Dinamo demolishes namesake, Boucher claims four points. December 23 round-up
Dinamo Minsk blasted seven goals to crush Dynamo Moscow with Vadim Shipachyov moving to 995 points in the 7-1 win. Avtomobilist also had a high-scoring success, beating Sibir 5-0 thanks to four points from Reid Boucher. Severstal left it late to claim a 3-1 win over CSKA and stay second in the West behind Lokomotiv, 3-2 winners over Admiral. Salavat Yulaev blew a 2-0 lead to drop a 2-4 verdict at home to Amur, and Torpedo eased to a 4-1 win over Sochi.
Boucher blasts Avto past Sibir
Sibir Novosibirsk 0 Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 5 (0-1, 0-3, 0-1)
Four points for Reid Boucher powered Avtomobilist past Sibir, while Evgeny Alikin posted his first shut-out of the season after replacing Vladimir Galkin as starting goalie.
He wasn’t the only goalie to catch the eye, with Sibir handing a debut to Mikhail Berdin after two games as unused back-up for Anton Krasotkin.
The last time these teams met in Novosibirsk, Avtomobilist found itself under pressure in the first period but still escaped with a 1-0 lead. Today that pattern repeated itself. Sibir had more of the play, but the Motormen scored on their second shot of the game. Berdin stopped Roman Gorbunov’s testing effort, but when Stephane da Costa and Reid Boucher got on a two-on-one rush the home goalie had no answer to the American forward.
Although Sibir had grounds to feel disappointed to trail at the intermission, the home team lost the game at the start of the second period. Avtomobilist scored three times in five minutes to take it away. The first shift of the session saw Boucher pot his second of the night, then a Yury Pautov goal and a da Costa power play effort saw Sibir call a time-out. Avto’s four goals came from just 12 shots, although it was hard to hold goaltender Berdin responsible for his team’s plight and head coach Yaroslav Lyuzenkov opted to keep his new acquisition in the game.
Midway through the third period, Avtomobilist wrapped up a comfortable win when another power play saw Nikita Tryamkin add a fifth. Boucher assisted on that one, taking his total for the game to 4 (2+2) points. At the other end, Alikin made 19 saves.
Amur rallies from 0-2 to win in Ufa
Salavat Yulaev Ufa 2 Amur Khabarovsk 4 (2-0, 0-2, 0-2)
Despite opening a 2-0 lead in the first period, Salavat Yulaev could not finish the job against Amur. Two goals from Yaroslav Likhachyov helped the Tigers to a third win in four games, with Likhachyov himself improving to 7 (6+1) points in a five-game hot streak in his 200th KHL appearance.
There was little sign of that turnaround in the opening frame. The home team made the most of its opportunities and built a lead. Alexander Zharovsky opened the scoring early in the game and Maxim Kuznetsov doubled the lead midway through the first period. Amur might have pulled a goal back when Evgeny Grachyov got the puck at the back door, but he was unable to beat Semyon Vyazovoi.
However, after the intermission the visitor raised its game. There was more offensive intent with good chances coming for Oleg Li and Alex Galchenyuk. However, when visiting forward Ilya Talaluyev took a major penalty for a wild slash at Alexander Komarov, it seemed that Salavat Yulaev had a golden chance to extend its lead.
Unfortunately for the home fans, Viktor Kozlov’s special teams could not exploit their opportunity. Amur survived and tied the game in the closing stages of the frame. Kirill Slepets pulled one back, then Likhachyov made it 2-2 with 1.2 seconds left on the clock.
The final frame again showed how much Salavat is suffering in the absence of Sheldon Rempal. The popular Canadian is unavailable for family reasons and without him the Ufa offense lacks bite. While the home team struggled to regain the lead, Amur showed the way: during a spell of four-on-three play Likhachyov’s second of the night put the Tigers on top for the first time in the game in the 55th minute.
Salavat Yulaev kept battling, but lacked the necessary impetus to save the game. Instead, an empty net goal from Galchenyuk secured the points for Amur, keeping the Tigers in seventh and denying Ufa the chance to get ahead of today’s opponent.
