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Torpedo edges shoot-out verdict over Loko. November 29 round-up
Torpedo and Lokomotiv served up an epic battle in Wednesday’s KHL action. The home team jumped to a 2-0 lead with a quick double midway through the third period. However, Loko responded to tie the scores and take the game to a shoot-out. Torpedo recovered its composure to edge the verdict thanks to Alexei Kruchinin’s winner. Elsewhere, CSKA secured a 5-3 win over Dinamo Minsk in an entertaining game in Moscow, while earlier in the day Avangard enjoyed a 4-1 win over Vityaz.
Boucher, Tkachyov lead Avangard to victory
Avangard Omsk 4 Vityaz Moscow Region 1 (1-0, 0-0, 3-1)
A three-point performance from Reid Boucher led Avangard to a comfortable win over Vityaz. The Hawks bounced back after last week’s loss in Ufa ended a long winning streak, while Vladimir Tkachyov extended his productive run to 13 games (7+19 points). For his part, Boucher has been among the points in 12 of those 13 games.
The home team had a six-day break after losing to Salavat Yulaev. In that time it welcomed back Mikhail Belyayev from injury and got a rare chance to recuperate during a frantic schedule. Vityaz, meanwhile, arrived in town on the back of a comfortable win at Barys that kept the Moscow Region club in touch with the top eight in the West.
The game began with a physical battle and few scoring chances. The players were happy to jump into challenges and it wasn’t until the first technical time-out that things began to change. An Avangard counterattack saw Boucher and Tkachyov combine to set up Artyom Chmykhov for the opening goal.
After that, the home team continued to create good looks. However, neither Boucher, nor Ryan Spooner, nor Ivan Telegin or young Alexander Filatyev, could add to the lead in the first period as Maxim Dorozhko kept the visitor in the game.
After the intermission, Vityaz began to offer more at the other end. For long periods, Avangard was pushed back. The home team defended well but there was a good chance for Derek Barach and a dangerous Vityaz power play in a goalless middle stanza.
At the start of the third, Vityaz finally got on the board. A strong first shift saw Jeremy Roy set up Scott Wilson to tie it up 24 seconds after the restart. However, it did not take long for Avangard to wrest back the initiative. After two minutes, the home team restored its lead through Boucher, then a minute later Valentin Pyanov made it 3-1 with an unexpected shot that Dorozhko saw late.
The Hawks had a chance to extend the lead on the power play, but could not convert that chance and left the door open for Vityaz to launch a salvage operation. The visitor did all it could to pick up the pace and reduce the deficit, but struggled to turn possession into meaningful chances. A couple of minutes from the end, Boucher sent Tkachyov clean through on Dorozhko and the home forward wrapped up the win.
Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 3 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 2 (0-0, 0-0, 2-2, 0-0, 1-0)
Lokomotiv rallied from 0-2 late in the third period to take this one all the way, but Torpedo survived a barrage in overtime to claim a hard-earned shoot-out verdict.
The two teams came into this game in contrasting form. Lokomotiv had won its last three, while Torpedo’s trio of defeats extended a spell of uneven form for Igor Larionov’s team.
For much of Wednesday’s action, the goaltenders were on top. Through 40 minutes, Adam Huska and Ivan Bocharov turned away 49 shots between them in a game that grew increasingly niggly in the second frame.
After two goalless periods, this game exploded into life midway through the third. It started with a fight. Denis Yan bumped into Loko goalie Bocharov, provoking an angry response from Artur Kayumov. The players traded blows before the Torpedo man knocked his opponent to the ice.
Neither team gained a power play once the penalties were handed out, but Lokomotiv took the lead soon after when Vladislav Firstov redirected a Maxim Letunov shot into the net. The play survived a video review over a possible high stick and, after 48 minutes, we had the opening goal. The wait for number two was just a couple more minutes, with Mark Marin feeding Vasily Atanasov for Torpedo’s second of the night.
That felt like it might be game over, but Lokomotiv kept the game alive with an immediate riposte. Dmitry Simashev beat Huska on the blocker side to make it 2-1. Then came a Loko power play, and a tying goal from Maxim Shalunov.
Overtime began with Lokomotiv on the power play after Firstov was called for slashing right on the hooter. The best chance on that power play came early, when Stepan Nikulin’s shot bounced around awkwardly on the slot before Torpedo got it to safety. Even back at full strength, Lokomotiv had the better chances, with Alexander Polunin testing Huska from close range. Then came another penalty for Torpedo, leaving the home team hanging on to take the game to a shoot-out.
Having survived that scare, Torpedo took the extra point in the shoo-out. Yaroslav Likhachyov was on target for Lokomotiv, but Nikita Artamonov and Alexei Kruchinin secured the home win.
Williams gets three assists, CSKA takes the win
CSKA Moscow 5 Dinamo Minsk 3 (2-2, 2-1, 1-0)
CSKA saw off a spirited Dinamo Minsk to bounce back from Monday’s home reverse against Lokomotiv. Sergei Plotnikov had two goals and an assist, while Colby Williams claimed a hat-trick of helpers. Sam Anas had 1+1 for the visitor.
The teams served up an absorbing first period. Dinamo was first to show, converting the first power play of the game to open the scoring through Andrei Stas midway through the session. However, CSKA hit back with a rapid-fire double in the 17th minute. Takhir Mingachyov tied the game, then Plotnikov made it 2-1 33 seconds later.
However, the home team could not hold that lead until the intermission. As the hooter approached, Vadim Moroz tied it up at 2-2.
CSKA wasted no time regaining its lead at the start of the second period. It took just eight seconds for Pavel Karnaukhov to score from close range after Williams’ feed from the point bounced into his path off Yanni Kaldis. Williams also had a helper on his team’s first goal, moving him to three points in seven games since joining the Muscovites. Previously, he had two assists in 21 appearances for Admiral.
After a fast start to the middle frame, there was also a lively finish. Dinamo tied it up at 3-3 when Anas score on 38:34. However, the visitor could not get to the locker room unscathed: Plotnikov potted his second of the game three seconds before the hooter, rewriting both coach’s team talks ahead of the third period.
Sergei Fedorov’s message was apparently clearer than Dmitry Kvartalnov’s. In the 47th minute, CSKA extended its lead through Andrei Svetlakov. Williams got his third point of the night as the home team enjoyed a two-goal advantage for the first time. That proved decisive, with Dinamo unable to find a way back into the game on its way to a third straight loss.
