Wolves climb table after snapping skid, Ufa enjoys a thriller. October 24 round-up

Neftekhimik jumped from seventh to third in the Eastern Conference after halting its five-game losing streak with a 2-1 victory over Sochi. Salavat Yulaev also moved up the standings from eighth to fifth thanks to a last-minute Alexander Chmelevski goal in a 5-4 win over Torpedo.

Late goal gives Ufa high-scoring win

Salavat Yulaev Ufa 5 Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 4 (2-2, 2-1, 1-1)

The home team recorded back-to-back wins for the first time since Sep. 29, but left it late to sink Torpedo in a high-scoring battle. Alexander Chmelevski’s power play goal in the last minute secured a 5-4 verdict in a game that could have gone either way. The victory lifts Ufa from eighth to fifth in the Eastern Conference, moving ahead of Sibir, Admiral and Ak Bars.

Not only did Salavat Yulaev score a late goal, it also opened the scoring with its first shot at Ivan Kulbakov’s net. Defenseman Sergei Varlov made the breakthrough after 73 seconds off a Josh Leivo feed. That set the tone for a lively start to the game. Dmitry Kagarlitsky quickly tied the game, then Torpedo got the first penalty of the night and Nathan Todd fired a shot against Kulbakov’s post.

There was no power play goal, but once back to equal strength Todd combined with Sheldon Rempal for a well-worked goal. Once again, Torpedo replied swiftly and Nikita Artamonov potted his 10th of the season to tie the game on his team’s first power play of the day in the 13th minute.

After that action-packed start, things slowed a little. There was no further scoring until midway through the second period. Torpedo withstood a spell of pressure and caught Salavat on the counter, Evgeny Svechnikov putting the visitor up for the first time. That triggered another goal rush as Todd tied the game 50 seconds later and in the 34th minute a delayed penalty helped Nikita Zorkin restore the home lead.

The entertainment continued in the third. Svechnikov’s deflected shot tied the game at four and handed the visiting forward a double. However, when Vladislav Firstov went to the box in the closing stages, Salavat Yulaev seized the initiative. Chemelevski converted the power play with 57 seconds on the clock to snatch the win.

Wolves snap skid, leap to third in the East

Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 2 HC Sochi 1 (0-0, 2-1, 0-0)

With five points from its previous three games, Sochi was enjoying a mini revival. The Leopards moved off the foot of the Western Conference and victory at Neftekhimik could move it to within a point of the playoffs. Neftekhimik, meanwhile, was looking to halt a run of five losses. A win would put the Wolves back up to third in the East, but defeat in regulation would leave it down in seventh in a hotly-contested table.

The first period was goalless. Sochi started the stronger, and outshot its host 5-1 early on. However, Neftekhimik recovered to even up the play and arguably looked the better side by the end of the opening frame.

That improvement carried into the second and the home team got ahead after 25 minutes on a goal from German Tochilkin. That was the third of the season for the 21-year-old. Once again, it was a tight game but Neftekhimik took a lead to the second intermission after the teams traded late goals. Kirill Rasskazov brought Sochi level on 38:47, but within a minute Bulat Shafigullin restored the home advantage.

There was a cautious start to the final frame, with the teams struggling to get shots on goal in the early exchanges. That proved to be the story of the third period as Neftekhimik looked to protect its lead and deny Sochi chances to tie it up. The visitor moved to six skaters on 58:12 but could not force a breakthrough, although six of its nine shots on goal in the session came in the final four minutes.