Shipachyov sets scoring record. October 29 round-up

With an assist on Dinamo Minsk’s first goal in Cherepovets, Vadim Shipachyov moved to 929 KHL points, overtaking Sergei Mozyakin’s all-time scoring record. The 37-year-old forward reached that landmark in his 1,006th KHL game after compiling 297 goals and 638 assists.

However, Shipachyov’s achievement came in a losing cause. Severstal won the game 5-2. Elsewhere on a busy day of KHL action, Ak Bars eased past Metallurg, Amur travelled to Dynamo under the guidance of interim head coach Viktor Kostyuchyonok and lost 0-1. There were wins for Salavat Yulaev over Admiral, Kunlun Red Star at Barys, Lada at Neftekhimik, CSKA at Torpedo, and Spartak in overtime against Vityaz.

Shipachyov’s big day, Severstal’s big win

Severstal Cherepovets 5 Dinamo Minsk 2 (2-1, 0-0, 3-1)

The big moment of Tuesday’s play came in the ninth minute of this game. Vadim Shipachyov collected the puck on the right-hand boards, moved over the blue line and pushed a diagonal pass beyond Severstal defenseman into the path of Vadim Moroz. The forward’s finish was true, Shipachyov claimed the assist and moved on to 929 career points in the KHL. In doing so, he ended his wait for a new scoring record. After tying Sergei Mozyakin’s mark 10 days ago in a 4-1 win over Neftekhimik, he had to endure three scoreless games before finally moving out in front.

It was fitting that Shipachyov’s big moment came in Cherepovets, where he began his hockey career with Severstal. He made his KHL debut on Sep. 3, 2008 in the Steelmen’s first game in the newly-formed league, but had just 43 seconds on the ice in a 2-3 loss at Traktor.

However, the moment’s historical significance was not matched by its value in the game. Severstal made a fast start to this one, and two goals in the seventh minute saw Danil Aimuzin and Andrei Churkin give the home team a handy lead. After Moroz pulled one back, Dinamo had the better of the rest of the first period. But it could not find a tying goal.

In the second period, Dinamo had the puck in the net once again. This time, though, a bench challenge saw the play whistled back for offside and Severstal held onto its lead despite on-going pressure from the visitor.

The final frame saw the Steelmen wrap up a fifth successive victory. Goals from David Dumbadze and Nikita Korostelyov took the game away from Dinamo. There was still time for Daniil Sotishvili to grab an unassisted consolation goal before Churkin had the final word with his second of the night to seal Severstal’s third win in four games against the Bison.

Red Star snaps skid

Barys Astana 0 Kunlun Red Star 2 (0-0, 0-1, 0-1)

The mini revival from Barys came to an end on home ice as Jeremy Smith and Kunlun blunted the Kazakh offense. A solid team performance from the visitor allowed just 19 shots on goal – and only one in a dominant second period – as the Dragons snapped a five-game skid.

Kunlun was boosted by the return of captain Spencer Foo after injury. The visitor also took confidence from last Friday’s battling performance against CSKA, taking the Muscovites to overtime before losing out.

Today, after a goalless first period, the visitor clamped down on the Barys forwards in the middle frame. Galym Mambetaliyev’s men were unable to get their offense firing and paid the price late on when Rourke Chartier opened the scoring. That was Chartier’s third goal of the season and his first at equal strength in the KHL.

In the final frame Smith had to make a smart save to deny Ilya Khokhlov midway through the session. But Barys found it hard to build any sustained pressure and Kunlun wrapped it up with an empty-net goal from Doyle Somerby.

Rempal’s goal makes the difference

Salavat Yulaev Ufa 2 Admiral Vladivostok 1 (1-0, 1-0, 0-1)

After back-to-back losses in Kazan, Admiral moved on to Ufa hoping for better things. The visiting coaches freshened up the roster a little, while the home team handed a debut to 21-year-old center Ilya Yepishchev, called up from Toros in the VHL.

