Happy days on the road. January 4 round-up

The New Year holidays can be a great time to travel – as proved by Saturday’s KHL action. All three road teams won their games, with Sibir on top in Ufa, Avangard winning at Neftekhimik and Dinamo Minsk getting the verdict at Torpedo. 

Penalty trouble hurts Salavat Yulaev

Salavat Yulaev Ufa 1 Sibir Novosibirsk 4 (1-0, 0-2, 0-2)

Sibir’s power play laid the foundations for an impressive road win at the Eastern Conference leader. Taylor Beck had a goal and two assists, while Brendan Leipsic marked his debut with a helper.

Leipsic, who arrived from Avtomobilist late last month, went onto Sibir’s first line alongside Beck and Anton Berlyov. The visitor was missing another forward, Andy Andreoff, who recently became a father. Salavat Yulaev, meanwhile, handed a debut to 26-year-old forward Evgeny Sorokin, called up from the VHL, while Alexander Komarov returned on defense. Semyon Vyazovoi continued in goal after back-to-back shut-outs.

The home team began the game as if struggling with the aftermath of the New Year festivities. In the first eight minutes, Sibir outshot Salavat 10-1 with Vyzavoi working hard to extend his run of form. Despite that pressure, the opening goal went to the host – and debutant Sorokin was the scorer in the 14th minute.

However, that was as good as it got for Ufa. In the second period, Sibir converted two power plays in quick succession. First, Beck ended Vyazovoi’s shut-out sequence at 167:30. Four minutes later, Beck turned provider as Vladimir Butuzov finished off a well-worked combination to put the visitor in front.

Salavat Yulaev created chances, but failed to convert them. The usually productive imports were silenced and another Sibir power play midway through the third period saw Sergei Shirokov make it 3-1. This time, Leipsic was among the assists. Two minutes later, the 38-year-old Shirokov struck again to make the final score 4-1. That wrapped up a win that gives Sibir some breathing space in the top eight.

Hawks complete season sweep of Neftekhimik

Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 1 Avangard Omsk 5 (0-3, 1-1, 0-1) 

Avangard defeated Neftekhimik for the fourth time this season thanks to a strong first-period performance in Nizhnekamsk. The visitor jumped to a 3-0 lead in the opening frame, helped by two points from recent signing Giovanni Fiore.

The Hawks looked lively from the start and took a firm grip on the game with a couple of quick goals. First, Igor Martynov took a pass from Ilya Reingardt and fired in a shot on the turn to beat Igor Bobkov. A minute later, Mike McLeod doubled the lead when he stormed down the right wing and whipped a shot around the defenseman and into the net.

Fiore’s assist on that play brought his first point since leaving Admiral for Avangard. And it wasn’t long before he added his first goal for his new club: the visitor won a face-off in center ice and Fiore drove forward to angle in a shot from the left-hand channel.

Despite the 3-0 lead, Avangard did not have it all its own way in the opening frame. Neftekhimik actually managed to outshoot the visitor 14-13 but could not find a way past Nikita Serebryakov. In the second period, though, the Wolves made a breakthrough. The game’s first power play went to the home team and, in the 25th minute, Andrei Belozyorov pulled a goal back.

After that, Avangard had to kill 1:49 with three skaters. Riley Barber fired wide when well placed, and Serebryakov denied Belozyorov a second goal as the visiting PK hung on. The teams returned to full strength, but Neftekhimik continued to press and it took a goal line clearance from McCleod to back up Serebryakov after Nikita Khoruzhev got the puck past the netminder.

However, that pressure did not bring another goal and, as the intermission approached, Avangard delivered a sucker punch. Nail Yakupov added a fourth goal to restore the Hawks’ three-goal advantage.

In the third period, Yakupov got his second of the night on the power play. That made the final score 5-1 to Avangard, helping Guy Boucher’s team to start 2025 on a positive note after losing three of its last four games in 2024.

Dinamo keeps up winning form

Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 0 Dinamo Minsk 3 (0-0, 0-3, 0-0)

The turn of the year did little to improve matters for Torpedo. Igor Larionov’s team finished 2024 with four losses from five games. At the same time, today’s opponent, Dinamo Minsk, won five of its last six and opened a seven-point gap between seventh and eighth place. Suddenly, Nizhny Novgorod was looking anxiously over its shoulder as a resurgent Kunlun cut the gap in the race for the playoffs.

Saturday’s opening game of 2025 offered Torpedo a chance to improve on its situation. Victory over Dinamo would close the gap on the team directly ahead and put more clear water in the way of the chasing pack. However, things did not work out that way.

The first period saw the Belarusians enjoy the better of the play without finding an opening goal. But once Brady Lyle found the net at the start of the second – assisted by Vadim Shipachyov, who continues to add to his record-breaking tally – the game moved decisively in the Bison’s favor. Further tallies from Sam Anas and Nikita Pishkailo made it 3-0 midway through the game.

There was no further scoring in the remainder of the game. Torpedo, noted for its attacking prowess in the past, found it hard to create good opportunities in front of Vasily Demchenko’s net and mustered just five shots in the third period. Demchenko finished with 22 saves to secure his second shut-out in three games, and his third of the season.