Barys upsets Minsk, SKA blasts eight. October 21 round-up

Instead of celebrating milestones for head coach Dmitry Kvartalnov and forward Vadim Shipachyov, Dinamo Minsk was left wondering how it failed to beat Barys. The visitor was outplayed for long stretches, but snatched a 2-1 victory on a last-minute goal in Belarus. SKA had no problem finding the net in its game, with Mikhail Grigorenko’s hat-trick powering an 8-1 thrashing of Vityaz. Lokomotiv needed a late goal to take Dynamo to a shoot-out before extending its lead at the top of the West over a Spartak team that blew a 3-0 lead to lose at Admiral. Taylor Beck’s hat-trick wasn’t enough for Sibir in a 4-5 loss at home to Traktor, and Metallurg won on the road at Kunlun.

Sailors recover from 0-3 to sink Spartak

Admiral Vladivostok 4 Spartak Moscow 3 OT (0-2, 2-1, 1-0, 1-0)

The first game of the day turned into an epic. Admiral trailed 0-3 at home to Spartak, but rallied to snatch an overtime victory. The high-scoring game was hardly a surprise: the home team’s previous three engagements produced 26 goals, while Spartak saw 20 goals in two previous games on its Far East trip.

Spartak opened the scoring in the first shift. Mikhal Maltsev and Nikolai Goldobin got on a two-on-two rush and Goldobin’s wrist shot – the first of the game – found the net. Midway through the opening frame, the visitor doubled the lead thanks to Andrei Mironov’s slap shot on the power play.

When the Muscovites potted another power play goal midway through the second period – Maltsev setting up Adam Ruzicka – a 3-0 lead looked commanding. Ruzicka became the second player to reach 10 goals this season, behind Vityaz import Derek Barach.

However, Admiral found a way back – and once again special teams made the difference. After allowing two power play goals, the Sailors got back in the game while enjoying a man advantage. A well-worked passing play set up Yegor Petukhov with a simple finish into an open net. Then, in the next shift, Ivan Muranov got it back to 2-3.

Both teams continued to attack in the third period. However, despite lots of shots and plenty of anxious moments for the two goalies, it wasn’t until the 55th minute that we saw the next goal. It went to the home team: Libor Sulak forced a turnover on his own blue line and launched a counterattack. A couple of passes later, and Kirill Petkov could beat Patrik Rybar to the short side and force the game into overtime.

The momentum was behind the home team and Admiral almost won it in the final seconds of regulation. Instead, it had to wait until the extras, where another power play saw Georgy Solyannikov complete a successful recovery.

Beck’s hat-trick can’t stop Traktor

Sibir Novosibirsk 4 Traktor Chelyabinsk 5 (2-2, 0-1, 2-2)

Taylor Beck scored a hat-trick for Sibir on his return from injury, but still finished on the losing side at home to Eastern Conference leader Traktor. The visitor extended its hoodoo over the Siberians to eight games, having last lost to this opponent in November 2022.

Beck, who hadn’t played since taking a knock in the first period of his team’s game against Ak Bars on Oct. 7, wasted little time in getting back to business. The first power play of the game saw him open the scoring, assisted by Trevor Murphy on the day he picked up the defenseman of the month prize for September. Later, he would pick up another helper to become the first player to reach 20 points this season.

Traktor tied the game during a spell of four-on-four play midway through the game, with Sergei Telegin finding the net. Valentin Pyanov found a quick response, extending his productive streak to six games as Sibir regained the lead, but later he watched from the penalty box as Steven Kampfer tied it up before the intermission. Both Traktor’s goals came from defensemen, and both efforts owed much to the screen provided by visiting center Alexander Kadeikin.

Traktor began the second period with another power play. That did not produce a goal, but shortly after Sibir returned to full strength, Vladimir Zharkov took advantage of a positional error to bear down on goal and put Traktor in front for the first time in the game.

