Goalies fight, Torpedo battles back and Ufa snaps a skid

Avangard’s 6-1 win over Admiral will be remembered for the rare sight of two goalies getting to a fight: Andrei Mishurov and Adam Huska produced a more competitive contest than the two teams. For a sporting battle, St. Petersburg was the place: SKA led Torpedo 2-0 but fell to Igor Larionov’s previous club for the third time this season. Salavat Yulaev broke its six-game losing streak with a 5-2 verdict over Sibir, Severstal won by the same scoreline at Dinamo Minsk, and there was success for Lokomotiv at Barys and Avtomobilist over Amur.

Goalie fight in Hawks’ big win

Avangard Omsk 6 Admiral Vladivostok 1 (4-1, 2-0, 0-0)

Wednesday was the G-Drive Arena’s third birthday, and Avangard partied hard with a 6-1 win over Admiral. The Hawks handed a debut to defenseman Joseph Cecconi, who arrived in the summer from the AHL but struggled with injury early in his KHL career. The American, a World Junior Champion in 2017, finished with 17 PiMs in his first appearance after getting into a fight with Ivan Muranov in the second period.



Yet there was a more unexpected fight in the third period when the two goalies, Andrei Mishurov and Adam Huska, clashed in center ice. The pair produced a lively bout, collected major penalties and were replaced by Nikita Serebryakov and Dmitry Shugayev respectively in the 49th minute.
By that time, the scoring was already done. Shugayev had started the game for Admiral but was chased from his net by the 12th minute as Avangard jumped into a 3-0 lead. Goals from Igor Martynov, Konstantin Okulov and Marsel Ibragimov put the home team in complete control and Huska lasted barely a minute in goal before he too was beaten. Damir Sharipzyanov made it 4-0 for a rampant home team.

Late in the opening frame, Kyle Olsen pulled a goal back for Admiral, but this was always going to be Avangard’s game. The second period saw Dmitry Rashevsky and Maxim Lajoie pad the lead, the latter getting his second goal of the season after previously finding the net in a 6-1 thrashing of Ak Bars.
But the goalie fight proved to be the most memorable moment of the closing stages as Avangard eased to a convincing win after a goalless final stanza. 

Ufa snaps losing streak

Salavat Yulaev Ufa 5 Sibir Novosibirsk 2 (1-1, 4-0, 0-1)

After six successive losses, Salavat Yulaev recorded a much-needed win at home to Sibir.



Viktor Kozlov’s team trailed early in this game, but took control in an impressive second period. Alexander Khokhlachyov’s first two goals for the Ufa club since his arrival from Lada last month contributed to a big lead through 40 minutes.

Yet the early stages were far from straightforward. Sibir, looking to bounce back after losing its last two games, matched the host in the first period and got in front when Vladimir Tkachyov finished off a swift counterattack in the 14th minute. Salavat Yulaev responded before the intermission, converting the first power play of the night thanks to Jack Rodewald.

In the second period Sibir killed another penalty but soon gave up a goal to Khokhlachyov. Visiting goalie Louis Domingue denied Prokhor Korbit on the slot, but had no answer when Vladislav Yefremov sent the puck to Khokhlachyov at the back door.

Once in front, Ufa took the game away with three goals in three minutes. Artyom Gorshkov and Nikita Zorkin found the net either side of Khokhlachyov’s second of the evening. In the midst of all that, Domingue was called to the bench to be replaced by Semyon Kokaulin. The 20-year-old made his KHL debut and allowed one goal on 12 shots.

With the outcome settled, the only question was how many more could the home team score. Surprisingly, the answer was none. Although Salavat Yulaev continued to boss the play, Kokaulin did well to prevent any further damage. The only remaining marker came at the other end where Timur Akhiyarov potted a late consolation effort for Sibir.

Defending champ too strong for Barys

Barys Astana 1 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 5 (0-1, 0-1, 1-3)

Lokomotiv bounced back from a shoot-out loss to Dinamo Minsk with a comfortable victory over Barys. The Kazakhs had won their last two games, but had no answer against the defending champion.



In the first period, the visitor methodically applied pressure to the Barys net. Reward came during an extended spell of pressure when Alexei Bereglazov set up Andrei Sergeyev for a long-range effort that beat Adam Schill in the fourth minute. The early goal set the tone and Barys rarely troubled Alexei Melnichuk at the other end.

The only thing missing was further Lokomotiv scoring. That changed five minutes into the second when Richard Panik marked his return to the Railwaymen with an assist in his first game of the season. The Slovak international set up Byron Froese to double the lead. After that, Barys finally came into the game, helped by a couple of power plays.

At the start of the third, Georgy Ivanov scored from long range, then Yegor Surin added a fourth from up close. That was the end of Schill’s game, with Andrei Shutov taking over in the home net. At the other end, Reilly Walsh pulled a goal back. However, the final word went to Nikita Kiryanov, who made it 5-1 as Sergeyev’s assist brought him a 300th KHL point.  

