Ak Bars rolls to ninth straight win. October 25 round-up

In-form Ak Bars has not lost in October and today’s 5-3 verdict over Admiral made it nine wins on the spin. Traktor became the first to win a shoot-out against Sibir this term after recovering from 1-3 in Novosibirsk. And Salavat Yulaev got a third straight win with a 2-1 success at Neftekhimik.

Traktor downs Sibir in shoot-out

Sibir Novosibirsk 3 Traktor Chelyabinsk 4 SO (1-1, 2-0, 0-2, 0-0, 0-1)

Traktor rallied from 1-3 to force overtime before beating Sibir in a shoot-out. It was the first time the Siberians had failed in a shoot-out this season and sent Vyacheslav Butsayev’s team to a fourth straight loss. Traktor rebounded after dropping its previous two games.

The second of those defeats, 3-5 vs Avtomobilist, prompted changes. Grigory Dronov began his five-game suspension, while Josh Leivo was a scratch. Both teams substantially reshuffled their lines in search of better form.

In the first period, both teams allowed a fairly soft goal. First, Traktor was too passive and failed to close down Yegor Alanov as he teed up a goalbound shot. Then Sibir gave up a shorthanded goal: approaching the PP without a recognized defenseman, the home team failed to halt Vasily Glotov on the breakaway.

It remained level until late in the second period, but Sibir then grabbed a couple of quick goals to take control of the game. Ivan Chekhovich struck from long range on a delayed penalty, then Kirill Rasskazov added a third.

Up by two at the start of the third period, Sibir looked to be on course for its first win in regulation for more than a month. The home team killed a penalty fairly easily, and might have extended its lead further had Vladimir Tkachyov succeeded in scoring on his former club. Soon after that, Mikhail Grigogrenko pulled a goal back, extending his productive streak to five games.

The tying goal came in the 58th minute, with Traktor playing six-on-five. Yegor Korshkov reacted well to the rebound from Sergei Telegin’s point shot to tie the game.

Neither team could find a breakthrough in overtime, but in the shoot-out Sibir’s touch deserted it. Glotov and Semyon Der-Arguchintsev were on target for Traktor to claim the win.

Third straight win for Ufa

Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 1 Salavat Yulaev Ufa 2 (1-1, 0-1, 0-0)

The Salavat Yulaev revival is picking up pace. This was a third straight win for Viktor Kozlov’s team, and there was more good news with today’s report that forward Sheldon Rempal is returning to Ufa.

The teams traded goals midway through the first period. Damir Zhafyarov gave Neftekhimik the lead with his sixth goal and 16th point of the season. That suggests the 31-year-old is returning to his best form after a couple of lean seasons.

However, it wasn’t enough to lay a proper foundation for the Wolves. Ufa tied the game almost immediately on the power play with 18-year-old Alexander Zharovsky beating Yaroslav Ozolin with a wrister from close range.

The balance of play remained even, but in the second period the visitor got in front. Timur Khairullin denied Devin Brosseau a seemingly certain goal, but nobody could stop Vladislav Yefremov in the 27th minute.

Up by just one, Salavat Yulaev preferred not to defend deep in the third. Instead, the visitor looked for more goals. It didn’t find them, but demonstrated that attack is the best form of defense by holding Neftekhimik at bay to take the verdict. 

Hot run continues for Ak Bars

Ak Bars Kazan 5 Admiral Vladivostok 3 (2-1, 2-2, 1-0)

The Oktoberfest continues in Kazan, where Ak Bars remains undefeated through all nine games it has played this month. Today’s 5-3 verdict over Admiral returns Anvar Gatiyatulin’s men to second in the Eastern Conference.

Admiral hung around in the game in the first period, but two power play goals from Alexander Chmelevski early in the second condemned the Sailors to a third straight loss.

The start went perfectly for the home team. Ilya Safonov opened the scoring in the third minute, then Ak Bars got the first power play of the game when Stepan Starkov was assessed a tripping minor in the fifth minute.

But Admiral killed that penalty and soon earned a PP of its own. This one was more effective: Nikita Tertyshny quickly tied the game after Timur Bilyalov padded away Dmitry Zavgorodny’s shot.

Late in the opening frame, Mitch Miller restored the home lead with a fine individual effort. The American defenseman grabbed the puck in center ice, stepped boldly forward to beat Georgy Solyannikov and advance on Adam Huska’s net to make it 2-1.

There was plenty of incident early in the middle frame. Ak Bars got on the power play again, and immediately allowed Zavgorodny a shorty to tie the scores. But the same power play brought Chmelevski’s first of the night. Then Libor Sulak went to the box and Chmelevski scored again, again off an Alexander Barabanov assist.

Both teams then survived being reduced to three skaters before Starkov made it 3-4 on the power play late in the second period.

That was as close as the visitor would get: the third period saw Ak Bars control the puck and outshoot Admiral 16-9. There wasn’t much opportunity to find a tying goal and a tough task was rendered almost impossible when Safonov got his second of the game – once again on the PP – on 52 minutes. The Sailors last hopes disappeared over the horizon in the closing stages when a string of penalties twice had the visitor playing with three instead of launching a last storm on Bilyalov’s net.