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Eight straight for Avangard, Neftekhimik snaps its skid. November 17 round-up
Friday’s action was all about the Eastern Conference. Avangard climbed to second in the standings after a shoot-out verdict over Admiral secured an eighth successive victory. Elsewhere, Neftekhimik defeated Amur 4-0 to end a three-game losing streak and move ahead of the Tigers into ninth place.
Avangard Omsk 2 Admiral Vladivostok 1 SO (0-1, 0-0, 1-0, 0-0, 1-0)
The Hawks posted an eighth consecutive victory, but had to work hard to edge past Admiral and climb to second place in the Eastern Conference. The visitor, cut adrift at the foot of the table, led until the 54th minute and took the game all the way to a shoot-out before falling.
Avangard welcomed experienced forward Ivan Telegin back from injury. He played his first game since Sep. 11, while Admiral’s changes included a return for former Avangard defenseman Maxim Chudinov.
The home team might have got in front early in the game. A power play in the eighth minute produced three good scoring chances for Denis Vengryzhanovsky but Admiral survived that scare. And the Sailors went one better in the 16th minute. It was only really a half chance, but Alexei Solovyov tried his luck from the blue line and the puck got past Andrei Mishurov to open the scoring.
The second session brought no further goals, although there was a time midway through the frame when Admiral managed to seize the initiative. Nikita Anokhovsky had a couple of great chances and Alexander Shevchenko also threatened, but Mishurov came up with the answers. When he was beaten at the start of the third, the post came to his rescue.
Gradually, Avangard resumed its earlier superiority. After head coach Mikhail Kravets put Vladimir Tkachyov on a line with Igor Geraskin and Ivan Nikolishin, he finally got a break. Tkachyov tormented the visiting defense, spraying passes around the Sailors’ zone and pulling the opposition out of position before setting up Roman Abrosimov for a one-timer that levelled the scores.
Neither team could find a winner in the remaining six minutes, but in overtime Admiral twice found itself on the PK. Kravets responded by replacing his goalie to play five-on-three, but his players could not force the breakthrough. Instead it went to a shoot-out, and successful attempts from Ryan Spooner and Tkachyov got the home team over the line.
Dolganov denies Amur
Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 4 Amur Khabarovsk 0 (2-0, 1-0, 1-0)
The Wolves snapped a three-game skid to pick up an important win over a direct playoff rival. Neftekhimik’s victory moves the team up to ninth, ahead of Amur and just one point behind eighth-placed Sibir.
The home team quickly took control of the game. Vladimir Bryukvin opened the scoring in the third minute and Rafael Bikmullin doubled the advantage after seven. For Bryukvin it was a fourth goal in six games, while Bikmullin’s marker was his first since he scored twice on Barys back on Sep. 25.
After that start, Amur recovered somewhat. The visitor had more of the game in the back end of the first period, and began the second strongly. Midway through that session, the shot count read 10-3 in the Tigers’ favor, but they could make no inroads on the home team’s lead. Instead, late in the frame, Nikita Setdikov made it 3-0.
That goal gave Amur a huge task in the third period, but the visitor gave it a good go. Neftekhimik was limited to less than two minutes on the attack, and home goalie Filip Dolganov finished the game with 38 saves as he recorded his fourth shut-out of the season. However, the final word went to Nail Yakupov. He found the target for the third game in a row as Neftekhimik wrapped up the win.