That was the only scoring in the middle frame and it seemed that the game might have calmed down a little after a frantic first period. However, it was merely a lull before an action-packed finale. Traktor seemed to have everything under control: Vladimir Tkachyov added another power play goal before Kempfer potted his second of the game. However, Beck led the fightback, scoring two in the last 10 minutes to complete his hat-trick, albeit without managing to save the game.

Late goal saves league leader

Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 4 Dynamo Moscow 3 SO (2-1, 0-2, 1-0, 0-0, 1-0)

Although Lokomotiv dominated much of this game, it took a late goal from Artur Kayumov to save the home team from defeat. Dynamo blocked 22 shots in regulation and goalie Maxim Motorygin made 38 saves in a 3-3 tie before the Railwaymen won a shoot-out thanks to Alexander Radulov.

This was the first of six meetings between last season’s runner-up and the regular season champion. But the 2024-2025 campaign has seen differing fortunes for these two teams. Lokomotiv is leading the way after an impressively consistent start, while Dynamo is struggling to keep itself in the playoff places amid some erratic results.

The opening stages hinted at a gap between the teams. Lokomotiv made an express start, with Dynamo’s players looking like they had prepared for a face-off at 1930 rather than 1900. A solo effort from Daniil But opened the scoring in the fourth minute and barely a minute later, Maxim Shalunov doubled the home lead.

The visitor struggled to make an impact on the game and Maxim Motorygin was all that stood between Lokomotiv and a commanding lead. However, when Alexei Bereglazov was the first player into the sin bin, Dynamo’s power play jumped into life. Nikita Gusev claimed the goal after his shot deflected past Daniil Isayev via a home skate and the Blue-and-Whites had a barely-deserved lifeline.

However, in the second period the visitor turned things around with a pair of quick goals. In the 26th minute, Pavel Kudryavtsev forced a turnover in the Loko end and set up Artyom Ilyenko for a powerful shot from the circle. His effort bounced back off the piping, hit Isayev on the back and dropped into the net.

A couple of minutes later it was 3-2 to Dynamo. Gusev stripped Alexander Radulov of the puck in center ice and launched an odd-man rush that finished with Nikita Buruyanov putting the Muscovites ahead for the first time in the game.

Despite the turnaround on the scoreboard, Lokomotiv continued to give Motorygin problems in the Dynamo net. However, the visitor looked to have withstood the leader’s pressure in the third period until a late goal from Artur Kayumov saw the home team drag the game into overtime.

Dynamo had the better of the extras but couldn’t score. And Daniil Isayev continued to impress in the shoot-out, winning every duel. At the other end, But and Radulov were on target to give Loko the points.

Grigorenko powers SKA rout of Vityaz

Vityaz Moscow Region 1 SKA St. Petersburg 8 (0-0, 1-3, 0-5)

After a slow start, SKA’s offense exploded in Balashikha to power the visitor to a big victory. Mikhail Grigorenko scored a hat-trick, Vladimir Alistrov had three assists and Sergei Tolchinsky finished with 1+2 as Vityaz suffered on home ice.

Yet for 29 minutes this game was goalless. The first period saw the visitor outshoot Vityaz 18-8, but SKA could not convert that significant pressure into many clear-cut scoring chances.

However, when Dean Stewart sat for a double minor, the visiting power play broke the deadlock. Sergei Tolchinsky opened the scoring, and shortly after Stewart completed his second penalty, Tony De Angelo continued his rich vein of form with SKA’s second goal.

Vityaz replied through Derek Barach’s 12th of the season, but the American’s effort was swept away by SKA’s response. Grigorenko made it 3-1 late in the middle frame, and the visitor piled on the punishment in the final stanza. Vasily Glotov added a fourth at the start of the third and just 23 seconds later Grigorenko had his second on a power play. That saw Dmitry Shikin take over from Maxim Dorozhko in the home net, but he was beaten almost immediately as Grigory Kuzmin made it three goals in 59 seconds to take the score to 6-1.

