Ak Bars wins thriller at Magnitka, Torpedo stumbles again

The game of the day saw Metallurg power to a 3-0 lead at home to Ak Bars, only to fall to a 3-4 loss after Grigory Denisenko potted two late goals. Early season pace-setter Torpedo suffered a third straight reverse when it went down 1-2 at home to Neftekhimik. The visitor moves to within two points of Magnitka, while Avangard took a share of the Eastern Conference lead after heaping more misery on Salavat Yulaev with a 5-2 win in Ufa. SKA eased past Sochi 4-2 beside the Black Sea and Barys hit back to beat Sibir 6-4 on home ice. 

Denisenko crowns Ak Bars fightback

Metallurg Magnitogorsk 3 Ak Bars Kazan 4 (1-0, 2-1, 0-3)

Grigory Denisenko scored his first goals in six games to lead Ak Bars to a dramatic victory in Magnitogorsk. Ahead of Saturday’s encounter there were statements in the Kazan media insisting there was no crisis at Tatarstan’s flagship club; when it mattered on the ice, the team underlined that point.



Metallurg came into the game in fine form, with five successive wins lifting it to the top of the Eastern Conference. And, at the start of the third period, the home team was set to extend that run. The Steelmen opened a 3-0 lead by the midway point and seemed to be cruising to victory.

The scoring started in the 19th minute when Alexander Siryatsky potted his first goal in the KHL to separate the teams at the intermission. Then came two quickfire goals as Dmitry Silantyev and Roman Kantserov pushed the lead to 3-0 by 31:26. Having already won twice against Ak Bars this season, there was ample confidence that a third success was on the way.

But the visitor recovered. Vladimir Alistrov planted the first seeds with a 36th minute tally. Then Ilya Karpukhin’s 100th KHL point saw him make it 2-3 in the 49th minute.

However, Ak Bars had to kill a penalty immediately after that, with Ilya Safonov going to the box. Metallurg could not score but was able to eat up some of the remaining minutes.

Then came Denisenko. The 24-year-old hasn’t instantly settled on his return to the KHL, but today he produced a game-winning performance in the closing stages. In the 53rd minute he tied the game, corralling the rebound from Artyom Galimov’s shot before beating Ilya Nabokov. Then came a power play chance for Ak Bars, and Denisenko rifled home a wrister from the left-hand circle off a feed from Alexander Chmelevski on his Ak Bars debut.

In the closing stages, Nabokov went to the bench, but the six-on-five set-up didn’t last long. Vladimir Tkachyov’s foul put Ak Bars on the power play, undermining that late surge and helping the visitor secure a gritty fightback win.
 

Ufa suffers yet another loss

Salavat Yulaev Ufa 2 Avangard Omsk 5 (0-3, 1-2, 1-0)

It’s not getting any easier for Salavat Yulaev. Saturday’s clash with Avangard brought a sixth successive loss for Viktor Kozlov’s men.



Three goals in three minutes late in the first period set the Hawks on the way to a bounce-back victory after their own five-game hot streak came to abrupt halt in Chelyabinsk two days ago.

The visitor was perhaps a shade fortunate to have such a commanding lead at the first intermission. Salavat Yulaev started well and enjoyed more shots and possession in the opening frame. Things might have been very different if Alexander Khokhlachyov had marked his Ufa debut with a goal in the sixth minute. Maxim Zorkin’s stretch pass sent the experienced forward clean through on Nikita Serebryakov’s net but he was unable to finish.

Later, Avangard had to kill the first penalty of the game. But in the closing stages the Hawks flexed their talons. In the 16th minute, Alexander Volkov redirected a Damir Sharipzyanov shot past Semyon Vyazovoi to open the scoring. Then, 35 seconds later, Slava Voynov doubled the advantage when Dmitry Rashevsky got past Varlov and set up the defenseman. Finally, a minute before the hooter, Semyon Chistyakov became the third visiting D-man to find the net when he smashed home a Sharipzyanov feed.

The home team got on the scoreboard in the 26th minute when Alexander Zharkovsky arrived at the back door to tuck away Danil Alalykin’s cross-ice feed. But there was little sign of a fightback. Avangard restored its three-goal lead through Andrew Poturalski before a power play tally from Konstantin Okulov made it 5-1 before the second break.

That made the third period largely academic. Zharkovsky got his second point of the game, assisting on a power play goal for Vladislav Yefremov, but that was little more than a consolation effort.

