Dynamo takes the title after SKA’s shock loss. February 25 round-up
Kunlun Red Star stunned SKA, winning 3-2 in Petersburg. That result handed the Continental Cup to Dynamo Moscow as SKA finishes its regular season one point behind the Blue-and-Whites. Elsewhere, Avtomobilist beat Lokomotiv 2-0 to confirm fifth place in the East, while Neftekhimik finished its season with a 5-2 win at Sochi.
Motormen clinch fifth place
Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 2 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 0 (0-0, 1-0, 1-0)
The Motormen wrapped up their regular season campaign with a 2-0 win over Lokomotiv. In the process, two Eastern Conference playoff pairings were confirmed. Avto is certain to finish fifth and will travel to Ak Bars for the start of its playoff campaign. Meanwhile, Traktor can go no higher than sixth and faces third-placed Salavat Yulaev in the first round.
The first period was a hard-fought battle. Although there were few scoring chances, the teams battled hard for every inch of the ice and the game proceeded at a lively tempo.
It was still a tight affair in the second period, but gradually we began to see more scoring chances. Daniil Isayev made a couple of good saves to deny Danil Romantsev and Curtis Valk. However, the home team managed to open the scoring late in the frame. Isayev stopped a couple more dangerous shots, but following the face off Nikita Tryamkin thumped in a shot from the blue line and Sergei Shirokov found the net.
At the start of the third home goalie Evgeny Alikin was called into action. He made several saves, including one that will surely grace the end-of-season highlight reels. Lokomotiv was determined to find a way back into the game but as it tried to raise the tempo going forward, it got caught out on defense. Semyon Kizimov’s pass found Nick Ebert, he moved the puck to the slot and Vladimir Kuznetsov was left all alone to double the home lead.
Wolves sign off with a win
HC Sochi 2 Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 5 (0-1, 2-3, 0-1)
Neftekhimik’s five-game skid ended its chances of making the playoffs. Today, though, the Wolves signed off with a 5-2 win at Sochi thanks largely to two goals from German Tochilkin.
Sochi was looking to build on its win over Kunlun in the previous game, but fell behind in the first period to an Artyom Serikov goal. Tochilkin doubled the lead in the second period, kickstarting an entertaining middle frame.
The teams traded frequent goals. Nikolai Chebykin’s power play tally got Sochi on the board, then Dmitry Sokolov and Jesse Graham found the target within a minute of each other to make it 2-3. Alexander Dergachyov ensured Neftekhimik took a two-goal advantage to the second intermission.
The Leopards raised the tempo in the third period, but Filipp Dolganov made 18 saves to keep the home team at bay. At the other end, Tochilkin’s second of the game wrapped up the win.
SKA loss hands title to Dynamo
Kunlun Red Star 3 SKA St. Petersburg 2 (0-0, 2-0, 1-2)
SKA’s hopes of winning this season’s Continental Cup came to an end after an unexpected loss at Kunlun Red Star. Roman Rotenberg’s high-flyers were cut down by the Dragons as the Chinese franchise recorded only its second ever victory over the Petersburg club. The result means that SKA finishes its season on 94 points. Dynamo already has 95 and plays its final game of the season tomorrow.
It wasn’t supposed to end like this. Red Star, long out of playoff contention, was cast in the role of cannon fodder. The Dragons even forfeited home advantage for this game, which took place at the SKA Arena. The expectation was that a comfortable home victory would ensure that all the pressure was on Dynamo tomorrow.
But that’s not how it played out. KRS made themselves at home in St. Petersburg from the start. The first period saw the “visitor” enjoy the better of the game, outshooting SKA 20-12 and spending significantly more time on offense. Home frustrations were summed up by an incident after 15 minutes when Austin Wong’s clean hit on Vasily Glotov prompted Andrei Pedan to fight the Kunlun youngster.
However, when a superb diving interception from Alexander Nikishin extinguished the last and best opportunity of the opening frame, it was tempting to assume that the underdog had failed to capitalize on a bright start and would be reeled in after the intermission. It took less than a minute to disprove that theory, with Colin Campbell firing KRS in front. Chances came at both ends in an entertaining game, but late in the session Devin Brosseau doubled the Red Star lead. And 13 seconds into the third, Spencer Foo made it 3-0.
At the other end, Alexander Lazushin was putting on a goaltending master class. Pulling off save after save, he earned the vocal approval of the 20,000-strong crowd even as he brought their title hopes to an end. At one point, he even found himself stopping a shot from his opposite number Nikita Serebryakov after a clearance somehow found its way right down the ice to his net. Lazushin was finally beaten in the 48th minute by Borna Rendulic, and SKA got another back on its first power play of the night. Rotenberg pulled his goalie in the 53rd minute and was rewarded with Nikishin’s PP tally. However, that was as close as SKA got to saving the game. A famous win for Kunlun sparked celebrations in Beijing and Moscow, while SKA contents itself with second place and a playoff match-up against either Torpedo or CSKA.
