100 goals for Leivo, three in three for Surin. September 10 round-up

Goals win games, and two master marksmen were on target today. Josh Leivo got his first for Avangard to bring up 100 in the KHL; the Canadian’s marker helped secure a 4-1 win over Sochi. Yegor Surin continued his goal-a-game run for Lokomotiv, and today’s overtime effort completed a comeback at home to Severstal. There was another come-from-behind performance as Spartak halted SKA’s winning start to the campaign, while Dinamo Minsk and Shanghai played a rollercoaster encounter that finished in a 4-3 OT verdict for the Dragons. 

First win of the season for Sibir

Sibir Novosibirsk 2 Amur Khabarovsk 0 (0-0, 0-0, 2-0)

This battle between two teams seeking a first win went to the host, thanks largely to 25 saves from Mikhail Berdin.

The 28-year-old goalie recorded his first shut-out of the season, and only the second of his KHL career, to back stop Sibir to success in its home opener. The goals came from Pavel Tyutnev and Sergei Popov; Evgeny Kuznetsov marked his home debut with an assist.

Ivan Klimovich, who learned his hockey in Sibir, was back in town for the first time since leaving the club and joining Amur. He got a warm reception from the home crowd, but also got the first penalty of the game after fouling Ivan Mishchenko, Sibir’s ex-Tiger.

After allowing seven goals at Barys in its previous game, Sibir’s defense needed to raise its game. Maxim Sushko and Mikhail Orlov, two of the weakest performers in Kazakhstan, were scratched, but the new-look team still had to rely on Berdin as Amur looked sharper in a goalless first period.

After the intermission, Sibir began to step up the tempo. Visiting goalie Maxim Dorozhko denied Mikhail Abramov early in the session while the Tigers lacked claws at the other end.

However, the opening goal had to wait until the final third. Nikita Smirnov, who replaced Orlov on defense, fired in a point shot for Tyutnev to redirect the puck. That 49th-minute marker was the summer signing’s first goal in the KHL since 2022. It proved decisive, with Popov’s empty-netter sealing the deal 15 seconds from time.

Leivo’s 100th goal helps Hawks to victory

Avangard Omsk 4 HC Sochi 1 (1-0, 1-0, 2-1)

The Hawks suffered a heavy loss in their home opener, but bounced back to sink Sochi with Josh Leivo scoring his 100th KHL goal. The visitor, beaten by Neftekhimik in its first game, started with Pyotr Andreyanov in goal; head coach Andrei Mironov handed debuts to Vladislav Kara and Dmitry Ovchinnikov. Dmitry Kagarlitsky missed out due to the injury he suffered in Nizhnekamsk.

Avangard looked to test Andreyanov as the rookie goaltender played his first KHL game. The home team dominated the opening exchanges, but attacking enthusiasm got the better of Yegor Afanasyev. He ran over the 19-year-old netminder and handed Sochi the first power play of the night.

After killing that penalty, Avangard opened the scoring midway through the first period when Nail Yakupov got the puck in center ice and skated into the Sochi zone before shooting early past Andreyanov. And the youngster took another battering before the intermission when Dmitry Rashevsky bore down on him. Despite the pressure, there was no further scoring in the first.

Ivan Prosvetov had been largely a spectator in the Avangard net, but at the start of the second he was tested by Cam Lee and Viktor Baldayev. Sochi was far more competitive in the middle frame, while Avangard’s play becoming ragged under pressure. But the home team got a break late in the session when Semyon Chistyakov joined the second wave of a Hawks attack and fired in a shot that deflected off a Sochi player and into the net.

At the start of the third, Avangard’s first power play of the night brought Leivo’s landmark goal. He whipped in an unstoppable wrister as Afanasyev screened Andreyanov. Another home PP brought another goal as Vasily Ponomaryov made it 4-0. In the closing stages, the piping twice saved Sochi from further damage before a late power play goal brought Denis Vengryzhanovsky his second in two games for the visitor.

Hot-shot Surin gives Loko another win

Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 2 Severstal Cherepovets 1 OT (0-0, 0-1, 1-0, 1-0)

The defending champion made it three wins from three at the start of the new season – but this was the toughest test so far for Dmitry Kvartalnov’s team.

