Olympians on target, Metallurg wins summit battle. January 8 round-up

Two players called up for the Olympics were on target today in the KHL. Slovak defenseman Martin Gernat scored two and assisted on Lokomotiv’s OT winner at Sibir, then Severstal’s Adam Liska scored a vital tying goal in a 4-3 win over Dinamo Minsk. KHL leader Metallurg edged a 2-1 win against Avangard, second in the Eastern Conference. Third-placed Ak Bars beat Barys 3-1, Evgeny Kuznetsov had an assist as his Salavat Yulaev debut ended in a 4-1 win over Avtomobilist and Neftekhimik claimed a shoot-out success at home to Admiral.

3-point Gernat celebrates Olympic call

Sibir Novosibirsk 2 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 3 OT (0-0, 0-1, 2-1, 0-1)

Martin Gernat celebrated his Olympic call-up with two goals to help Lokomotiv to an overtime win at Sibir. The defenseman is one of three KHLers heading to Italy with Team Slovakia next month.

Sibir made a fine start to the game, and had the first seven shots on goal without reply. Visiting goalie Alexei Melnichuk, who took Daniil Isayev’s place today, kept all of those out. Gradually, Lokomotiv’s offense came into the game and Mikhail Berdin, playing only his second of the season for Sibir, also had work to do. He was beaten in the first period, but Daniil Tesanov’s effort was ruled out for a high stick.

The second period began with Sibir pressing once again and Valentin Pyanov hit the crossbar. But the Railwaymen recovered and went in front just after the midway point when Gernat got to the slot to convert a combination involving Byron Froese and Vadim Dudorov. For 19-year-old forward Dudorov, the assist was his first point in the KHL.

As well as looking for a way back into the game, Sibir also had to contend with the loss of Ilya Fedotov. The forward took a puck to the leg and needed to be helped to the locker room for treatment. In his absence, Alexander Pershakov got more game but took a penalty that led to a second goal for Gernat. That restored Lokomotiv’s lead after Taylor Beck’s power play marker tied the game early in the session.

Gernat’s second goal brought a short-lived lead: just 15 seconds later, Sibir tied it up on a marker from Maxim Sushko. Lokomotiv finished regulation on the power play but could not settle the game until the first minute of overtime. Then Alexander Radulov got the winner – assisted by the impressive Gernat – as the defending champ rebounded from its loss at Metallurg.

Sulak double not enough for Sailors

Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 3 Admiral Vladivostok 2 SO (0-0, 1-1, 1-1, 0-0, 1-0)

Pegged back twice in regulation, Neftekhimik had enough to get the win over Admiral in a shoot-out. The Wolves claimed victory in their first home game of 2026, while the Sailors picked up their first point under new head coach Oleg Bratash.

This game was a clash of styles. Neftekhimik was keen to play possession hockey, looking to take care of the puck and build up pressure in the visitor’s zone. Admiral, meanwhile, favored a counterattacking approach. At the end of the first period, neither team could find a breakthrough, with Neftekhimik up 9-5 in shots.

Twenty seconds into the second period, Admiral had to replace injured goalie Dmitry Shugayev and Arseny Tsyba came into the game. Both he and his opposite number Yaroslav Ozolin had plenty of work as the teams regularly created chances. The opening goal went to the host in the 29th minute: Timur Khairullin surprised Tsyba with a shot that got through his pads. Admiral replied late in the frame thanks to Libor Sulak, who converted a counterattack with a one-timer.

At the start of the third period, Nikita Khoruzhev dinged the post. That ushered in a spell of total domination and Neftekhimik had an 8-1 lead in shots on goal before Khoruzhev found the target in the 48th minute. The youngster’s goal was somewhat fortuitous, though, with his shot taking a looping deflection off Sulak to beat Tsyba.

The Czech defenseman made up for that misfortune a few minutes later, potting the tying goal to take the game to overtime.
The extras were entertaining but inconclusive and the game went to a shoot-out, which was settled in the home team’s favor by Nikita Artamonov. He converted Neftekhimik’s first attempt to give the Wolves the edge ahead of Saturday’s rematch.

Kuznetsov starts with an assist in Ufa

Salavat Yulaev Ufa 4 Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 1 (3-0, 0-1, 1-0)

Evgeny Kuznetsov enjoyed a winning debut for Salavat Yulaev after the Ufa club claimed him off waivers earlier this week. He went into the second line alongside Yegor Suchkov and Alexander Zharovsky, and contributed an assist on the latter’s power play goal at the start of the third period.

However, this game was won in the opening frame as the home team built a 3-0 lead. Avtomobilist was missing defensive lynchpin Nikita Tryamkin through suspension and struggled to handle the home forwards in the first period.

The Motormen spurned an early power play before Sergei Varlov potted his first goal past Nikita Novosyolov. The 21-year-old goalie was making only his second KHL start and, after backstopping a 4-1 debut win, he found life much tougher here. Avto thought it had a tying goal on 14 minutes but Curtis Valk’s redirect was ruled out for a high stick. Barely 20 seconds later, Ufa doubled its lead thanks to Artyom Gorshkov and, on 15:12, Jack Rodewald’s goal chased Novosyolov from his net.

