Red-letter day for Kvartalnov. December 28 round-up

Dinamo Minsk head coach Dmitry Kvartalnov celebrated his 1,000th game behind the bench in the KHL – and celebrated with a 5-2 victory over Dynamo Moscow. Elsewhere, Sochi scored eight goals on SKA in a high-scoring clash, and Neftekhimik surprised Torpedo with a 5-0 win. The Moscow derby went to CSKA, winning 2-1 over Spartak. And there was plenty of overtime: Salavat Yulaev edged Severstal in a shoot-out, Avangard did likewise against Lada and, at the foot of the Eastern Conference, Sibir edged past Admiral in overtime.

Koshelev leads Sibir to OT win

Admiral Vladivostok 2 Sibir Novosibirsk 3 OT (2-1, 0-0, 0-1, 0-1)

Sibir won at Admiral for the second time in three days, but needed a late goal to escape defeat in regulation. Semyon Koshelev had a hand in all three of the visitor’s goals.

The result opens a three-point gap between Sibir and the bottom-of-the-table Sailors.

Admiral, beaten in its last three games, made changes to the roster. Goalie Adam Huska was not involved at all, with Dmitry Shugayev getting the start, while Vladislav Leontyev, Yegor Petukhov and Georgy Solyannikov all returned to action.

Those changes did not prevent a repeat of the opening stages from Friday’s game: Sibir was more active from the opening face-off and took a fifth-minute lead. This time, Koshelev was the scorer, converting the first power play of the game.

Unlike Friday, though, the host hit back. An Admiral power play saw leading scorer Daniil Gutik tie the game in the 13th minute, with the goal surviving a video review. And the Sailors continued to press, getting their reward before the intermission when Petukhov made it 2-1. Former Sibir man Nikita Soshnikov had an assist, extending his productive run to four games (3+2).

Sibir had the better of the second period, outshooting Admiral 15-5. Midway through the session, the officials indicated that Anton Kosolapov’s effort had tied the game, but a review showed that the puck dinged the crossbar but dropped safety.

As the game went into the third period, the tempo slowed. Sibir was unable to maintain its earlier dominance and Admiral saw more of the puck. The home team took the opportunity to eat up time, and a shot against Anton Krasotkin’s post almost put the game out of reach. However, Sibir managed to find a path to salvation: in the 56th minute, Koshelev struck again to take the action into overtime.

The extras produced chances for both teams, but Sibir created the better ones. Shugayev denied Yegor Alanov when he was clean through on the net, but the defenseman combined with Koshelev for Mikhail Abramov to win it.

Poturalski earns Avangard tight verdict

Avangard Omsk 4 Lada Togliatti 3 SO (0-0, 1-1, 2-2, 0-0, 1-0)

Lada led three times in Omsk but had to settle for a solitary point after falling to the Hawks in a shoot-out. Avangard claimed a fifth successive victory, and their third in a row after going to overtime.

The Motormen’s recent form has been unimpressive, but almost grabbed an early goal after Avangard netminder Andrei Mishurov coughed up the puck only to be reprieved by a poor finish. The home team then took a penalty before managing to get a foothold in the game during a lively but goalless opening stanza.

The host’s problems continued at the start of the second with Lada getting another power play. Again, Pavel Desyatkov’s team struggled to convert but midway through the session Ivan Savchuk was first to the rebound from an Andrei Obidin shot to open the scoring. Avangard’s play still lacked its usual sparkle, but the league-leading power play clicked into gear for Semyon Chistyakov to tie the game before the intermission.

The third period brought more power play goals, including two for the visitor. Artur Tyanulin restored the lead early on, but that was quickly cancelled out by Alexander Volkov. Then Andrei Altybarmakyan made it 2-3 midway through the session. Only after that did we see the home offense really hit its peak. Andrew Poturalski, who missed an earlier chance to put Avangard in front, grabbed the tying goal with four minutes left, again on the PP.

That sent the game to overtime, and eventually a shoot-out where  Poturalski completed a hard-fought win for his team. 

Wolves dominant at home to Torpedo

Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 5 Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 0 (0-0, 2-0, 3-0)

After a long losing streak, Neftekhimik surprised Torpedo with an emphatic victory on its return home. Grigory Seleznyov and Andrei Belozyorov scored two apiece and Filipp Dolganov made 36 saves in this 5-0 rout.

The home team looked impressive in the first period, outshooting Torpedo 16-8 but failing to open the scoring. However, a power play early in the second saw the Wolves put that right as Artyom Serikov made it 1-0. After starting with a power play tally, the host then added a shorty in the 33rd minute when Seleznyov got his first of the game.

With the Torpedo offense misfiring, Alexei Isakov reshuffled his lines in search of a spark. It didn’t quite materialize. Neftekhimik not only managed to slow the play and reduce the number of scoring chances, it also extended its lead. Belozyorov made it 3-0 in the 48th minute and there was more to come. Torpedo went for six skaters on a power play in the closing stages; Neftkehimik killed the penalty before Seleznyov found the empty net. Then, in 57th minute, Belozyorov made the final score 5-0. 

Salavat Yulaev Ufa 2 Severstal Cherepovets 1 SO (0-0, 0-0, 1-1, 0-0, 1-0)

An hard-fought battle in Ufa saw Salavat Yulaev edge a shoot-out verdict in a goaltending duel. Semyon Vyazovoi made 45 saves during the game and allowed just one effort in that shoot-out to give the Bashkirs a vital win in their race for a playoff spot.

