SKA, Avangard, Dynamo get first wins, big fightback sinks Minsk

Igor Larionov enjoyed his first win as SKA head coach, leading the Petersburg team to a 5-2 verdict over Traktor. Avangard also got off the mark for 2025/2026, coming from behind to beat Amur 2-1. Neftekhimik produced a much bigger fightback, recovering from 0-3 to beat Dinamo Minsk and give Igor Grishin his first win as Wolves head coach. Severstal’s Ruslan Abrosimov shot down Spartak and Dynamo Moscow got past Metallurg in a shoot-out.

Ponomaryov, Okulov on target for Avangard

Avangard Omsk 2 Amur Khabarovsk 1 (0-1, 1-0 1-0)

The Hawks came from behind to record a first victory of the season. Guy Boucher’s team recovered from an opening 1-2 loss against Ak Bars. Vasily Pomomaryov potted his first goal of the season after joining Avangard in the summer.

Amur, meanwhile, wrapped up a three-game road trip. Following a shoot-out loss at Barys, Alexander Galchenyuk made two changes with defenseman Alexei Solovyov and forward Alex Broadhurst making their first appearances of the season. Notably, both had previously played for Avangard.

The Tigers had the better of the first period and got in front on the first power play of the evening. Ivan Mishchenko’s shot from the blue and on the slot Nikita Yevsyev screened goalie Nikita Serebryakov before applying the finishing touch as the puck went past him. At the other end, Amur’s defense put in a big shift, blocking 14 shots in the opening frame.

But that effort was undone after the intermission. Ponomaryov got the tying goal 76 seconds into the middle frame. Later, Avangard enjoyed two five-on-three power plays but could not capitalize on the opportunities.

The third period brought another fast start for the home team. Amid a crowd scene on the slot, Maxim Dorozhko could not see Konstantin Okulov as he fired in a powerful shot on the turn. Avangard had to work to preserve its lead. First, Damir Sharipzyanov went to the box, but Amur could not step up the pace on the power play. Back at equal strength, Matvei Zaseda had a good look, but Serebryakov got his pad behind the forward’s attempt.

Amur spent much of the closing stages on the power play, but was still unable to force a way through. The Tigers spent the final moments playing six-on-four after Mikhail Gulyayev’s double minor, but could not escape a second successive defeat.

Dynamo gets first win

Metallurg Magnitogorsk 1 Dynamo Moscow 2 SO (0-0, 0-0, 1-1, 0-0, 0-1)

Games in Magnitogorsk are proving good value for money so far this season – at least for the neutral. All three of Metallurg’s games so far have gone to overtime and today brought a second shoot-out. However, the Steelmen have managed just one victory so far and head into Sunday’s trip to Kazan looking for improvement.

Dynamo also hit the road in search of better things. Two games in Moscow brought a heavy loss to CSKA and a shootout reverse against Sochi.
As a result, both coaches made changes. Andrei Razin is still looking for his favored strike partnerships and today Sergei Tolchinsky was recalled to the second line. The top trio brought together Dmitry Silantyev, Vladimir Tkachyov and Roman Kantserov. Dynamo again went without summer signing Devin Brosseau, while defenseman Mario Patalakha played his first game of the season.

It took a long time for the teams to find a breakthrough in this game. The opening frame saw Metallurg with more of the puck – helped by a five-on-three power play – while Dynamo edged the shot count 9-7. After the intermission, there was more from the home team. Magnitka maintained its territorial advantage and showed a greater willingness to shoot. However, Maxim Motorygin made 15 saves to keep the scoresheet blank through 40 minutes.

The home pressure continued at the start of the third. Vladimir Tkachyov dinged the crossbar, and moments later Fredrik Claesson took a penalty to give Metallurg another power play. However, Dynamo held on, and the Swede returned to open the scoring in the 48th minute.

Tempers were just settling down after Cedric Paquette and Alexei Maklyukov went to the box for roughing, and Dynamo won the face-off in the Metallurg zone. Daniil Pylenkov dished off the puck for Claesson, whose powerful shot beat Ilya Nabokov to record his first goal since joining the Blue-and-Whites from CSKA.

Metallurg’s problems seemed to be deepening in the 53rd minute when Tkachyov was assessed a cross-checking penalty. But the home team produced a short-handed goal. Roman Kantserov stole the puck away from Nikita Gusev and set up Dmitry Silantyev to score from close range.

That sparked a scuffle between the two teams and three men from each side took double minors for roughing. In addition, Kantserov was deemed the instigator and sat out further 10-minute misconduct tariff. Dynamo continued with its initial power play, but could not make it stick before Tkachyov returned to the ice.

In the final moments, Kirill Adamchuk hit the post for Dynamo, but the game went on to overtime. This proved to be a cautious affair with the play largely concentrated in center ice. Things changed when Igor Ozhiganov’s foul offered Metallurg a delayed power play then five seconds of formal numerical advantage. But that wasn’t enough to force the issue, and the visitor settled the shoot-out in short order. Jordan Weal and Nikita Gusev converted their attempts, Metallurg could not score and the points went back to Moscow.