Koreshkov gets first win as Traktor head coach
Barys Astana 0 Traktor Chelyabinsk 2 (0-2, 0-0, 0-0)
It’s a case of home discomfort for Barys at the moment. After a couple of impressive victories on the road, Mikhail Kravets’ team fell to a second loss in Astana, failing to score on Traktor as the visitor ended its five-game skid.
Kravets was critical of his team after Sunday’s 1-5 loss to Sochi, but barely changed his line-up. Evgeny Koreshkov, Traktor’s recently-appointed head coach returned to one of his previous clubs and made a couple of changes. Notably, there was a debut for forward Maxim Dzhioshvili, recently signed from Dynamo Moscow.
Both teams had early power play chances, but neither could get closer than hitting the post. However, once at equal strength Traktor got in front in the eighth minute. Mikhail Goryunov-Rolgizer advanced down the wing and fired a powerful shot past Andrei Shutov.
The visitor continued to have the better of the play and the pressure led to four first-period penalties for Barys. The home PK was impressive, but the effort drained the team and late in the frame Logan Day’s redirect made it 2-0, with Dzhioshvili’s assist getting him off the mark for his new team.
After that, the Barys offense awoke. Traktor goalie Sergei Mylnikov found himself extended for the first time in the game and pulled off some eye-catching saves to preserve that 2-0 lead. Reilly Walsh was closest to getting the Kazakhs back into the game, but his shot dinged the piping. At the other end, Jordan Gross did likewise on a counterattack but there was no further scoring.
In the third, Barys continued to have more of the puck. However, the home team struggled to create genuine scoring chances, failing to get the puck to Mylnikov’s net as Traktor defended solidly. That disciplined play secured Koreshkov’s first win as head coach, and Mylnikov’s first shut-out of the season.
Injury-hit Torpedo too strong for Sochi
Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 4 HC Sochi 1 (2-0, 0-1, 2-0)
For the fourth time this season, Torpedo defeated Sochi and once again it was a convincing margin. The home team had a week’s rest after the 5-2 win at Neftekhimik, but none of its trio of injured players recovered in that time. In addition, on the morning of the game forward Maxim Letunov was ruled out due to illness.
Sochi had grounds for optimism on arrival. A 5-1 win at Barys last time out gave the Leopards confidence, although there were several enforced changes to the team.
Today’s game got off to a slow start. After their break, the home players needed time to get back to competitive form. An early power play went begging but when Vasily Atanasov got a chance in the fifth minute his goal helped to settle the home team. There was more to come; a power play midway through the session saw Vladimir Tkachyov double the lead.
After the intermission, Torpedo continued to control the game for a time. However, when Sochi got a power play the visitor managed to move play down the ice. The character of the game changed a little and the visitor got the only goal of the middle frame when Will Bitten scored late in the session.
The third period saw power play chances for both teams, with Sochi looking slightly more dangerous. But in the end, it was Torpedo that found the way to goal. Dmitry Shevchenko redirected a Bogdan Konyushkov shot into the net to make it 3-1 in the 55th minute, then 27 seconds later Yegor Vinogradov added a fourth to put the game out of reach.
Cherepanov’s fortune helps Loko to victory
Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 3 Admiral Vladivostok 2 (1-0, 1-2, 1-0)
A fortuitous deflection saw Nikita Cherepanov claim the winning goal for Lokomotiv in a hard-fought game against Admiral.
The teams were locked at 2-2 as the game moved into the last 10 minutes. But when Cherepanov dumped a shot into the end boards, the puck bounced back and hit visiting goalie Dmitry Shugayev before landing in the net.
That proved sufficient to give the defending champion the verdict, making it five wins out of six as Bob Hartley’s men bounced back from a 0-3 loss at home to Avangard last time out.
Admiral’s road trip saw the team snap a losing streak with a 3-2 verdict at Sibir. However, the Sailors could not build on that, falling to defeat by the same scoreline at Avtomobilist and again losing by the odd goal in five today.
In the first period both teams defended well and scoring chances were hard to find. However, Alexander Radulov proved the difference-maker. First he created a good opportunity for Nikita Kiryanov, then he opened the scoring himself with a solo breakaway. Admiral had a testing shot from Libor Sulak and a power play that produced a neat combination before Nikita Tertyshny missed the target.
