Record win for Traktor, 10 goals in Cherepovets. November 26 round-up

A 9-0 victory over Shanghai Dragons set a KHL club record for Traktor as Raphael Richer got his first win as interim head coach. There was another high-scoring game in Cherepovets, where SKA struck late to claim a 6-4 win over Severstal. Dynamo held on to beat Lokomotiv 1-0 in Moscow and earlier in the day, Admiral beat Amur 4-1 in the Far East derby.

Sailors cruise to derby win

Admiral Vladivostok 4 Amur Khabarovsk 1 (1-1, 1-0, 2-0)

Vladivostok hosted the third Far East derby of the season, and it ended with a win for Admiral, which takes a 2-1 lead in the series to date.

The teams traded goals in the first period. Libor Sulak put the Sailors in front on the power play in the sixth minute, which Maxim Dorozhko barely able to get a glove to his shot. But late in the frame Amur tied it up through Ivan Mishchenko, who converted Evgeny Svechnikov’s feed.

In the middle frame, Admiral got back in front when Igor Geraskin thumped home a one-timer from the slot after Arkady Shestakov set him up. Late in the second period, as befits a derby, passions boiled over and Dmitry Deryabin got into a fight with Viktor Baldayev as the intermission approached.

Early in the third, while the two combatants sat out their major penalties, Admiral added two more goals. Pavel Shen made it 3-1, then Alexander Shepelev’s effort was redirected home by Nikita Tertyshny. Amur had a chance to get back into the game on the power play in the closing stages, but the home team closed out an assured victory.

Four-point Svetlakov powers huge win

Traktor Chelyabinsk 9 Shanghai Dragons 0 (3-0, 4-0, 2-0)

With nine unanswered goals, Traktor powered to its biggest ever victory in KHL play. The emphatic success came at the end of a busy week behind the scenes in Chelyabinsk, with the club renewing its coaching staff following the departure of Benoit Groulx.

Raphael Richer continues as interim head coach, and recorded his first win in that role today. Evgeny Koreshkov and Sergei Zubov have been added to the backroom team, although the latter has yet to arrive in Chelyabinsk and his place on the bench today was taken by Dmitry Kostromitin.

There were also changes on the ice, with Andrei Nikonov and Alexander Rykov returning to action and goalie Savely Shertnev getting his first start in the KHL. Shanghai handed a debut to defenseman Wyatt Kalynuk, recently arrived from Ufa.

For much of the season, Traktor has struggled in the early stages of games. Today, for the first time in five attempts, the home team scored the opening goal: Yegor Korshkov and Alexander Kadeikin finished off a two-on-one rush. A few minutes later, Grigory Dronov joined the attack to slot home number two, then Mikhail Grigorenko and Vitaly Kravtsov set up Josh Leivo to make it 3-0 at the intermission.

The second period proved painful for the visitor. Sergei Telegin made a great pass from the blue line to set up Jordan Gross for 4-0, then Nikonov chased starting goalie Patrik Rybar from his net. Andrei Tikhomirov entered the game, but was beaten by Korshkov within a minute. And, late in the session,

Kravtsov added a short-handed goal. That, plus his earlier assist, takes him 9 (3+6) points in six games since returning to Traktor.

The third period brought two more goals, both scored by Andrei Svetlakov. He finished with four points, Traktor went one better than last year’s 8-0 drubbing of Barys, and Sherstnev marked his full debut with a shut-out, making 27 saves. 

Dynamo Moscow 1 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 0 (1-0, 0-0, 0-0)

Maxim Motorygin’s shut-out and a power play goal from Max Comtois were enough for Dynamo to defeat defending champion Lokomotiv in Moscow. A hard-fought game saw plenty of aggression from both sets of players, but the only goal came in the 13th minute to settle the outcome.

The home team made the stronger start, helped by a couple of early power plays. Daniil Pylenkov was close to opening the scoring in the fifth minute, but a fine save from Daniil Isayev kept the scoresheet blank.

That opportunity was created by Max Comtois, and when Dynamo got a third power play in the 12th minute, the Canadian took full advantage. Anton Slepyshev found Dylan Sikura in the circle. He evaded Nikita Cherepanov and fired in a powerful shot that Isayev could not hold. The puck dropped behind the goalie, and Comtois stuffed it over the line.

Shortly after that goal, Lokomotiv got its first power play of the game, and Alexander Radulov went close to tying the scores after Martin Gernat’s thunderbolt came back to him from the boards.

The second period saw both defenses on top, with few chances at either end. After the hooter, Yegor Surin tangled with a reluctant Jordan Weal, and Radulov took a swing at Pylenkov. As a result, Dynamo began the third period with a five-on-three power play, and Surin’s double minor meant the visitor was short-handed for four minutes in total. Comtois had another good look, but Alexander Yelesin got back to disrupt his shot. Then Sikura dinged the iron as Lokomotiv wobbled, but managed to stay in the game.

However, the visiting offense struggled to gain traction even when back at full strength. Midway through the third period, Dynamo was up 10-2 in shots and even a power play for the visitor saw the home team closer to scoring through Maxim Mamin’s solo rush.

And when Artur Kayumov sat for a needless cross-check on Pylenkov with four minutes left, Lokomotiv’s race was almost run. The visitor tried to find a late surge but could not beat Motorygin, who finished with 23 saves to record his shut-out.

Leipsic’s line makes the difference

Severstal Cherepovets 4 SKA St. Petersburg 6 (1-2, 3-2, 0-2)

A crazy game in Cherepovets saw SKA edge a verdict in a 10-goal thriller. Valentin Zykov and Brendan Leipsic scored two apiece, and the latter’s line was involved in three goals to lift the visitor to victory.

SKA’s success consolidates the team’s place in the top eight, with Igor Larionov’s men now three points clear of CSKA having played two games fewer. Severstal missed the chance to return to the top of the Western Conference following Lokomotiv’s loss in Moscow.

The home team made a fast start, with Vladimir Grudinin opening the scoring after 43 seconds. However, the first period went to SKA. The visitor did not dominate possession, nor rattle up a huge number of shots, but it scored twice on seven attempts to take a lead to the intermission. Matvei Polyakov tied the game in the fifth minute and, 10 minutes later, Valentin Zykov made it 2-1.

The second period like the first, with an early Severstal goal. Polyakov ended the first period in the box and Alexander Skorenov tied it up just 36 seconds after the restart. Almost immediately, SKA was back in front: another power play, and this time Brendon Leipsic was on target. That ended Konstantin Shostak’s evening, with Alexander Samoilov replacing him in goal.

Leipsic’s line continued to threaten and produced a fourth goal on 36:55. Joseph Blandisi was the scorer. But Severstal rallied to tie the game before the intermission: Ilya Ivantsov pulled one back within a minute, then Yanni Kaldis made it 4-4 in the last minute of the frame.

But Kaldis would finish on the losing side after his own misjudgement late in the game. His error on the slot allowed Rocco Grimaldi to win possession and the American dropped off the puck for Leipsic to fire home the winner on 58:15. Severstal called a time-out and entertained hopes of saving the game, but a penalty on Kirill Tankov brought a second goal of the night for Zykov to confirm SKA’s win.