SKA slips up at KRS, Torpedo edges thriller at Dynamo

SKA fell to a third successive defeat, going down in overtime at Kunlun Red Star. A couple of weeks earlier, SKA beat the Dragons 8-0 but today managed just one goal in Mytishchi. Dynamo Moscow and Torpedo traded eight goals in a lively battle in the capital, but the visitor claimed the verdict in a shoot-out. Spartak’s Alexei Zhamnov celebrated his 100th game as head coach with a 3-1 win at Sochi before Vityaz defeated Dinamo Minsk.

Red-and-Whites win in Zhamnov’s 100th game

HC Sochi 1 Spartak Moscow 3 (0-0, 0-1, 1-2)

Alexei Zhamnov celebrated his 100th game in charge of Spartak with victory at Sochi. However, the home team was frustrated once again, falling to a fourth consecutive loss.
To make matters worse for Sochi, the Leopards made the better start to this game. Spartak was slow to settle and at the first intermission had managed just three shots on goal. At the other end, Dmitry Nikolayev stopped 12 attempts.
At the start of the second period, the play continued to favor the home team. Artemy Kuznetsov really should have opened the scoring during a spell of four-on-three play. But after he gathered in a loose puck following a shot off the boards, he lined up a wide open corner of Nikolayev’s net, shot ... and saw Michal Cajkovsky thrust out his stick to make the save. Not long after, Spartak made the most of its reprieve and Andrei Loktionov opened the scoring.
Early in the third, the visitor took the game away. Andrei Mironov jumped out of the penalty box straight onto the rush and made it 2-0. Then Daniel Usmanov padded the lead with a power play goal. There was a worrying moment for Spartak when Mironov hurt himself blocking a shot, but the defenseman returned to the fray late in the game.
With a minute to play, Sochi got a goal when Dmitry Timashov intercepted a stray pass and delivered the puck to Artur Tyanulin at the back door. But that was as close as it got as Spartak closed out the win.
 

Dragons upset SKA again

Kunlun Red Star 2 SKA St. Petersburg 1 OT (1-0, 0-1, 0-0, 1-0)

For the second time this season, SKA slipped up against Kunlun. Roman Roternberg’s team was unusually goal-shy in Mytishchi, where it scored eight in its previous visit, and lost out in overtime to the Dragons. That makes three successive losses for SKA, which remains 11 points behind Western Conference leader Lokomotiv.
The visitor handed Pavel Moisevich the start in goal. The 20-year-old Belarusian made a bright start to his KHL career last season but today was his first action of the 2024/2025 season at any level. He lasted seven minutes before allowing his first goal, beaten by a well-placed Hudson Elynuik wrist shot. However, Moisevich could question the lack of defensive cover: after SKA lost the puck in the Red Star zone, four players converged on Luke Lockhart, leaving plenty of space for Elynuik to collect the pass and move in on goal unimpeded.
Subsequently, the visitor began to raise the tempo of its own offense. However, the Dragons’ defense was more solid than in recent weeks. The return of Ryan Merkley, who missed a month due to injury, helped, as did the decision to play with seven D-men. It wasn’t until late in the second period that SKA managed to tie the game, with 20-year-old defenseman Ivan Vydrenkov claiming his first KHL goal.
That might have been the cue to go on and win it in the third. SKA certainly dominated the game but could not find a way past Jeremy Smith in the home net. Then, in overtime, Evgeny Kuznetsov’s penalty gave Kunlun the chance it was waiting for. Flawless execution from the face-off saw Rourke Chartier get his third goal in four games, converting Merkley’s feed at the back door. Red Star now has two wins from three games against SKA, despite an 8-0 loss in the teams’ other meeting this season.
 

Torpedo edges high-scoring clash

Dynamo Moscow 4 Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 5 SO (2-2, 1-0, 1-2, 0-0, 0-1)

A couple of weeks ago, Dynamo travelled to Torpedo and claimed a shoot-out win. Today, in Moscow, Torpedo clapped back with the same result after an entertaining 4-4 tie.
Today’s action started early: with just 17 seconds played, Dynamo opened the scoring when Cedric Paquette fired in a shot from the right wing and Jordan Weal forced it home from the slot. Nikita Gusev also assisted on that one, starting a productive evening that brought him and Weal three points each.
However, Torpedo responded quickly. The first power play of the game saw Mikhail Abramov tie it up, then Evgeny Svechnikov grabbed a short-handed goal to make it 2-1 in the 12th minute. Svechnikov’s goal stemmed from an error by Max Comtois, but within 30 seconds he redeemed himself by setting up Dmitry Rashevsky for an instant equalizer.
The second period began with the puck in Torpedo’s net again but this time Paquette’s effort was disallowed. Instead, the teams were locked at 2-2 until late in the frame when Dynamo first killed Igor Ozhiganov’s penalty, then scored on the power play as Slava Voynov sat for tripping. Weal converted the chance just 12 seconds after the penalty was called.
Two goals for Weal, and soon two goals for Svechnikov, who tied it up on the power play while Jordan sat in the box. Like Comtois before him, Weal made amends soon after, producing a great no-look pass to set up Gusev to make it 4-3.
That lead didn’t last long before Dmitry Kagarlitsky banged in another tying goal. With 12 to play, it was 4-4, and the next shift should have seen Kirill Voronin put Torpedo in front. However, he struggled to control the puck and was deprived of a second chance by the attentions of Weal.
Despite a couple of late penalties, there was no more scoring in regulation or overtime. For the shoot-out, Torpedo replaced goalie Ivan Bocharov with Ivan Kulbakov. He was beaten twice, but still finished on the winning side; Artyom Misnikov, called up from the VHL after a productive start to the season, potted the decider.
 

Power play goals lift Vityaz past Dinamo

Dinamo Minsk 1 Vityaz Moscow Region 4 (0-0, 1-1, 0-3)

Vityaz avenged two previous losses against Dinamo to move level on points with the Belarusian team. The two are now locked on 23 points, straddling the border to the playoff zone.
The home team may regret a lack of incision. Dinamo comfortably outshot the visitor through the first two periods but went to the second intermission tied at 1-1. The Bison even failed to convert a full two minutes of five-on-three play at the start of the second period, and fell behind midway through the frame when Frederik Gauthier converted the first Vityaz PP of the night. Initially, that seemed to galvanize the Belarusians and Sam Anas tied the scores a couple of minutes later.
But that was the highlight of the game for Dinamo. Early in the third, Andrei Chivilyov restored the Vityaz lead and this time it stuck. Midway through the session, Anas went to the box and Sergei Kalinin converted the PP to make it 3-1. That’s Kalinin’s first goal of the season after he was signed by Vityaz in mid-October. Dmitry Buchelnikov’s empty-netter wrapped up the win, while Maxim Dorozhko in the visitor’s net finished with 41 saves on a day when little went right for Dinamo’s forwards.