Avtomobilist makes winning farewell to old home. February 26 round-up

It was the last ever KHL game scheduled to be played at Yekaterinburg’s Uralets Arena, and it ended with a 2-1 win for Avtomobilist over Ak Bars in Wednesday’s big game. Elsewhere, Reid Boucher returned to Avangard’s line-up and scored an OT winner against Vityaz, while Metallurg defeated Barys 4-1.

Boucher marks return with winner

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

It took overtime for Avangard to get past Vityaz and stretch its winning run to seven games. Reid Boucher, back in action for the first time in almost a month, potted the decisive goal as the Hawks move closer to securing a playoff spot.

The home team made a strong start, with good early chances for Ryan Spooner and Igor Martynov. Pressure led to penalties, and the second power play of the game saw Ivan Igumnov set up Nikolai Prokhorkin for the opening goal.

After that, the game opened up and both teams had chances. But another PP saw Avangard increase its lead when Spooner’s feed went to Mike McCleod on the slot and his one-timer found its mark. Only the post denied McCleod another soon after, but Vityaz got back into the game late in the opening frame when Dmitry Buchelnikov advanced down the middle, drawing the defense toward him before setting up Vladislav Tsitsyura to score.

That gave the visitor hope and Vityaz made a bright start to the second period. Progress stalled following another penalty, but Pavel Desyatkin’s team regained momentum once back at equal strength. Once that pressure brought another power play, Buchelnikov helped to set up Jeremy Roy for a point shot to tie the scores. That’s Buchelnikov’s 34th assist of the season, a new club record.

That 29th-minute goal revitalized Avangard and the latter half of the second period saw good chances at both ends. However, there was no further scoring until the third, when Damir Sharipzyanov produced a fantastic shot to restore the home lead in the 46th minute. Soon after, the Hawks got on the power play but could not convert that chance to put the game beyond Vityaz.

That proved costly. In the 55th minute, Avangard coughed up the puck in the Vityaz zone and the counterattack brought a goal for Ivan Savchik to tie the game. Later, the home team had to kill a penalty to make it safely to overtime.

In those extras, Roy found himself under pressure and fired the puck over the boards. That delay of game penalty gave Avangard the advantage, and Boucher marked his return with the winning goal.

Farewell to the Uralets

Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 2 Ak Bars Kazan 1 (1-0, 1-1, 0-0)

This was the last KHL game scheduled to be played at Avtomobilist’s venerable Uralets Arena. The Motormen will return from next week’s road trip to inaugurate their new home arena, ending 53 years of hockey at one of the last remaining old-school barns in Russia.

The old building got a good send-off, with Avto defeating Ak Bars 2-1 and closing to within a point of Eastern Conference leader Traktor. By the time the all-new UGMK Arena opens for KHL action on March 10, the team could be on top of its section.

Today’s game, which was also Avtomobilist’s 1,000th in the KHL, began at a rapid tempo. At one point, the teams played a full seven minutes without a whistle. Ak Bars seemed more comfortable with that pace, deploying a strong forecheck, but both teams were happy to shoot on sight rather than wait for clear-cut chances.

Gradually, the home team gained the initiative and took the lead in the 19th minute when Nick Ebert’s point shot found its way through heavy traffic to beat Timur Bilyalov. Ak Bars almost tied it up before the intermission after forcing a turnover, but Artyom Galimov fired over the top when well placed.

The second period began with another good chance for Avtomobilist when Anatoly Golyshev led a two-on-one counter, but Bilyalov stopped both the initial shot and the follow-up effort. At the other end, Evgeny Alikin found himself called into action to stop shots from all angles while his defensemen worked hard to keep Ak Bars away from any rebounds. Nonetheless, a tying goal was on the way and went to Radel Zamaltdinov. The 19-year-old forward began the play, Nikita Dynyak drew the defense out of position and, from behind the net, returned the puck for the youngster to score his first in the KHL.

Avtomobilist regained the lead in the 33rd minute thanks to Brooks Macek. He skated onto Alexander Sharov’s pass, faked a pass to a team-mate and fired home himself to make it 2-1 at the second intermission.

The final frame saw the home team tying to force the pace in center ice. Nonetheless, Ak Bars managed to spend more time on the attack, albeit without really opening the home defense. Zamaltdinov was the only forward to really threaten, and even a power play with five to go offered little serious threat.

In the closing minutes, Golyshev found himself in the box after the officials reviewed a contentious moment. However, even playing six-on-four, Ak Bars could not save the game. Avtomobilist held on to end the Uralets era on a winning note.

Magnitka hands Barys yet another defeat

Metallurg Magnitogorsk 4 Barys Astana 1 (1-0, 2-0, 1-1)

For the second time in two days, Metallurg eased to a 4-1 victory on home ice. Today’s victim was Barys, which fell to its ninth successive loss.

Home head coach Andrei Razin handed a debut to 18-year-old forward Mikhail Fedorov, a star in the JHL this season. The youngster got a spot on the first line alongside Luke Johnson and Daniil Vovchenko.

Barys might have changed the pattern of this game had it done more with the first power play of the night. However, the visitor created almost nothing in those two minutes. The home PP was more effective: the first attempt was promising, the second productive as Vovchenko opened the scoring close to the intermission.

In the second period, Metallurg had to absorb some Barys pressure early on, with Alexander Smolin producing a good save to deny Nikita Setdikov on the counterattack. However, the game was decided after the midway mark. Robin Press doubled the home lead in the 32nd minute and Boris Osipovich soon added a third.

Smolin was still busy, both before and after the second intermission. Barys looked to eat into that hefty advantage but another Metallurg power play brought a fourth goal. Johnson was the scorer, the goal confirmed when a video review showed that Andrei Shutov’s brave effort to stop him came after the puck had got over the line.

Even down by four, Barys kept looking for at least a consolation goal. It arrived late on from Semyon Simonov but did nothing to change the final outcome.