Wolves battle back to claim first win

Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 4 Dinamo Minsk 3 (0-3, 2-0, 2-0)

After falling 0-3 behind, Neftekhimik produced a stirring fightback to win its first game of the season. Dinamo Minsk, defensively so impressive in its opener against Spartak, suddenly fell vulnerable at the back and allowed the home team to score four unanswered goals in the second and third periods.

Dinamo took advantage of some lax Neftekhimik discipline in the first period to open a 3-0 lead. The home team took four penalties and allowed two power play goals. Sergei Kuznetsov opened the scoring in the sixth minute, then Stanislav Galiyev doubled the lead on 18:24. Another 20 seconds elapsed, and Ilya Usov potted the first equal-strength goal of the game. Dinamo up 3-0, and after 80 minutes of hockey Dmitry Kvartalnov’s team had not allowed a goal this season.

Igor Grishin, by contrast, was staring down the barrel of a third straight home loss since taking the reins at Neftekhimik. But his team revived in the second period. Evgeny Mityakin’s early goal changed the mood, and Matvei Nadvorny made it a one-goal game in the 27th minute. The 22-year-old claimed his first KHL goal in only his second appearance, having previously been part of the Wolves’ VHL outfit.

Dinamo still enjoyed the lion’s share of the game, with more than seven minutes’ attacking possession and a 12-7 shot count in the middle frame. But despite more home penalties – including a few seconds down to three men – there was no further scoring from the visitor.

At the start of the third, Neftekhimik tied it up on a power play goal from Andrei Belozyorov. There was still plenty of Minsk pressure, but by now Yaroslav Ozolin had the measure of the Belarusian offense. Another successful penalty kill was followed by a go-ahead goal in the 50th minute from Maxim Fedotov.

Abrosimov’s double sinks Spartak

Spartak Moscow 1 Severstal Cherepovets 2 (0-1, 1-0, 0-1)

Two goals from Ruslan Abrosimov gave Severstal the win at Spartak. Andrei Kozyrev’s team bounced back from Tuesday’s 1-4 loss at Lokomotiv to send the Red-and-Whites spinning to a second successive reverse.

Initially, Spartak looked to be in control of the game. The home team had two early power plays but failed to press home that advantage. Soon, Severstal showed how it should be done when Abrosimov converted his team’s first PP of the night in the 12th minute.

Apparently, the home team watched and learned. Spartak had to wait until midway through the second stanza for another power play chance, but when it came it led to a goal. German Rubtsov was the scorer, tying the scores on 30:47. The Muscovites also turned around the pattern of play after Severstal had the better of the opening frame. In the second period the action was far more even and the game was intriguingly poised going into the third.

There wasn’t much between the sides in the final frame either, but the game was settled in the 48th minute when Abrosimov struck again. Kirill Tankov powered in a shot from the left-hand circle and home goalie Ilya Nikolayev lost track of the rebound. Abrosimov, circling around the net, was first to spot the puck and stuff it over the line for his third of the season.

Young SKA forwards inspire victory

SKA St. Petersburg 5 Traktor Chelyabinsk 2 (1-0, 2-2, 2-0)

Igor Larionov has his first KHL victory as SKA’s head coach, and a 5-2 win over last year’s runner-up represents a significant scalp. SKA’s home opener came after losses to Shanghai Dragons (4-7) and Torpedo (2-3 OT), with Larionov perhaps under a modicum of pressure in his first game at the Ledovy arena.

But a powerful performance from three young players led the home team to victory. Matvei Korotky, 19, and Matvei Polyakov, 21, had a goal and an assist apiece; 22-year-old Nikita Dishkovsky had a hat-trick of helpers. For Traktor, two points from Pierrick Dube could not prevent a third loss in four games.
After winning the previous game at Neftekhimik, Traktor made a bright start here. But SKA steadily got into the game and opened the scoring when

Dishkovsky’s counterattack set up Korotky. Just before the intermission, the post denied Brennan Menell a second goal for the home team. Instead, SKA had to wait until the 24th minute to go up 2-0. This one went to Marat Khairullin, with a one-timer off a Markus Phillips set up. Dube pulled a goal back, cashing in on a misplaced Sergei Plotnikov pass, but Polyakov immediately restored the two-goal advantage after Korotky and Dishkovsky combined.

However, Traktor was far from done and got one back thanks to Alexander Kadeikin on the power play late in the session. The third period began with some open hockey. The teams traded good early opportunities, but first Chris Driedger denied SKA’s Rocco Grimaldi, then Artemy Pleshkov stopped Andrei Svetlakov at the other end.

In the 48th minute, a swift counter saw Menell get on the end of Polyakov and Dishkovsky’s rush to score at the back door. The two-goal advantage gave SKA some valuable breathing space and enabled the home team to play to the situation. There was still danger, though: Trevor Murphy’s penalty saw Traktor on the attack, and Grigory Dronov dinged the piping off a Dube feed. With five to play, the visitor sent out a sixth skater. Dronov hit the post again, and Semyon Der-Arguchintsev tested Pleshkov – but from that very save SKA broke away for Plotnikov to score into the empty net from center ice.