After a five-minute lull, Grigorenko completed his hat-trick. And there was time for more: Mikhail Vorobyov had the final word in the 59th minute to complete an emphatic road win for SKA.

Mambetaliyev spoils Kvartalnov’s big day

Dinamo Minsk 1 Barys Astana 2 (1-0, 0-1, 0-1)

Barys crashed Dinamo Minsk’s party, frustrating the home offense before snatching a 2-1 victory. It wasn’t the script that anyone expected on a day that should have been about milestones for members of the home team. However, goalie Nikita Boyarkin defied the odds before Kirill Panyukov snatched a last-minute winner. Alikhan Omirbekov finished with 1+1 to clinch a big result for the visitor. Thus, the KHL’s newest head coach got the better of the league’s most experienced.

There was a KHL landmark for a Dinamo Minsk man today – but it wasn’t the one that everyone was expecting. Instead of Vadim Shipachyov overtaking Sergei Mozyakin’s 928 points in the league, the focus shifted to head coach Dmitry Kvartalnov. He was behind the bench for the 900th time in the KHL.

Kvartalnov has missed just one season since he took charge of Severstal in 2009-2010 and holds a big lead over his peers. Second in the all-time list, Vladimir Krikunov, retired after 722 games in the KHL (plus many more in the Russian Superleague) and the nearest active head coach is Igor Nikitin on 614 after Lokomotiv’s game today.

By contrast, Galym Mambetaliyev was taking charge of Barys for only the second time as head coach. Previously, he has had a couple of spells as interim boss, but took the post officially last week following the departure of Vyacheslav Butsayev. The Kazakh team is in something of a crisis, rooted to the foot of the table and already on its third head coach of a turbulent season. Today, though, Barys produced a battling performance.

Admittedly, Dinamo was the dominant side for long periods. Home pressure paid off late in the first period when Chris Tierney put the Bison ahead. Barys struggled to generate much offense, but still managed to tie the game in the second thanks to Omirbekov. The visitor only had three shots on goal in the session, but left the ice tied at 1-1.

It stayed that way through the third period, largely thanks to good goaltending from Boyarkin. He stopped 34 shots through 60 minutes to give his team a chance to win – and with 30 seconds to play, Panyukov took that chance to secure a hard-fought 2-1 verdict.

Magnitka gets the better of KRS

Kunlun Red Star 2 Metallurg Magnitogorsk 4 (1-1, 1-2, 0-1)

Metallurg continues to alternate wins and losses, working hard today to subdue a lively Kunlun team. The host was looking to improve after back-to-back home losses with an aggregate score of 1-9, and certainly posed questions for the defending champion. But once Metallurg got ahead early in the second period, Andrei Razin’s team closed out the victory.

The first period was fairly even. Kunlun made a bright start, with Rourke Chartier having a couple of good early looks before Tomas Jurco opened the scoring midway through. The Slovak international moves to 12 (6+6) points and leads his team this season.

The Dragons almost took that lead to the intermission. However, late in the session Dmitry Silantyev brought Magnitka level. Assists on that one came from Denis Zernov and Roman Kantserov, both making their first scoring contributions of the season after returning from injury.

Metallurg started the second period with a power play – and a bang! Scott Wilson made it 2-1 after 29 seconds, but Red Star roared back to tie it up through Danny O’Regan on 20:54. However, the visitor was having none of it, and restored its lead 22 seconds later thanks to Danila Yurov.

After that rush of goals, there was no further scoring. Metallurg enjoyed more possession, but Kunlun was happy to shoot on sight, ensuring a lively contrast of styles.

The visitor made the game safe midway through the third period on a power play goal from Makar Khabarov. The defensemen fired in a shot from the blue line and Luke Johnson’s passage across the face of Jeremy Smith’s net was enough to disguise the flight of the puck from the home goalie.