Motormen rally to beat Tigers

Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 3 Amur Khabarovsk 1 (1-1, 0-0, 2-0)

Injury-hit Avtomobilist had to come from behind, but recovered to beat Amur 3-1. Nikolai Zavarukhin continues to explore the club’s depth, calling up Nikita Miller from the VHL and including young Dmitry Isayev on a KHL line-up for the first time. Amur, fresh from blanking CSKA, was unchanged.



The pre-game ceremonies included a tribute to Pavel Datsyuk. Yekaterinburg’s favorite hockey son became the fifth player whose banner was hung from the rafters of the UGMK Arena.

However, Amur immediately crashed the party, scoring in the second minute. Matvei Zaseda went close before disorienting the defense and setting up Ignat Korotkikh for the opener. After taking the lead, the Tigers continued to look the better team and Avtomobilist struggled to move the puck away from its net.

Gradually, though, the home team improved. Danil Romantsev missed one good chance, Kirill Petkov went close and, late in the frame, Dmitry Yudin’s shot was redirected home by Romantsev.

The second period was goalless, although Amur went close on the power play after a misplaced pass from Reid Boucher almost gifted the visitor a second goal. Although neither team was eager to hang around in center ice, the middle stanza also produced little by way of scoring chances.

Avtomobilist won it with a pair of quick goals midway through the third. Daniil Malorosiyanov led and odd-man rush for Yegor Chernikov to make it 2-1. Then another counterattack saw Stepan Khripunov use his pace to race onto Ivan Mishchenko’s pass and beat Maxim Dorozhko.

Revenge triumph for Severstal

Dinamo Minsk 2 Severstal Cherepovets 5 (1-1, 0-0, 1-4)

A surprise win over in-form Dinamo moves Severstal back into the playoff spots. The Belarusians, meanwhile, got something of a wake-up call after an encouraging four-game hot streak was chilled by a team that hasn’t delivered on the promise of its opening day 5-0 win over Neftekhimik.



Severstal made a fast start in Wednesday’s game, with Vladislav Tsitsyura opening the scoring on 1:25. But Dinamo was unruffled: on Sep. 26 the Lynx came here and took the lead, only to fall to a 2-4 loss. Today, the tying goal came ahead of schedule: Vadim Moroz scored in the 14th minute, compared with a second-period equalizer last week.

But the home team was unable to kick on this time. The second period was goalless and there were few chances at either end as the teams struggled to generate offensive possession.

At the start of the third, Severstal went back in front on Danil Aimurzin’s goal. There was another big moment for the visitor when it managed to kill a three-on-five: 30 seconds into a frustrating two-man advantage, Dinamo called a time-out but still could not find a tying goal.

Instead, the next goal when to Ivan Podshivalov, putting Severstal up by two in the 49th minute. Moroz reduced the arrears with his second of the night, but the visitor would not be denied. Kirill Tankov, who scored in the previous game here, was on target again to restore the two-goal advantage before Alexander Skorenov’s empty-netter finished the job.
 

Third win for Torpedo over SKA

SKA St. Petersburg 2 Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 3 OT (0-0, 2-0, 0-2, 0-1)
 
For the third time this season, Igor Larionov’s SKA faced his former club, Torpedo. And, for the third time, Torpedo took the win. Previously, Alexei Isakov had masterminded an overtime win on home ice and a 5-2 success here in St. Petersburg. Today his team rallied from 0-2 to tie the game before winning it on Bobby Nardella’s goal in OT.



There were no goals in the first period, but the fans had no cause to complain of any lack of entertainment. From the opening moments the teams met each other head on. Goalies Sergei Ivanov and Denis Kostin made 11 saves to maintain a deadlock through 20 minutes.

However, in the second period, Kostin ran into trouble. Twice the Torpedo netminder was penalized for dislodging his net and the second of those power plays saw Igor Larionov Jr put his father’s team in front. Former Spartak duo Nikolai Goldobin and Andrei Loktionov combined to set up Larionov in front of Kostin’s net and he opened the scoring in the 35th minute.

Then SKA forced a turnover in Torpedo territory and Brennan Menell charged forward to join his forwards and double the lead in the 38th.
Suddenly, victory over Torpedo seemed to be within SKA’s grasp. The home team enjoyed another power play either side of the second intermission but could not convert.

Instead, the visitor began its fightback. Yegor Vinogradov pulled one back, albeit at the second attempt after Yegor Sokolov recycled the play and produced another set-up for his team-mate at the back door. Then, in the 54th minute, Sergei Plotnikov gave away a penalty shot after fouling the goal-bound Nikita Artamonov. Vasily Atanasov stepped up to take the shot and surprised Ivanov with a slick move to the backhand.

That tied the game and sent the action into overtime. SKA should have won it in the extras when Trevor Murphy got clean through on Kostin’s net. However, the visiting goalie made the stop and Torpedo got down the ice to win it. Vinogradov almost settled the outcome on the wraparound, but Ivanov made a huge save. That merely delayed the inevitable: Nikita Shavin kept the play alive and defenseman Nardella joined in to apply the finishing touch. SKA will surely feel this is the most painful of its three losses to Torpedo this season.