Fightback win snaps Barys skid

Barys Astana 6 Sibir Novosibirsk 4 (1-2, 3-2, 2-0)

Despite trailing by two goals on two separate occasions, Barys recovered to snap its four-game skid with victory over Sibir. Young forward Semyon Simonov scored twice to open his account for the season and lead his team to the points.



Sibir made a great start to the game, jumping to a 2-0 lead with two goals in the sixth minute. Defenseman Roman Kalinichenko opened the scoring with his first goal in the KHL on 5:04. Then, 34 seconds later, Scott Wilson doubled that lead. Barys replied quickly through 20-year-old Simonov, but trailed at the first intermission.

An entertaining start was followed by an even better second period. The home team tied the game in the 23rd minute thanks to Dmitry Breus. However, Sibir responded almost immediately and Nikita Soshnikov restored the visitor’s lead. In the 28th minute Vladislav Kara made it 4-2 and once again Barys had to recover a two-goal deficit.

The Kazakhs achieved that before the second intermission: Jake Massie pulled one back, then Simonov got his second of the game to tie it up on 37:46. That chased starting goalie Andrei Shutov from his net and brought recent signing Adam Scheel into the game. The 26-year-old American made a big difference, stopping everything he faced to help secure the win.

At the other end Ian McCoshen was the latest player to score his first of the season for Barys. The American defenseman, signed from Kunlun in the summer, found the net in the 49th minute to put the host up for the first time. And an empty-net tally from Mason Morelli sealed the win.
 

Strong middle frame lifts SKA over Sochi

HC Sochi 2 SKA St. Petersburg 4 (0-0, 0-4, 2-0)

A second-period blitz powered SKA to a fifth victory in six games as Igor Larionov’s team shot down Sochi.



The visitor dominated the first period, outshooting the Leopards 15-7, but could not find a way past Pavel Khomchenko. At the other end Yegor Zavragin, who began last season at Sochi, was reprieved by the video official in the 17th minute. A bench challenge saw Sochi’s potential opener whistled off for a kicking motion as the home team tried to snatch a short-handed goal.

The second period was more evenly-matched in terms of possession and chances, yet proved entirely one-sided on the scoreboard. SKA made its break-through half-way through: Rocco Grimaldi found the net to end Khomchenko’s resistance. Within a minute, Andrei Loktionov’s first of the season doubled the visitor’s lead and the game tilted firmly in the visitor’s favor.

There was more to come, with Brennan Menell adding a third on 32:13. The was the defenseman’s fifth goal in the last six games. And just before the intermission Joseph Blandisi struck on the power play to make it 4-0 at the break.

That effectively ended the contest. Sochi managed to recover a little in the third, stemming the flow of Petersburg goals and grabbing some late consolation through Artur Tyanulin on the power play in the 58th minute and Timur Khafizov in the final seconds. But this was always SKA’s day as the visitor moved into the top four in the Western Conference.
 

Wolves keep up strong run

Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 1 Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 2 (0-1, 1-1, 0-0)

Neftekhimik underlined its status as the early-season surprise package. Victory in Nizhny Novgorod moves Igor Grishin’s team up to 12 points, third in the Eastern Conference just behind Metallurg and Avangard.



This was a clash between a team whose hot start was starting to cool, and a visitor hitting its stride and moving to the top end of the standings. Torpedo was the last team to taste defeat this season after winning its first six games. However, this was a third successive loss for rookie KHL head coach Alexei Isakov.

Neftekhimik was the first to show. Danil Yurtaikin has been in fine form for the Wolves this season, and his 10th-minute goal broke the deadlock here. That was his fourth goal and 11th point in his ninth game to date, extending his productive run to six games. At the other end, Filipp Dolganov stopped 13 shots to preserve his team’s lead.

In the second, Torpedo found a way past Dolganov at last. Sergei Goncharuk, always a reliable source for the home team, got on the scoresheet in the 37th minute. However, by that stage Neftekhimik already had its second, decisive tally. Bulat Shafigulin scored his second of the season midway through proceedings.

After that, Torpedo’s attempts to push for a tying goal were arguably a touch too urgent. The home team took four penalties in the third period, seriously undermining its ability to build pressure on the Neftekhimik net. The visitor did not always look to force the pace in search of a killer third goal, but did enough to secure the win and extend its current run to five victories from six games.