the second period looking for more goals. However, the middle frame turned out to be a negative image of the first. Where Dynamo once dominated, Vityaz had the edge; where Valentsov scored late for the home team, Nikita Gusev struck just before the hooter for the visitor.
In the third, it was anyone’s game. However, the breakthrough went to Dynamo with five minutes left when Yegor Petukhov put Alexei Kudashov’s team in front. Vityaz tried to recover, but allowed Pavel Kudryavtsev to score into an empty net to seal the win.
Belyayev grabs last-second winner
Spartak Moscow 3 SKA St. Petersburg 2 (1-1, 0-0, 2-1)
A goal in the last second saw Spartak snatch a dramatic victory over SKA. Alexander Belyayev got only his second goal of the season to deny the Petersburg team after it led twice during an entertaining encounter.
The first period was full of incident. Spartak had already killed a penalty when Marat Khairullin’s persistence brought the opening goal for SKA. Artyom Zemchyonok fired in a shot that slipped behind Patrik Rybar in the home net and as his defense rushed to try and clear the puck, Khairullin managed to stuff it into the net.
The penalties kept coming, and Spartak tied the game on a five-on-three power play. The home team’s prolific top line came out and produced a well-worked move for Pavel Poryadin to make it 1-1 in the 12th minute. The goal also makes the Red-and-Whites the first team to hit 100 KHL goals this season.
In the second period, neither team could find the net. There were good chances at both ends and the pace of the game remained high, but the two goalies, Rybar and Serebryakov, did well to keep the game level.
Early in the third, SKA seemed to have a vital breakthrough. Alexander Kadeikin restored the visitor’s lead, then a penalty on Rybar offered a glorious chance to build on that advantage. Vladimir Alistrov was agonizingly close to making it 3-1, but his effort bounced to safety off the piping.
Midway through the session, Poryadin struck again to tie it up at 2-2. The game seemed destined for overtime, but in the final seconds Spartak managed to win it. Ansel Galimov won an attackin face-off, the puck dropped for Belyayev and the 24-year-old forward fired home his second goal in two games to spark joyous scenes in Moscow.
Hawks edge shoot-out verdict
Dinamo Minsk 3 Avangard Omsk 4 SO (0-1, 2-1, 1-1, 0-0, 0-1)
This battle in Belarus went the full distance before Avangard secured its fourth successive win thanks to a shoot-out. Earlier, the Hawks blew a 2-0 lead and had to come from behind to get the result.
The visitor’s early success came on the power play. After Vadim Moroz took Dinamo’s first penalty of the evening, Reid Boucher opened the scoring midway through the first period. In the second, Avangard had a five-on-three advantage. Although Dinamo held on until one offender was back in play, Ivan Nikolishin doubled the lead as the remaining power play continued.
However, Dinamo recovered before the second intermission. Yegor Borikov began the fightback, the 18-year-old grabbing his first career goal in his 16th appearance. Then Nick Merkley tied it up just before the intermission.
That moved the momentum, and when Vitaly Pinchuk made it 3-2 to Minsk on the power play midway through the third, Dinamo thought victory was within reach. However, Avangard responded immediately: Boucher got his second of the game just 19 seconds after Pinchuk put the home team in front.
The game went all the way to a shoot-out, where visiting goalie Andrei Mishurov proved too good for Dinamo. The home team could not score, while Valentin Pyanov and Vladimir Tkachyov secured the win for the Hawks.