After a tight opening, Admiral made a flying start to the second stanza. A devastating counterattack saw Igor Geraskin present Nikita Soshnikov with the simplest of finishes into the open corner of Alexei Melnichuk’s net. Chances came at both ends, but a power play for the visitor brought a second goal for Soshnikov to put the Sailors in front.
However, that lead lasted just 20 seconds. Alexander Polunin’s forecheck won possession and he set u Denis Alexeyev to tie the game before the second intermission.
The third period saw Lokomotiv looking more likely to score. However, Admiral still posed a threat on the counter, most visibly through Stepan Starkov. Without the puck, the visitor grouped on its blue line and deprived Lokomotiv of shooting lanes. However, Cherepanov’s good fortune undid that rearguard effort and secured the home win.
Aimurzin celebrates 200th game with goal and win
Severstal Cherepovets 3 CSKA Moscow 1 (0-0, 0-0, 3-1)
It took some time, but Severstal outlasted CSKA to claim a 3-1 verdict and secure its grip on third place in the West. The visitor fell to a third successive loss but after two narrow shoot-out reverses, this was a first defeat in regulation since November 24.
For much of the game, CSKA looked stronger. The visitor had a slight edge in the first period, then dominated the second to outshot Severstal 12-2. However, the home team was the only one to get the puck in the net: 13 seconds before the intermission, Alexander Samonov was beaten by Yanni Kaldis as the Lynx again caused trouble while shorthanded. However, the CSKA bench challenged the play and a video review found that Samonov was impeded and the goal was whistled off.
In the third period, too, CSKA had more of the puck and more shots. But this time, Severstal managed to get in front on a legitimate goal from Danil Aimurzin in his 200th game. Mikhail Ilyin saw his team-mate had got into space and dished off a pass to the left-hand circle. Danil rattled home a one-timer to make it 1-0 in the 46th minute.
But the lead lasted less than five minutes. Maxim Sorkin spun sharply off the boards and got into the corner before firing the puck across the front of Alexander Samoilov’s net. Vitaly Abramov read the pass and instantly fired it past the goalie, making it 1-1 with 10 to play.
CSKA may have felt that its momentum from the start of the game would carry it home from that position. Severstal found it difficult to get play out of its zone, but a rare forward surge brought a second goal for the home team. Samonov was disorientated by a shot that cannoned off the end boards, and Alexander Skorenov profited to restore Severstal’s lead.
After that, CSKA struggled to make any impact on Severstal’s defense. Even with a sixth skater, the visitor was unable to fashion a big scoring chance and Adam Liska’s empty-netter put the game beyond reach.
Dominant win for Dinamo Minsk
Dinamo Minsk 7 Dynamo Moscow 1 (2-0, 3-1, 2-0)
Despite a debut goal from Semyon Der-Arguchintsev, Dynamo suffered a painful 1-7 loss in Minsk. The Belarusians’ emphatic success keeps them second in the standings, while the Muscovites remain fourth in the west.
Dinamo made a great start to the game. Sam Anas already had a great chance before Ilya Usov opened the scoring in the second minute. Vladislav Podyapolsky blocked a Ty Smith shot but Artyom Galiyev kept the play alive and presented Usov with a close-range finish. In the fifth minute it was 2-0, with Vitaly Pinchuk doubling the home lead as Dynamo Moscow looked dazed.
The home team continued to dominate proceedings, but could not add to its tally in the opening frame. However, the second period brought another quick pair of goals as Anas and Yegor Borikov padded the lead. In the 33rd minute, Der-Arguchintsev marked his first game since joining from Traktor with a goal, but it never looked likely to be more than a consolation effort.
Instead, Minsk continued to press. Daniil Lipsky made it 5-1 late in the middle frame and there was more to come in the third. Vadim Shipachyov scored to move to 995 KHL points. Then, in the closing minutes, a power play goal from Alex Limoges completed the rout. As well as scoring seven, the Belarusians limited Dynamo to just 19 shots at Vasily Demchenko.
