Traktor back on top, Loko edges Red Star. October 9 round-up

Traktor returned to the top of the Eastern Conference with a 2-0 win over Admiral, as Zach Fucale recorded back-to-back shut-outs. Overall leader Lokomotiv had a tough evening against Kunlun Red Star, falling 2-0 down before tying it late and winning in OT. Wednesday’s other game brought an overtime win for Lada after it fought back three times at home to Sibir.

Back-to-back shut-outs for Fucale as Traktor hits the front

Traktor Chelyabinsk 2 Admiral Vladivostok 0 (1-0, 0-0, 1-0)

A fifth successive win returned Traktor to the top of the Eastern Conference, while goalie Zach Fucale extended his shut-out streak to 153 minutes. Admiral, meanwhile, slipped to a fifth loss in six games and failed to score in regulation for the third time in four outings.

Despite a cautious start, the home team got ahead fairly early. Great work from Alexander Kadeikin in front of the Sailors’ net turned a routine situation into a dangerous one as he opened the scoring. However, that didn’t much change the pattern of play and much of the first period action was played out in center ice.

After the intermission, Traktor generated rather more offense and fired 18 shots at Andrei Mishurov in the visitor’s net. Despite that dominance, there was no further scoring in the middle frame and Admiral still had a chance of salvation in the third.

However, the visitor could not raise its game in the final frame. Traktor continued to dominant the play and eventually added to its lead midway through the session. Once again, Kadeikin was the scorer, this time with a neat redirect to beat Mishurov.

A couple of penalties on Traktor offered Admiral one last hope of saving the game. The Sailors’ power play posed some questions for Fucale, but the Canadian goalie had the answers to close out the win.

Lada’s persistence pays off

Lada Togliatti 4 Sibir Novosibirsk 3 OT (1-1, 1-2, 1-0, 1-0)

Sibir led three times in Togliatti but was unable to turn that advantage into a third successive victory. Lada hit back each time, forcing OT before Nikita Popugayev scored the winner.

The visitor had scored 10 goals in its previous two road games at Avtomobilist and Ak Bars. And Sibir started this game in the mood for more. In the second minute an overload had the home defense in trouble and Vladislav Kara exchanged passes with Valentin Pyanov before scoring. After that, though, Lada had much more of the play. Two home power plays came and went, but the tying goal had to wait until the 19th minute when Troy Josephs found the net.

There was more action in the second period. Vladimir Butuzov restored Sibir’s lead, with Trevor Murphy’s assist extending his productive streak to 10 games. However, within a couple of minutes Mikhail Fisenko tied the game. That was the first goal of the season for Lada’s captain. After that, visiting captain Sergei Shirokov was the center of attention. First, he took a penalty shot after Fyodor Gordeyev was fouled, but failed to beat Vladislav Podyapolsky. Ninety seconds later he made amends, restoring Sibir’s lead with a venomous shot from the top of the right-hand circle.

However, the third time wasn’t the charm for Sibir. In the 46th minute Ziyat Paigin, up against one his former clubs, tied the scores yet again after Ostap Safin set the puck bouncing around the slot.

This time, the momentum moved in Lada’s favor. The rest of regulation was goalless and the home team won it on a delayed penalty three minutes into the extras. Popugayev settled the outcome, jumping onto the ice as an extra skater, collecting the puck on the boards and advancing to shoot home from the left-hand circle.

Red Star falls just short in Yaroslavl

Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 3 Kunlun Red Star 2 OT (0-1, 1-1, 1-0, 1-0)

After trailing until the 58th minute, Lokomotiv managed to save itself from a second successive loss thanks to Rushan Rafikov’s tying goal. Then the table-toppers snatched an overtime verdict thanks to Maxim Shalunov’s winner.

The Dragons came to Yaroslavl looking to improve on a 2-6 loss at home to Lokomotiv earlier in the season. However, the league leader had a point to prove after suffering an OT loss to SKA in the previous game. Struggling Red Star looked like an ideal opponent for a bounce back win, but Mikhail Kravets’ team proved a tough obstacle.

The first period produced few chances: the teams managed just 12 shots on target between them. Spencer Foo was the only man to find the net, presented with a simple finish by his brother Parker after home goalie Alexei Melnichuk lost the rebound from a mighty Kyle Wood point shot.

Early in the second, Kunlun doubled its lead when Austin Wong redirected a Nolan Moyle effort into the net. After that, Lokomotiv played with greater urgency. However, when Stepan Nikulin found the net in the 32nd minute, the play was called back and Byron Froese took a penalty for fouling KRS goalie Jeremy Smith. That turned into a five-on-three power play for the visitor, but there was no further scoring

Late in the frame, another five-on-three situation favored Lokomotiv and the home team quickly grabbed an important goal. Froese provided some legal hustle in front of the net and Daniil But scored at the second attempt.

But was close to tying the game in the third. His close-range effort on the power play beat Smith but was cleared off the line as Red Star tried to hold onto a slender lead. The visitor lasted until the 58th minute before finally succumbing. Lokomotiv’s power play failed to make the breakthrough, but soon after Melnichuk went to the bench to set up a six-on-five advantage. That forced the breakthrough, with Rushan Rafikov firing home off a Kayumov feed to take the game to overtime.

The extras did not take long: Maxim Shalunov potted the winner for Loko after just 47 seconds.