Evgeny Alikin replaced him and managed to halt the flow of goals. Salavat Yulaev could not add to its lead in the remainder of the first period, and failed to score in the second. At the other end, Roman Gorbunov converted a backhanded feed from Alexander Sharov a minute before the intermission to keep Avto’s hopes alive.

However, right on the hooter Sergei Zborovsky was assessed a tripping minor and Ufa needed just 18 seconds of the third period to make it 4-1. Kuznetsov picked up his first point for his new club, Sheldon Rempal’s helper took him to 100 points in the KHL and Zharovsky restored the three-goal lead. Later, Kuznetsov and Zharovsky produced another powerful shift, slicing through the visiting defense only to be denied by Alikin. However, there was no denying the home team an impressive win.

League leader edges past pursuer

Metallurg Magnitogorsk 2 Avangard Omsk 1 (1-0, 0-1, 1-0)

A hard-fought win over Avangard saw Metallurg open a nine-point gap at the top of the Eastern Conference. The Hawks had won three of the previous four meetings this season, but fell to a third-period goal from Daniil Vovchenko today.

Things might have been different if Avangard had opened the scoring in the first shift. After a scramble on the slot, home goalie Alexander Smolin was left sprawling on the ice but the Magnitka defense managed to smuggle the puck to safety. The visitor continued to press, with Smolin forced to deny Giovanni Fiore. However, when Metallurg got on the power play it managed to move play down the ice. The first power play could not take advantage, but the second saw Luke Johnson on target for the second game in a row.

Avangard got its first PP at the end of the first period. The visitor could not convert that chance, but Metallurg visited the box twice more early in the middle frame and Mike McLeod redirected a Damir Sharipzyanov point shot home to tie the game in the 27th minute.

That put the initiative in Hawks’ hands, pressing Metallurg and squeezing the life out of the home team’s favored quick attacks. Avangard got one more power play late in the frame, but could not grab a lead before the second intermission.

In the third, Andrei Razin shuffled his pack. Andrei Kozlov stepped up to center the first line, and Derek Barach was elevated to the second. Then Avangard hit penalty trouble. Metallurg failed to convert three power plays, with Nikita Serebryakov performing wonders to deny the home team. But back at full strength a trademark counterattack saw Barach set up Vovchenko to find the open corner of the net.

Avangard still had more than five minutes to save the game. The visitor raised a storm in front of Smolin’s net in the closing stages, but could not deny Metallurg a hard-fought win.

Shipachyov misses milestone in hometown

Severstal Cherepovets 4 Dinamo Minsk 3 (1-0, 1-3, 3-0)

The stage was set for Vadim Shipachyov to get his 1,000th KHL point in Cherepovets, where his illustrious career began. However, his hometown team was alert to the danger and kept the prolific playmaker quiet in a 4-3 win.

But this was far from easy for the home team. Despite getting ahead late in the first period on a goal from Belarus-born Alexander Skorenov, Severstal found itself behind after the middle frame.

Much of that turnaround was down to Vadim Moroz. He tied the game on the 30-minute mark, then tied it up again to cancel out Nikolai Chebykin’s goal. Then, late in the frame, Sergei Kuznetsov’s power play goal put Minsk ahead and extended the forward’s goal streak to three games. Sam Anas had an assist, taking his productive run to eight games.

The response came from home captain Adam Liska, another player on form. His power play tally had him on the scoresheet for the seventh game in a row with 9 (6+3) points in that run. Like his compatriot Martin Gernat, Liska was celebrating an Olympic call-up to Team Slovakia today.

After Liska tied the game at 3-3, David Dumbadze got the winner for the home team in the 48th minute. Dinamo fell to a third successive loss, while Severstal remains two points behind Western Conference leader Lokomotiv.

Bounceback win in Kazan

Ak Bars Kazan 3 Barys Astana 1 (0-0, 2-0, 1-1)

A home win over Barys saw Ak Bars bounce back from Tuesday’s narrow loss to Avangard. It took some time for Anvar Gatiyatulin’s men to solve a Barys team that had just one win in its last six games, but second period goals from Alexander Chmelevski and Grigory Denisenko laid the foundations for today’s success.

Ak Bars started the game well, finding plenty of work for visiting goalie Adam Scheel in the early stages. At times the home dominance was such that it felt like a power play even when the teams were at equal strength. However, the pressure was undermined by a couple of penalties and Barys got opportunities to move play down the ice.

The middle frame brought Ak Bars’ first power play, and it almost brought the opening goal. Denisenko seemed certain to score when he corralled a rebound off Scheel, only for the goalie to pull off a fine save. However, pressure on the Barys net eventually brought its reward. Midway through the session, Scheel allowed a puck to bounce free and Chmelevski was on the spot to open the scoring. Then Denisenko got his goal, firing a wonderful shot inside the near post. Barys had breakaway chances for Michael Vecchione and Vsevolod Logvin but neither could Maxim Arefyev in the home net.

Barys finally got back into the game in the 52nd minute. A power play chance saw Max Willman beat the goalie to make it 1-2. Soon after, a two-on-one rush offered a golden chance to tie the scores, but Arefyev blocked Dinmukhamed Kaiyrzhan’s shot and preserved his team’s lead. That was a big moment, and the game was settled in the 58th minute when Artyom Galimov scored into an empty net to make the final score 3-1.