KHL press office
exclusive for khl.ru
Scoring race intensifies, All-Star Week starts
Hot streaks continued, managements get busy ahead of the upcoming trade deadline and the All-Star Week got underway. It was another packed week in the KHL.
SKA storms to 11th straight win
Roman Rotenberg’s SKA is dominating the KHL form table right now, and Sunday’s win at Metallurg underlined the team’s revival. After a slow start to the season left the Petersburg club outside the playoff places, everything clicked for the team over the last month or so. Starting Oct. 31, SKA reeled off 11 consecutive victories and moved into the top four in the West. The latest win, a 3-2 shoot-out success in Magnitogorsk, saw the in-form outfit defeat the current KHL leader Metallurg.
SKA extends streak, Dynamo stumbles at Torpedo. December 3 round-up
Bottom beats top – twice!
Magnitka’s own 11-game streak came to an end a couple of days earlier with a 2-5 loss at Barys. On the same day, Kunlun Red Star picked up a 5-3 win at home to Spartak. In both cases, the team at the top of its Conference lost to an opponent at the foot of the table. Once again, the KHL shows that this is a highly competitive league where no rival can be taken lightly.
Nine in a row for SKA, 11 on the spin for Magnitka. November 28 round-up
Tkachyov vies for scoring leadership
Avangard forward Vladimir Tkachyov suits up against Amur on Monday looking to extending his productive streak to 15 games. The last time the 28-year-old failed to pick up a point was back on Oct. 26 in a 1-0 win over Salavat Yulaev (that game is the only time in 24 outings that he failed to contribute). Since then, he’s hit seven goals and 20 assists, moving him to 51 points. That has Tkachyov level with Spartak’s Nikolai Goldobin in the KHL scoring race.
Pilipenko’s hot streak
He’s not the only hot forward right now. In Cherepovets, Kirill Pilipenko is in the best form of his career. The forward, a journeyman for much of his KHL career, found his role at Severstal under head coach Andrei Razin (now in charge at Metallurg). Meanwhile, under Andrei Kozyrev, the 27-year-old continues to impress. He’s currently on a club record nine-game hot streak.
Barber punishes Neftekhimik
American forward Riley Barber, now with Ak Bars, seems to enjoy playing against Neftekhimik. On Sunday he had a hand in all four of his team’s goals in a comfortable Tatarstan derby win. The 29-year-old had two goals and two assists in that game, and moves to 11 (4+7) points this season against the Wolves. Earlier, while playing for Barys, he had 1+2 in an 8-0 win in Astana, then 1+3 in a 6-5 OT thriller in Nizhnekamsk.
1,000 games for Traktor, Lokomotiv
Two more clubs played their 1,000th games in the KHL on Friday. Traktor was first, celebrating its milestone against Dynamo Moscow. Then, half an hour later, Lokomotiv took to the ice in Sochi to clock up its millennium. However, the teams suffered contrasting results. Traktor lost 2-4 at home to the Blue-and-Whites, while Loko blanked Sochi with young goalie Sergei Murashov posting his first KHL shut-out.
Marchenko ready to make his comeback
Olympic and Gagarin Cup winner Alexei Marchenko is back on the ice. The experienced defenseman left Lokomotiv at the end of last season, but injury prevented him for signing a new contract right away. Now the 31-year-old, noted more for his defensive capabilities than his two-way play, has joined Ak Bars. Although not yet fully fit, he is expected to be available for Zinetula Bilyaletdinov soon and his contract runs to the end of the season.
Red Star makes trades
It was a busy week for the management at Kunlun Red Star. With the team climbing off the foot of the KHL standings, this was a good moment to refresh the personnel. In come Tyler Graovac, a solidly-built center from Admiral, and Gemel Smith, who started the season at Dinamo Minsk. Out went defenseman Zac Leslie, traded to Neftkehimik, and forward Cliff Pu who heads to Vladivostok as part of the Graovac deal.
Chernyshov stars at Junior Challenge Cup
Dynamo Moscow prospect Igor Chernyshov led the way at the Junior Hockey League’s Challenge Cup, firing Team West to a 5-3 victory in Tula. The 19-year-old had two goals and an assist, helping to turn the game around in the third period. The result extends the West’s lead to 9-4 in the series, ending a mini-revival that saw the East win the last two games. Chernyshov was one of four youngsters invited to return for the Fonbet KHL All-Star Weekend in St. Petersburg. He will join Team Chernyshev. Ufa’s Sergei Kolsenikov also scored twice in the game, and will join Team Kharlamov, while SKA’s Matvei Polyakov completes Team Bobrov. Sibir’s hot-shot Vladimir Mikhalchyov, who made his KHL debut last month, completes the quartet and will play on Team Tarasov next weekend.
Chernyshov leads Team West to Challenge Cup win
Sosina leads East to victory
The All-Star action began on Saturday with the Women’s Hockey League All-Star game. Olga Sosina was the star of the show, with 4 (2+2) points in a 5-4 comeback win for Team East in front of a capacity crowd in Tula.
