Goal frenzy in Magnitogorsk. October 19 round-up

The highest-scoring game of the season to date saw Metallurg defeat Neftekhimik 9-6. An action-packed encounter brought three short-handed goals for the visitor, while the Steelmen had nine different goalscorers. Elsewhere, Severstal recorded a fourth straight win with a shoot-out success over Amur. Avangard edged Avtomobilist in overtime thanks to Konstantin Okulov, then Torpedo struck late to sink Lada. 

Severstal’s shoot-out snaps Amur’s hot streak

Amur Khabarovsk 2 Severstal Cherepovets 3 SO (0-1, 2-0, 0-1, 0-0, 0-1)

The Tigers’ hot streak came to an end as Severstal inflicted a first loss in five on Alexander Galchenyuk’s team. A third-period goal from Ilya Kvochko took the game into overtime and Mikhail Ilyin decided the shoot-out.



That secured a fourth straight win for the Lynx after a flawless home stand. And the visitor took that confidence with it on the road, quickly opening the scoring when Nikolai Chebykin’s classy feed from behind the net was buried by Ruslan Abrosimov. Amur’s attempts to hit back were hampered by a penalty on Yegor Voronkov and the first period ended with Severstal ahead on all counts.

In the second, Yanni Kaldis thought he had doubled the lead, but a bench challenge wiped out his effort. For a time, the visitor kept creating chances but gradually Amur got a grip in the game. The Likhachyov-Korotkikh-Dubakin line looked increasingly lively and it was no surprise that Yaroslav Likhachyov tied the game on the power play in the 36th minute. The home team was further boosted when Kirill Petkov won the puck on the slot and stuffed the puck home. Matvei Zaseda and Sergei Dubakin might have added to the lead, while Likhzchyov missed the chance of a second goal.

But Severstal quickly tied things in the third. Timofei Davydov’s shot was deflected into the net by Kvochko. After that, neither team could find a goal in regulation, nor overtime. Petkov almost won it in the extras with a shot off the post, but he finished on the losing side after Ilyin settled the shoot-out.
 

Okulov gives Hawks an OT win

Avangard Omsk 3 Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 2 OT (1-0, 0-0, 1-2, 1-0)

This was the third meeting between these teams in the space of a couple of October weeks. Avtomobilist had the option of bringing back Anatoly Golyshev, whose drug-related suspension expired on Oct. 18, but Nikolai Zavarukhin chose not to use the long-serving forward right away.



Avangard was without Vasily Ponomaryov, who suffered in injury in the previous game at Barys, while Dmitry Rashevsky was ill. That brought Ansel Galimov and Dmitry Zlodeyev back into the team.

The game started with a dangerous attempt from Mikhail Kotlyarevsky, saved by Evgeny Alikin in the visitor’s net. After that, though, the Hawks yielded the initiative to Avto and relied on a counterattacking game. Nonetheless, the only goal of the opening frame went to Kotlyarevsky, who scored on 19:04 to break the deadlock.

Things didn’t change much after that and Avtomobilist continued to enjoy more possession after the intermission. The visitor even had 25 seconds of five-on-three play early in the session and took the opportunity to pile the pressure onto Nikita Serebryakov in the home net. It wasn’t until midway through the frame that Avangard got its first power play and moved the action back down the ice. However, neither team could score in the second period.

Avangard started the third period in determined fashion, looking to add to its lead and take the game away. Avto defended stoutly, then tied it up on a counterattack finished by Semyon Kizimov. A too many men penalty put the visitor back in trouble, though, and Konstantin Okulov produced a fine feed for Andrew Poturalski to the restore the home lead.

The Motormen responded calmly, steadily increasing the pressure on Serebryakov. The tying goal came with five to play when a counter saw Brooks Macek set up Stephane da Costa to make it 2-2. Neither team was willing to gamble on a win in regulation, but then produced an overtime period full of chances at both ends. With 26 seconds left, Okulov brought proceedings to a close, firing home the winner to give Avangard its first victory over Avtomobilist this season.

Goal-crazy in Magnitogorsk

Metallurg Magnitogorsk 9 Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 6 (5-1, 3-1, 1-4)

Fans in Magnitogorsk saw 15 goals in a crazy game as Metallurg beat Neftekhimik. The home team powered to an 8-2 lead at the second intermission, but the visitor produced a brave performance in the third to close the gap to 9-6.



Neftekhimik also scored three short-handed goals in a game full of incident. In the first shift, the Wolves came close to beating Ilya Nabokov in the home net, only for Egeny Mityakin to hit the piping. Magnitka heeded the wake-up call and jumped to a 2-0 lead by the sixth minute. Nikita Mikhailis opened the scoring, then Evgeny Kuznetsov created a fine goal for Vladimir Tkachyov.

Then came a fight as home forward Derek Barach tangled with Matvei Nadvorny and came off second best. In the game, though, the host was definitely on top. Alexei Maklyukov added a third before a five-on-three power play saw Neftekhimik get on the board in the 13th minute thanks to Andrei Belozyorov.
That didn’t do much to undermine the home offense, and the first period brought more Metallurg goals: Yegor Korobkin and Artyom Minulin found the net, chasing Yaroslav Ozolin after 18 minutes.

Neftekhimik had given Filipp Dolganov the day off, so back-up Semyon Lyubalin made his KHL debut. What should have been a dream moment for the 20-year-old turned into a nightmare: he lasted less than 10 minutes in the face of a rampant home offense.

Derek Barach’s power play goal got things started in the second period, then further tallies for Yegor Yakovlev and Dmitry Silantyev saw Ozolin come back to the game with his team down 1-8. Two minutes later, on 30:10, Nadvorny scored the first shorty of the night and suddenly the flow of Magnitka goals began to dry up. Ozolin began his second spell in net by facing down a Kuznetsov penalty shot and then helped kill a major penalty against Ilya Pastukhov. Early in the third, Roman Kantserov became the ninth different home goalscorer, making it 9-2 in the 44th minute, converting a five-on-three power play, but after that Ozolin was not beaten again.

At the other end, Neftekhimik worked hard to make the scoreline more respectable. German Tochilkin scored twice – one short-handed, one on the power play – Bulat Shafigulin got his team’s third shorty in the 49th minute. Then, with nine seconds left, Pastukhov scored Neftekhimik’s first and only goal at equal strength, the final action of an incredible evening. 

Voronin scores late winner for Torpedo

Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 5 Lada Togliatti 3 (2-2, 1-1, 2-0)

Two late goals saw Torpedo to victory over Lada for the third time this season. The result puts Alexei Isakov’s men back into second place in the Western Conference, while Lada shares the basement with Sochi.



The opening frame proved lively, with the teams trading four goals in a five-minute flurry. Torpedo twice led, thanks to Vladislav Firstov and Mikhail Naumenkov. However, Andrei Obidin twice put Lada back on level terms.

If the first period was evenly matched, the second saw the home team dominate. Torpedo got on the power play right away, regained the lead for a third time on 24:58 when Mikhail Abramov converted the second PP of the frame, and went on to outshoot Lada 16-5. But that did not translate into a bigger lead. The visiting bench successfully challenged a Torpedo goal for offside, and it finished 3-2 at the second break.

In the final stanza, Lada was more competitive. Torpedo was left to rue its missed chances when Andrei Altybarmakyan tied it up midway through the session. But, as the game ticked into the last two minutes and overtime seemed inevitable, the home team stepped up to snatch the win in regulation. Kirill Voronin made it 4-3 on 58:07 and Alexander Yaremchuk’s empty-netter wrapped it up with 25 seconds left to play.