Salavat Yulaev got off to an ideal start. In the fourth minute the home team had a five-on-three power play and Josh Leivo converted that into the opening goal. After that, Ufa continued to see more of the puck but the shot count was even through 20 minutes.

It was a similar story in the second period. Admiral got caught on the change right at the start of the session. Nathan Todd charged forward, his shot was saved by Vasily Demchenko and the rebound went straight to Sheldon Rempal to make it 2-0. Admiral worked hard to try to find a way back into the game but struggled to generate much real danger for Semyon Vyazovoi in the home net.

In the third period, Arkady Shestakov went close to pulling a goal back with a shot that beat Vyazovoi but not the post. After that, a double minor for Semyon Ruchkin slowed the visitor’s momentum. It wasn’t until late in the game that Nikita Soshnikov finished off a slick passing move to reignite the Sailors’ hopes. However, Ufa closed out the last couple of minutes to take the win.

Podyapolsky denies Neftekhimik

Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 0 Lada Togliatti 3 (0-1, 0-2, 0-0)

The previous two meetings between these teams went to shoot-outs, but there was no doubt about tonight’s winner. Lada had to absorb some pressure from Neftekhimik, but a great performance from goalie Vladislav Podyapolsky backstopped a comfortable win. As a result, the Motormen join Sibir and Admiral on 19 points; the three clubs currently occupy positions 7-9 in the Eastern Conference.

Lada made a great start, opening the scoring after just 17 seconds on a goal from Ivan Romanov. After that, Neftekhimik came back strongly, helped by a couple of early power plays. The stats strongly favored the home team, but Podyapolsky was stubborn in the visitor’s net and Lada led 1-0 at the intermission.

The second period began with few scoring chances. However, 20-year-old defenseman Magomed Sharakanov made the most of everything that came his way. The youngster doubled the lead in the 27th minute with his second career goal. Then he had an assist as Rafael Bikmullin made it 3-0 at the midway stage.

Subsequently, Neftekhimik dominated the game. However, Podyapolsky made 17 saves in the third period – moving to 43 for the evening – to secure a comfortable win.

Double delight for Ak Bars forwards

Ak Bars Kazan 4 Metallurg Magnitogorsk 1 (2-0, 0-1, 2-0)

Home forwards Dmitrij Jaskin and Artyom Galimov both scored twice to lead Ak Bars to victory over Metallurg. The latest instalment of a long-standing rivalry saw Kazan complete a sweep of four wins from four games this season against the defending champion with an aggregate score of 15-4. It also consolidates Ak Bars in third place in the East, now just two points behind Avtomobilist with two games in hand.

Ak Bars owed much of tonight’s success to goalie Amir Miftakhov. In the first period, he stood up to a barrage of pressure and made 17 saves. At the other end, the home forwards only put 10 shots on target but late in the session they found their range. Jaskin broke the deadlock in the 18th minute on a delayed penalty. Then, a minute later, Galimov overpowered a defenseman to convert Ilya Safonov’s pass and double the lead.

Galimov was close to grabbing a shorthanded goal at the start of the second period, but his shot came back to safety off Alexander Smolin’s post. Metallurg was unable to convert its power play, but got back into the game shortly after Dmitry Yudin left the penalty box. Danila Yurov accelerated towards goal and, helped by an unexpected bounce, managed to find the answer to Miftakhov.

The decisive moment came midway through the third period when Ak Bars restored its two-goal lead. It happened on the power play, and Jaskin quickly punished Smolin after he deliberately pushed the goal off its moorings. The home captain converted Alexander Barabanov’s pass to the slot and claimed his 150th KHL goal, not to mention his second of the game. Galimov joined Jaskin on two goals with an empty-netter and, like his team-mate, celebrated a KHL landmark with his 50th snipe in the league.