Severstal became the first team to take the lead over Lokomotiv, and the visitor stayed in front until just four minutes to go.

But when Ilya Chefanov went to the box, handing Loko its first power play of the game, things changed. Maxim Shalunov found space next to the net, Alexander Radulov’s pass picked out his team-mate and Shalunov finally solved Vsevolod Skotnikov with some slick puck-handling.

Severstal steered the game into overtime, collecting a point from a tough assignment. But the visitor could get nothing more. Yegor Surin has scored in every game this season, and today’s effort won it in overtime. The youngster got the puck in own zone but saw open ice ahead of him and went for him. Too quick for the Severstal defense, he charged to the doorstep and slid the puck into the net.

Earlier, Severstal frustrated Lokomotiv in the first period then took the lead in the second on a 23rd-minute goal from Denis Yan. Late in the middle frame, the Lynx had a full two minutes of five-on-three when Radulov talked himself into trouble contesting a tripping call against Andrei Sergeyev. But Lokomotiv survived that scare, and Severstal missed a huge chance to build the advantage it needed in the game.

Menell haunts former club

Dinamo Minsk 3 Shanghai Dragons 4 OT (1-1, 1-1, 1-1, 0-1)

Brennan Menell and Dmitrij Jaskin were hired by the Dragons to win games, and the duo did just that in Minsk. Dinamo led 3-2 going into the final stages, but Shanghai hit back with both players collecting a goal and an assist to claim another overtime win.

It’s the second time in three games that Mitch Love’s team has won in overtime. At Neftekhimik, Shanghai rallied from 0-3; here the lead changed hands throughout an absorbing battle.

Dinamo, which blew a 3-1 lead to drop a shoot-out verdict against Torpedo, started fast. Sam Anas opened the scoring after 23 seconds and that lead lasted deep into the first period before Nick Sisek tied the game.

In the second period, the visitor got up when it converted it first power play of the game: Brett Murray found the net after 27 minutes. But a home PP saw Sergei Kuznetsov tie it up, and within a minute of the third period, Chris Tierney made it 3-2 Minsk, again on the power play.

But as the game ticked into the last three minutes, Shanghai tied it up once more. Menell and Nic Petan quarterbacked the power play, Jaskin’s redirect on the slot deceived Vasily Demchenko to make it 3-3.

And in the extras, Jaskin turned creator with a pass from behind the net to find Menell – once a Dinamo Minsk favorite – in space on the slot. The defenseman produced a finish that any forward would be proud of, setting himself for a wrister that Demchenko could not stop.

SKA suffers first loss

Spartak Moscow 3 SKA St. Petersburg 1 (0-1, 0-0, 3-0)

After getting off the mark with a derby win at CSKA, Spartak struck again to beat previously undefeated SKA. The Red-and-Whites trailed for some time in this game but always had good momentum and managed to turn things around in the final stanza.

The first period was a contrast of styles. Spartak enjoyed the territorial advantage, and looked to dominate possession. The Red-and-Whites outshot their visitor 9-5, but was caught out by SKA’s counter-attacking game.

Scott Wilson opened the scoring in the fifth minute. He raced onto a Vasily Glotov pass to the left, sped into space and fired a wrister to Ivan Fedotov’s short side.

In the second, the pattern of play stayed similar to the first. Spartak again had more of the puck and this time outshot SKA 12-3. But Artemy Pleshkov kept his net intact and SKA carried its lead into the final frame.

By now, though, the visitor had penalty troubles. Spartak began the third on the power play and although Vladislav Syomin was back in the game, Igor Larionov’s team could not clear its lines. Instead, Dmitry Orlov unloaded from the blue line and Alexander Belyayev redirected the puck for the equalizer.

The go-ahead goal had a similar feel. Defenseman Andrei Mironov got a bit further down the ice before banging in a shot from the face-off circle, but his effort found the net via a deflection, this time off Mikhail Maltsev.

After losing its lead, SKA had an immediate chance to recover when Dmitry Vishnevsky sat hooking Nikolai Chebykin. But the Muscovites did well on the PK and back at equal strength Spartak applied a strong forecheck to frustrate the visitor’s attempts to save the game.

When Larionov called Pleshkov to the bench, the extra skater did not help. Instead, Spartak’s Yegor Filin found the empty net to seal a 3-1 final score.