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SKA extends streak, Dynamo stumbles at Torpedo. December 3 round-up
The big game of the day saw league leader Metallurg take on a SKA team defending a 10-game winning streak. As expected, it was an absorbing battle that went to a shoot-out before the visitor recorded victory #11. Western Conference leader Dynamo also lost, going down 1-4 at Torpedo after allowing two goals in the last minute. Dinamo Minsk spoiled Libor Sulak’s return to Admiral, Ak Bars enjoyed a derby win over Neftekhimk and Barys moved off the foot of the Eastern Conference by beating Severstal.
Dinamo snaps its skid
Admiral Vladivostok 1 Dinamo Minsk 3 (1-0, 0-2, 0-1)
After four successive losses, Dinamo head coach Dmitry Kvartalnov changed up his defensive options. Kodie Curran and Yanni Kaldis were scratched, but another import, Brett Richie, took Daniil Sotishvili’s place on the attack.
Admiral also had a notable change to the line-up. Libor Sulak, recently signed from Avangard, made his first appearance on his return to the team. Sulak saw plenty of action in the first period as part of a power play that got four opportunities to strut its stuff. One of those efforts was rewarded with a goal for Dmitry Buchelnikov which separated the teams at the intermission.
Kvartalnov’s team talk must have written itself: the emphasis, surely, was on maintaining discipline. His players responded, staying out of the box for the rest of the game. At equal strength, Dinamo managed to turn things around. In the 29th minute, Sergei Kuznetsov tied the scores, then Vadim Moroz put the visitor in front in the 34th. Roman Gorbunov’s assist extended his productive streak to four games.
Admiral’s hopes of saving the game in the third were hit by two penalties for Semyon Pankratov. In between,Rob Hamilton’s first goal of the season made it 3-1 and that completed the scoring.
Traktor defeats CSKA again
Traktor Chelyabinsk 3 CSKA Moscow 1 (1-1, 1-0, 1-0)
The visitor had a tricky journey to Chelyabinsk, with the team’s flight diverted to Yekaterinburg due to bad weather in the southern Urals. That delay might have accounted for CSKA’s sluggish start to the game, with Traktor opening the scoring in the third minute on a power play goal from Maxim Shabanov. Falling behind was a wake-up call for the Muscovites, and 87 seconds later Kirill Dolzhenkov put away a rebound from Takhir Mingachyov’s effort.
Traktor was looking to add to a 4-0 road victory over CSKA, but after that fast start the home team could not immediately reassert itself. However, after the intermission Traktor raised its game once more. It took committed defense and some big saves from Alexander Sharychenkov to keep the score level. Gradually, CSKA managed to move play down the ice, but just when it seemed the storm had abated, Sergei Telegin’s point shot proved too good for the visiting goalie.
At the start of the final frame, Andrei Svetlakov dinged Traktor’s crossbar. However, CSKA could not find a tying goal, despite some more promising opportunities. After Traktor killed a penalty, Vladimir Tkachyov added a third goal with the visiting defense cut to ribbons. After that, the home team defended stoutly to protect its lead and bounce back from Friday’s loss at home to Dynamo.
SKA keeps streak alive with win over league leader
Metallurg Magnitogorsk 2 SKA St. Petersburg 3 SO (0-1, 2-1, 0-0, 0-0, 0-1)
SKA defeated table-topping Metallurg to stretch its winning run to 11 games and secure its position out in front on the current form table. Roman Rotenberg’s men remain fourth in the Western Conference, but cut the gap to leader Dynamo Moscow to five points. Metallurg retains its lead in the overall standings but suffered back-to-back losses after its own 11-game streak ended in Astana last time out.
SKA made a fast start to Sunday’s big game. An early home penalty presented the opportunity and after Artyom Zagidulin spilled Alexander Nikishin’s shot, Sergei Tolchinsky pounced on the rebound.
Metallurg responded by peppering Nikita Serebryakov’s net with shots but could not find a way back in the first period. However, the home team managed an early goal in the second when Danila Yurov redirected a Makar Khabarov point shot into the net.
Next, Nikishin took a penalty and the subsequent power play was full of incident. SKA got a chance break and Zakhar Bardakov restored the lead with a short-handed goal. However, since adding Sergei Mozyakin to the coaching staff, Magnitka’s power play has become rather more prolific: Maxim Karpov quickly corrected that error to make it 2-2.
That was as good as it got for the Steelmen. The home team had more power play chances, including a five-on-three spell late in the second period, but could not find a way through. In the third, SKA came more into the game, but the two goalies were on top until the end.
In overtime, Vasily Glotov had a chance to win it right away, but Zagidulin kept Metallurg in the game. However, the visitor took the verdict in the shoot-out when Alex Galchenyuk and Valentin Zykov cancelled out Nikita Mikhailis’ successful attempt.
Dynamo folds in final moments
Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 4 Dynamo Moscow 1 (1-0, 0-0, 3-1)
Two late goals lifted Torpedo past Western Conference leader Dynamo in a hard-fought game in Nizhny Novgorod.