For long stretches, Vyazovoi was all that stood between Severstal and a comfortable lead. The visitor had the better of the play throughout, and outshot its host 46-24 through 65 minutes. But there was no breakthrough until midway through the third period when Vladimir Butuzov put the home team against the run of play. Pyotr Khokhryakov led a counterattack into Severstal territory and tested Alexander Samoilov. The puck rebounded kindly off the goalies pads onto Butuzov’s stick and he shovelled home a backhander to claim his first goal since moving to Ufa.

However, that wasn’t enough to win it. In the 56th minute, Severstal finally found the key to Vyazovoi’s net. Ruslan Abrosimov drilled the puck to the slot and Adam Liska finally managed to get past the goalie. After that, the visitor again had the better chances to win in regulation but could not finish the job. Instead, Yegor Suchkov scored two of his three attempts in the shoot-out to give Salavat Yulaev the verdict. 

CSKA Moscow 2 Spartak Moscow 1 (2-1, 0-0, 0-0)

After two derby losses to Spartak, CSKA finally got the better of its Moscow rival in a tight game. The result has today’s opponents, plus SKA, tied on 45 points and lying sixth through eighth in the Western Conference standings.

Spartak had a great early chance when Denis Guryanov fouled Daniil Orlov in the first minute. That power play did not accrue, and once back at equal strength the home team managed to open the scoring. Takhir Mingachyov stripped the puck from an opponent and dished it off for Kirill Dolzhenkov to make it 1-0. Spartak then had another power play chance, but once again CSKA’s PK was up to the task. Instead, Andrei Mironov tied the scores in the 15th minute with a laser of a point shot through traffic. However, CSKA managed to regain the lead before the intermission thanks to Nikolai Kovalenko, who stuffed the puck home.

That turned out to be end of the scoring. However, the home team took the initiative in the second period. Igor Nikitin’s team controlled the play for much of the middle frame and made it difficult for Spartak to create chances to get back into the game.

In the closing stages, the Red-and-Whites risked it all, but failed to seriously test Dmitry Gamzin in the home net as CSKA held on for the win.

HC Sochi 8 SKA St. Petersburg 4 (2-3, 3-1, 3-0)

An action-packed evening in Sochi ended with the Leopards stunning SKA with eight goals. This 12-goal thriller halted a run of back-to-back losses for the home team, while SKA fell to a second loss in five games.

It was a big contrast with the previous meeting between the teams, which saw SKA power to an 8-1 victory. The visitor started in a manner that suggested it could repeat that comfortable win, with Brendan Leipsic opening the scoring in the fourth minute.

But Sochi rallied with two goals in 16 seconds to get in front. Sergei Popov and Matvei Guskov turned the game around by 8:06. The action flowed from end to end, and by the intermission, SKA was back in front: Sergei Plotnikov quickly tied the game, then Matvei Polyakov made it 2-3 just before the break.
The middle frame was no less action-packed. Another quick-fire double saw Popov and Rafael Bikmullin get Sochi in front for the first time in the game.

That spelled the end for Artemy Pleshkov in the visitor’s net, with former Sochi man Yegor Zavragin taking his place. Polyakov’s second of the night got SKA level at the midway point, but parity lasted just one minute before Roman Maximov restored the home advantage.

It was 5-4 going into the final frame, and everything seemed set for a dramatic conclusion. But few would have predicted Sochi’s powerful finish. Denis Vengryzhanovsky quickly padded the home lead, and as SKA toiled in search of a lifeline, the Leopards eased clear. Max Ellis found the empty net with three to play and Nikolai Polyakov finished the scoring in the final seconds.

Kvartalnov celebrates milestone in style

Dinamo Minsk 5 Dynamo Moscow 3 (2-0, 1-1, 2-2)

Dmitry Kvartalnov marked his 1,000th game as a head coach in the KHL with a 5-3 victory over Dynamo. The result puts the Belarusians on top of the Western Conference as Kvartalnov becomes the first man to coach a millennium in the league.

KHL president Alexei Morozov was on hand to mark the occasion with a pre-game presentation to the experienced coach, but with the festivities over there was an important game to contest. The visiting Muscovites wanted revenge for a 1-7 drubbing here just before Christmas, and also hoped to close on the Western summit itself.

But those hopes took a dive in the first period. Midway through the opening frame, Vadim Shipachyov opened the scoring. Shipachyov is another playing in pursuit of a unique millennium: today’s marker moves him to 996 KHL points in an illustrious career.

There wasn’t much between the teams on the balance of play, but the Bison proved moved effective in front of the net. Just before the intermission, Nikita Pyshkailo made it 2-0: Minsk had two goals from nine shots in the opening frame.

The second period play remained even, and this time the scoring matched it. The home team extended its lead through Sam Anas in the 34th minute, but the Muscovites pulled a goal back right away with a power play tally from Dylan Sikura in the aftermath of a fight between Brady Lyle and Artyom Sergeyev.

Anas got his second of the night to make it 4-1 early in the third period, kicking off the party in Minsk Arena. Dynamo didn’t give up, and Igor Ozhiganov’s power play goal ensured there was at least a theoretical chance of a fightback. However, the closing stages saw the teams trade two more goals: Sergei Kuznetsov’s effort rendered Sikura’s second of the game largely meaningless as Minsk celebrated Kvartalnov’s big day in style.