Tight games every time. November 4 round-up

Each of Tuesday’s three KHL encounters was a one-goal game, and each ended in victory for the visitor. The day’s play started in Novosibirsk, where Torpedo edged Sibir in a shoot-out after a 3-3 tie. Spartak beat Sochi 1-0 after a goalless 60 minutes, and Dynamo took a 2-1 verdict at SKA thanks to.

Sokolov sinks Sibir

Sibir Novosibirsk 3 Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 4 SO (0-1, 1-0, 2-2, 0-0, 0-1)

Yegor Sokolov scored twice and potted the decisive penalty shot to give Torpedo victory at Sibir. The home team fell to an eighth successive loss, despite getting in front early in the third period.

Sibir also had to contend with the departure of goalie Louis Domingue, returning to Canada for family reasons. Anton Krasotkin got the start today, while his opposite number Denis Kostin got a great reception from the home crowd on his return to Novosibirsk.

Kostin found himself facing two new faces in the Sibir ranks, with Mikhail Orlov and Vyacheslav Leshchenko making their debuts today. However, it was Torpedo that got in front: the visitor’s fourth line had a goal whistled off for a high stick before Kirill Voronin broke the deadlock late in the first period.

Sibir faced penalty trouble either side of the intermission, but the home team’s youngsters tied the game in the second period. Alexander Lukin and Oskar Bulavchuk, who began the season in the VHL, combined for the latter to score his first goal in the KHL.

The action went up a gear in the third period. It started with Sokolov restoring Torpedo’s lead 11 seconds after the restart. The visitor had another goal called back when Anton Sizov’s effort was ruled out due to interference on Krasotkin.

But then Alexei Isakov’s team hit penalty trouble and was reduced to three skaters. Ivan Chekhovich tied the game then, as the power play continued, Alexander Pershakov put Sibir in front. That was a second goal in as many games for the youngster, who opened his KHL account last time out.

Sokolov hit back to tie the game with a power play tally of his own, but Sibir came close to winning it in regulation when Leshchenko hit the post. In the extras, Krasotkin stopped a penalty shot from Vasily Atanasov and halted two solo rushes on his net. But when it came to the shoot-out, Sokolov had the answer to give Torpedo the points.

Samsonov shut-out falls short

HC Sochi 0 Spartak Moscow 1 OT (0-0, 0-0, 0-0, 0-1)

Ilya Samsonov’s second game for Sochi saw him produce a shut-out through 60 minutes, only to lose on a Nikita Korostelyov goal in overtime.

These teams met two days ago, with Samsonov stopping 30 of 31 shots through two periods to help secure a 5-2 win. That ended a long Sochi skid, but Spartak got revenge today.

The winning goal came in the second minute of overtime. Spartak was able to hold possession for a long spell before Korostelyov burst into the Sochi zone and wired a shot from the right-hand circle into the far corner of Samsonov’s net.

Much earlier in the game, Korostelyov was close to opening the scoring in the seventh minute as Spartak pressed on its first power play. On that occasion, the post came to Samsonov’s rescue. At the other end, Artyom Zagidulin made a smart save to snuff out Daniil Seroukh’s one-on-one breakaway.

The teams remained evenly matched in the second period. Sochi had the best opportunity of that session when Jean-Christophe Beaudin found himself all along in front of the Spartak net. However, his blast flashed wide of the target, slamming into the boards.

In the third period, Sochi stepped up the pace and outshot Spartak 12-6, looking to settle the issue in regulation. However, Zagidulin held firm and the game went into overtime before Korostelyov’s 11th of the season finally broke the deadlock.
 
Ex-SKA forwards thrive in Petersburg

SKA St. Petersburg 1 Dynamo Moscow 2(0-1, 1-0, 0-1)

Artyom Shvets-Rogovoi scored late to send his former club to a second successive loss, leaving SKA outside the playoff spots. Dynamo, meanwhile, improves to five straight wins and moves into the top four in the West.

The home team made a bright start, testing Maxim Motorygin in the Dynamo net from the start. In the second minute he had to beat away a Yegor Savikov shot from the circle, then react instantly to deny Mikhail Vorobyov on the rebound.

But Dynamo got the first power play and rode that momentum to an opening goal shortly after Sergei Plotnikov returned to the game. Nikita Gusev, another former SKA man, was the scorer. The play began with home forward Valentin Zykov losing his balance in center ice and presenting the puck to Jordan Weal. The Canadian found a good pass for Gusev in the center of the SKA zone and his powerful one timer was too much for Sergei Ivanov.

After that, the play remained even. SKA came close to tying it up in the final minute of the frame when Joseph Blandisi’s shot came off Daniil Pylenkov’s stick and clipped the top of the crossbar.

Early in the second period, Pylenkov went to the box and Blandisi converted the power play. The American got his stick to Andrei Loktionov’s feed from the left, steering it past Motorygin. After that, the home team had the better of the action but could not turn that edge into a lead.

And, in the final frame, Dynamo took control. The visitor outshot SKA 19-3 through 20 minutes but found Ivanov in strong form. The breakthrough had to wait until the 57th minute, when the Blue-and-Whites grabbed the winner. Maxim Dzhioshvili turned to fire in the puck from out wide, Ivanov blocked the initial attempt, but the home goalie was beaten at the second attempt when Shvets-Rogovoi got to the rebound.