Sibir leaves it late, Dragons win at Severstal. October 11 round-up

Sibir moved to within a point of the Eastern summit after a last-minute goal beat Neftekhimik. Friday’s other action saw Kunlun get a first ever win at Severstal with goalie Kyle Keyser claiming his first KHL shut-out.

Shirokov grabs last-minute winner

Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 1 Sibir Novosibirsk 2 (0-1, 0-0, 1-1)

Sibir struck late to snatch a second win over Neftekhimik this season. Today’s 2-1 success moves Vadim Yepanchintsev’s men to within a point of Traktor and Avtomobilist at the top of the Eastern Conference.

The winning goal tonight came from Sibir captain Sergei Shirokov on 59:16. That’s his eighth of the season following his summer move from Avtomobilist. Impressively, four of those who proved to be game-winners. While Shirokov is in the veteran stage of his career, he is clearly more than capable of playing a captain’s role in driving his team forward.

It was another summer signing, Maxim Karpov, whose first-period goal separated the teams for much of this game. The former Metallurg man scored on the power play in the 14th minute: Neftekhimik held on with three men but succumbed after a fourth was released from the box. And penalty trouble was the big issue for the host in the first period: the Wolves matched Sibir for shots on goal but gave up a lot of attacking possession after picking up three penalties in the opening frame.

In the middle frame, Neftekhimik’s discipline improved and the home team eventually gained the initiative on the ice. True, Sibir began with a rush of shots at Filipp Dolganov’s net but the visitor was pushed back as the session continued.

The home team carried that momentum into the final frame and tied the game on a German Tochilkin goal in the 42nd minute. After that, Neftekhimik had more attacking play but could not force a winner. And, at the last moment, Shirokov punished that to give Sibir the verdict.

Dragons celebrate first win in Cherepovets

Severstal Cherepovets 0 Kunlun Red Star 3 (0-1, 0-1, 0-1)

Kunlun got its first ever victory in Cherepovets, and its first over Severstal since 2017, thanks to a powerful performance from its second line. The trio of Tomas Jurco, Jayden Halbgewachs and Tyler Graovac combined for all three goals, while goalie Kyle Keyser claimed his first KHL shut-out with 38 saves.

Red Star started fast. In the second minute, Jurco opened the scoring off a Halbgewachs feed. That was the Canadian’s first point in the KHL after going scoreless through his first eight games for KRS. And Halbgewachs night got even better in the 25th minute when Jurco turned provider to set up his first KHL goal. Graovac had assists on both of those, and completed a hat-trick of helpers at the start of the third period when he and Jurco exchanged passes before the Slovak forward potted his second of the game.

Severstal had chances to beat Keyser, but the visiting goalie was in dominant form. The most eye-catching moment came in the third period when Kirill Pilipenko attempted a Michigan. However, Keyser was alert to the play and got his shoulder in place to frustrate that trick shot.