This was the fourth meeting of the teams this season, and results have been varied. The series began with Torpedo powering to a stunning 7-1 victory in Moscow. The first game in Nizhny brought a 3-1 win for the home team, but Dynamo edged a 3-2 verdict in the most recent encounter.
Today, Torpedo got an early lead. Dmitry Rashevsky sat for tripping after five minutes and, just four seconds later, Maxim Letunov celebrated the opening goal. Within a couple of minutes, Dynamo was killing another penalty but this time the visitor escaped further damage. The host held onto its lead until the intermission, but there was little to choose between the teams.
In the second, Dynamo’s more direct style saw it outshoot Torpedo 18-8 – this despite the teams having a roughly equal share of possession. Late in the session, amid an almighty scramble in front of Adam Huska’s net, the video official called for a review but found that the puck had not crossed the line and Torpedo held its lead to the second intermission.
The final frame saw Dynamo start on the PK. The visitor then had to contend with another Torpedo power play before finally getting the chance to tie it up. Ilya Kablukov made it 1-1 midway through the third, and the game was poised for a grandstand finish.
However, after absorbing the pressure, Torpedo hit back late in the game to snatch the win. Vasily Atanasov quickly restored the home lead. Then, in the last minute, Alexei Kruchinin potted an empty-netter before Letunov’s second of the day sealed the deal.
Steelmen rue missed chances as Barys steals the win
Severstal Cherepovets 2 Barys Astana 3 OT (1-1, 1-1, 0-0, 0-1)
Barys moved off the foot of the Eastern Conference with Sunday’s win at Severstal. The Kazakhs are showing sign of progress after winning two of their previous three games.
There was more encouragement for Barys here when Anthony Camara scored his first goal since joining the club from Neftekhimik. It’s only the fourth of a difficult season for the Canadian, who had 31 points in his rookie campaign in Nizhnekamsk.
Severstal tied it up with a power play goal from Ilya Ivantsov in the 14th minute. The home team went in front early in the second period as Kirill Pilipenko found the net. That took Pilipenko’s productive streak to nine games (nine goals, four assists).
Now it was Barys’ turn to respond, and the visitor made it 2-2 with a shorthanded goal from Mikhail Rakhmanov midway through the session.
That was the end of the scoring in regulation, but midway through the extras Evgeny Rymarev settled it for the visitor. Barys scored its three goals off just 12 shots on target, while Andrei Shutov made 37 saves for the visitor.
Barber bonanza beats Neftekhimik
Ak Bars Kazan 4 Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 0 (1-0, 0-0, 3-0)
The second Tatar derby of the season saw Ak Bars avenge its earlier loss in Nizhnekamsk. The home side improved to four successive victories – a big upswing from a team said to be in crisis after winning just one game in seven. Neftekhimik slipped to a fifth successive defeat.
Riley Barber, a recent arrival from Barys, was at the heart of this win. The American forward had a hand in each of his team’s four goals, and scored his first for his new club. That came early in the third, putting Ak Bars 2-0 up on the power play and calming the nerves that began to jangle as Neftekhimik’s forwards had more of the game in the second period.
Barber’s goal was sandwiched between two assists. Midway through the first period, he combined with Kirill Semyonov to fashion a chance for Artyom Galimov to open the scoring. The same trio repeated that trick in the 47th minute, opening a 3-0 lead that gave the Wolves too much to do.
The final word went to Barber, who added a fourth goal late in the game. His four-point haul was his best since he had 1+3 on Sep. 25 – also against Neftekhimik. In three meetings with the Wolves to date, the American has 11 (4+7) points.
Railwaymen grab OT win
HC Sochi 2 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 3 OT (1-1, 1-0, 0-1, 0-1)
Sochi improved on Friday’s 0-2 loss against Lokomotiv, but could not secure victory over the Railwaymen.
When these teams met on Friday, Lokomotiv’s teenage goalie Sergei Murashov posted his first KHL shut-out in a 2-0 win. Today, Murashov was unavailable – he was helping Team West win the Junior Hockey League Challenge Cup game in Tula – and Ivan Bocharov came into the team in his place.
After failing to score on Murashov in 60 minutes, Sochi beat Bocharov in four. Marat Khusnutdinov broke the deadlock early as the Leopards promised to put up more of a fight this time. Lokomotiv responded in the 16th minute when Yaroslav Likhachyov tied the game and it stayed level until the intermission.
As well as Friday’s loss, Sochi could also call on more positive memories of meetings with the Railwaymen this season: early in the campaign a trip to the Volga city ended in a 5-0 win. Neither Khusnutdinov, nor Jeremy Bracco, scorer of the second home goal, were with the team at the time. Nor was Alexander Perevalov, a former Lokomotiv prospect looking to build his career beside the Black Sea. The 19-year-old assisted on both goals against his former club.
However, he was not destined to finish on the winning team. Twice at the start of the third period he found himself in the box. Although Sochi killed both those penalties, it handed the momentum to Lokomotiv and when Danil Avershin committed a third foul in the space of six minutes, it was one PP too many. Andrei Sergeyev took advantage to tie the game at 2-2. Sochi held on for overtime, but the extras lasted just seven seconds before Rushan Rafikov won it for the visitor.
