Severstal’s winning run ends, Dinamo hits Amur for six. October 30 round-up

Dynamo Moscow blanked in-form Severstal, snapping the Western Conference leader’s hot streak after eight games. Dinamo Minsk also had a good evening, handing Amur its second 6-2 defeat in three days. Torpedo joins Severstal on 28 points in the West after a 2-0 win over Lada.

Blue-and-Whites stop Severstal’s charge

Severstal Cherepovets 0 Dynamo Moscow 3 (0-1, 0-1, 0-1)

Dynamo snapped Severstal’s hot streak, handing the Western Conference leader its first loss in nine games. Vladislav Podyapolsky’s shut-out backstopped a third successive win for the Muscovites, who are now just three points behind the leading trio.

The visitor took an early lead when Dylan Sikura stole the puck away from Thomas Gregoire on the boards. He advanced to the slot and lifted a backhand shot past Alexander Samoilov in the home net.

Gregoire’s error was all that separated the teams at the intermission. The first period was evenly matched, but light on scoring chances at either end.

At the start of the second, Severstal got the first power play of the night but could do little with it. Indeed, while the home team posed more of an offensive threat in the middle frame, there was little work for either netminder. By the midway stage, the teams had shared just three shots on goal and even at the second intermission, Severstal had a slender 4-3 advantage in attempts. However, Dynamo got the only goal of the session. Taking advantage of the extra space on offer during four-on-four play, the Blue-and-Whites unlocked the home defense with a couple of incisive passes, releasing Igor Ozhiganov for the second marker of the night.

Early in the third, Dynamo scored again. Artyom Shvets-Rogovoi found the net for the fourth game in a row to open a commanding 3-0 lead. That was more or less the end of the visitor as an attacking force: in the third period it managed just three shots at Samoilov and spent a miserly 36 seconds in the Severstal zone. At the other end, Podyapolsky made 12 more stops as the host – helped by six minutes on the power play – spent almost 10 minutes with the puck around his net. Dynamo’s goalie finished with 22 saves to complete his shut-out.

Kostin backstops Torpedo’s latest win over Lada

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

These two are familiar opponents this season. This was their fifth meeting, and the third in the last 10 days. Lada won the most recent engagement with a shoot-out verdict in Togliatti, but Torpedo bounced back to claim its fourth victory in the series. The win moves the home team to 28 points and a share of the Western Conference leadership alongside Severstal and Lokomotiv.

The game started with Lada generating a chance in its second shift, but Denis Kostin came up with the save. It wasn’t long before the visitor picked up a too many men penalty and Maxim Letunov converted the chance, stuffing the puck home at the third attempt.

Torpedo almost added to that fifth-minute tally when Letunov set up Robert Nardella for a shot that slammed into the post, then Sergei Gocharuk had the puck in the net right on the buzzer. However, that goal was called back; it crossed the line after 20 minutes had elapsed.

At the start of the second period, visiting goalie Ivan Bocharov lost position and almost allowed Vasily Atanasov to double Torpedo’s lead. In general, the home team did everything but add to its opening goal. It took some inspired play from Bocharov to keep his team in contention, although late in the frame Nikita Mikhailov almost tied it up for Lada. Kostin lost the puck behind his net, but Mikhailov’s shot was cleared off the line by Nardella.

Torpedo again had the puck in the net in the 45th minute, but Yegor Sokolov’s effort was whistled off due to the forward’s foul on Daniil Bokun as they grappled on the slot. Instead, in the 49th minute, Alex Yaremchuk finally gave the home team some breathing space when he scored off Atanasov’s pass. That completed the scoring, with Kostin making 27 saves for his shut-out. 

Minsk powers past Amur

Dinamo Minsk 6 Amur Khabarovsk 2 (2-0, 2-1, 2-1)

The Bison rumbled to a fourth straight victory, moving to within a point of the leading trio in the Western Conference. Amur, meanwhile, lost 2-6 for the second time in three days and saw its skid extend to five outings.

In the first period, the home team took control of the game. Maxim Dorozhko faced 19 shots in the Tigers’ net, while Amur was limited to five attempts at Zach Fucale. And shots translated into goals. Daniil Sotishvili opened the scoring in the seventh minute before Ilya Usov doubled the advantage in the 15th.

Things got no better for the visitor at the start of the middle frame. Yegor Borikov added a third goal within a minute, with Vadim Shipachyov’s assist moving him to 989 points in the KHL and inching him ever closer to the 1,000-point landmark. Then the visitor got the first penalty of the game, but Dinamo was unable to convert its power play after Alexei Solovyov was assessed a tripping minor.

Midway through the session, Amur got its first PP and took advantage. Ignat Korotkikh pulled a goal back, but hopes of a fightback were supressed when Vadim Moroz made it 4-1 a couple of minutes later. Josh Brook got his second helper of the game on that play.

Dinamo made a fast start in the third period as well, with Brady Lyle scoring in the first minute. Moroz added his second of the night on a late power play, before Yaroslav Likhachyov completed the scoring with a consolation effort. Likhachyov finished with 1+1, a rare bright spot on a difficult day for Amur.