New-look Tigers still can’t score

Dynamo Moscow 1 Amur Khabarovsk 0 (1-0, 0-0, 0-0)

Amur parted company with head coach Andrei Martemyanov after a run of six losses – the last three of them without even a consolation goal. Viktor Kostyuchyonok took interim charge of the Tigers for tonight’s trip to Dynamo: the Belarusian returned to Khabarovsk as an assistant coach at the start of the season having previously played on Amur’s defense in the first KHL season.

After allowing 16 unanswered goals in the last three games, improving the current defense was an obvious priority. And there were signs of progress on that score. Dynamo, seeking a fifth win in six games, was unable to outshoot Amur and was held to just seven efforts on goal in the first period. However, one of those shots found its mark as Yegor Rimashevsky opened the scoring in the 14th minute.

The other big problem for Amur is scoring goals. With 34 goals in 20 games, the Tigers’ offense is the second most toothless in the KHL. Prior to tonight, the team had gone 187 minutes without a goal. That unwelcome record continued through another 60 minutes tonight, with Maxim Motorygin making 35 saves as Amur fired blanks for a fourth successive game.

Three in a row for CSKA

Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 1 CSKA Moscow 3 (0-2, 0-0, 1-1)

CSKA reeled off a third successive victory, avenging its overtime loss at home to Torpedo early in the season. Two early goals paved the way to victory for the visitor, and although a Yegor Vinogradov tally gave the home team hope in the third period, nothing would deny the Muscovites.

Ilya Vorobyov’s team made a great start in Nizhny Novgorod. Maxim Sorkin opened the scoring in the fourth off an assist from Vitaly Abramov, continuing that line’s productive form. Then Yegor Afanasyev doubled the lead in the seventh minute. After a slow start to his KHL career, the 23-year-old forward now has 6 (3+3) points from the last three games and his upswing in form coincides with his team’s.

The second period was goalless, but Torpedo showed signs of gaining the upper hand in terms of momentum, if not on the scoreboard. That eventually brought a goal from Vinogradov in the 54th minute, offering hope of a home fightback. But CSKA would not be denied: a minute later, Ivan Drozdov restored the visitor’s two-goal advantage and it stayed 3-1 to the end.

Poryadin’s double gives Spartak the verdict

Spartak Moscow 4 Vityaz Moscow Region 3 OT (0-0, 1-2, 2-1, 1-0)

The home team was looking to halt a two-game skid and put pressure on second-placed SKA. The visitor wanted to build on a win at Torpedo in the previous game and move into a playoff spot. The outcome was an exciting game that went the distance in Moscow.

However, before the drama really got going, the first period was something of a scene-setter. Spartak dominated the play, outshooting Vityaz 12-3, but could not find the net.

That changed in the 28th minute when Pavel Poryadin broke the deadlock. It felt like that was the first step towards a comfortable home win, but Pavel Desyatkov’s team quickly changed everyone’s mind. Ivan Chekhovich grabbed a surprise equalizer just a couple of minutes later, and there was more to come just before the hooter when Derek Barach put Vityaz up 2-1.

The shot count at the second intermission was 29-9 in Spartak’s favor, but the home team would have to come from behind the third period. The Red-and-Whites managed to do that, helped by a high-sticking call on Dean Stewart. The power play brought a goal from German Rubtsov, then Ivan Morozov put the home team ahead once again on 48:37.

But, with Hallowe’en approaching, Vityaz was in “indestructible zombie” mode. Morozov went to the box and Frederik Gauthier tied it up on the power play. That’s the Canadian’s sixth goal of the season and his fifth on the PP.

As regulation came to an end, Vityaz finished the stronger. However, despite some big chances to finish the job before the hooter, the game went to overtime.

In the extras, Spartak secured the win it probably deserved in regulation. Poryadin got his second of the game, with Morozov adding another assist to finish with three points. Spartak stays ahead of CSKA in third place, Vityaz moves level with Dinamo Minsk on 21 points but remains outside the playoffs in ninth.