Loko stays undefeated, Hawks recover from 0-2. September 13 round-up

Sunday’s big game saw Lokomotiv go to CSKA and take a 3-2 verdict, maintaining a winning start to the season thanks to three points from Alexander Radulov. Avangard also claimed a 3-2 verdict, beating Metallurg in overtime after trailing by two in Omsk. Avtomobilist won 5-2 at Sibir and Nefetkhimik outlasted Admiral.

Golyshev drives Avtomobilist to victory

Sibir Novosibirsk 2 Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 5 (1-1, 0-2, 1-2)

Three points from Anton Golyshev led Sibir back to winning ways in Novosibirsk. The Motormen had lost their previous two games, prompting Alexei Kudashov to recall Jordan Gross and Danil Gushchin ahead of Dmitry Yudin and Yaroslav Busygin. Sibir called on defenseman Fyodor Gordeyev for the first time this season.

The first period saw two players score against their former club. Alexander Sharov opened the scoring for Avtomobilist. He was assisted by Daniel Sprong, who soon left the game after a check to Stepan Nikulin’s head handed Sibir a five-minute power play.

Darren Dietz converted that opportunity and tied the scores, and the defenseman was close to getting another. Evgeny Alikin denied him, albeit at the expense of another penalty.

But Dietz had a tough time in the second period. He was on the ice for both of Avto’s goals as the visitor built a lead. Two counterattacks brought success for Alexander Kadeikin and Artyom Kashtanov.

Evgeny Kuznetsov struck at the start of the third to put Sibir right back into contention and Dietz got his second point of the game with a helper. However, it wasn’t long before Kuznetsov went to the box and Gross converted the power play, this time with Sharov’s help.

Sibir poured forward in the closing stages, hoping to save the game. But there was no way past Alikin and Golyshev added to two earlier assists with an empty net goal that takes him to six points from four games this season. 

Hawks rally from 0-2 to beat Magnitka

Avangard Omsk 3 Metallurg Magnitogorsk 2 OT (0-1, 0-1, 2-0, 1-0)

On Friday, Metallurg grabbed a dramatic overtime win, tying its game in Kazan with nine seconds to play. Today, though, the tables were turned: Magnitka blew a 2-0 lead and fell to defeat in Omsk.

Both teams came into the game after wins. Avangard defeated Sochi and made just one change, bringing back Nikita Serebryakov as starting goalie. Metallurg contented itself with tweaking the lower lines after that comeback win at Ak Bars.

The Steelmen took an early lead, converting the first power play of the game after six minutes. Daniil Vovchenko was the scorer, firing home Luke Johnson’s cross-ice feed to the left-hand circle.

Much of the rest of the opening frame saw visiting goalie Alexander Smolin under pressure. He made 14 saves to keep the Hawks at bay before the first intermission.

Metallurg doubled its lead midway through the second period. Johnson was involved again, winning the draw and getting the puck back for Igor Nechayev to roast home a shot from the top of the circle. Soon after that, Magnitka ran into penalty trouble. Nathan Todd and Valery Orekhov went to the box, but Avangard could not profit from a two-man advantage.

The fightback started five minutes into the third. Vasily Ponomaryov got one back for Avangard, then with four to play Dmitry Rashevsky tied the game. A strong Avangard forecheck kept Metallurg pinned in its own zone and when the puck dropped for Rashevsky he skated into space a wired a shot from the deep slot.

A fiery contest spilled over within a minute of the goal: Johnson battled with Marsel Ibragimov and the pair were assessed fighting majors; four others picked up roughing minors in the same incident but play continued at five-on-five.

Avangard had dominated the shot count throughout the 60 minutes, and continued to press in the extras. Reward came after 71 seconds when Andrew Poturalski scored his first goal of the season to give the home team the points.

Loko maintains winning start

CSKA Moscow 2 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 3 (0-1, 1-1, 1-1)

Defending champion Lokomotiv reeled off a fourth successive victory, handing Igor Nikitin’s CSKA a third loss in four games. Alexander Radulov contributed to all three goals against his former club.

Nikitin, who has won the Gagarin Cup with both these clubs, responded to Friday’s loss at home to Admiral by keeping faith with his players. The only change in personnel saw Ivan Patrikhayev replace Ivan Yukin on defense. Lokomotiv also changed its defense, recalling experienced Stepan Falkovsky ahead of Mark Ulyev.

In an even first period, the visitor got the only goal thanks to the ageless Radulov. It was something of a cheeky play, attempting to drag a no-look pass across the net into the path of Georgy Ivanov, and it got its reward when a retreating CSKA defenseman steered the puck into his own net.

CSKA looked better at the start of the second period, picking up a couple of power plays. The second brought a tying goal for Denis Guryanov, firing home a wrister after Jeremy Roy’s pass down the left wing.

But when Lokomotiv got on the power play late in the frame, it did more than disrupt the home team’s momentum. Within 30 seconds, Rushan Rafikov’s point shot blasted the visitor back in front; Radulov added an assist to his opening goal.

The decisive play came at the start of the third period. At first, it looked like CSKA had a tying goal when Guryanov converted an odd-man rush in the 44th minute. However, in the build-up Dmitry Buchelnikov committed a foul and was immediately assessed a tripping minor, wiping out the goal.

On the power play, Lokomotiv cashed in. A neat passing move ended with Yegor Surin redirecting Radulov’s backhander into the net to maintain his record of a goal in every game this season.

There was time for CSKA to make things tense. Late in the game, Surin went to the box and Nikitin had his team playing six-on-four. Lokomotiv killed the penalty, but Denis Zernov managed to grab a 59th-minute goal to put the result back in the balance. However, Loko held on to take the verdict.

Mityakin nets Neftekhimik winner

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

Evgeny Mityakin’s third-period goal secured a third successive victory for Neftekhimik, while Admiral failed to build on its win at CSKA last time out.

The Sailors’ success in Moscow had shifted the mood around the club, and the visitor made a bright start here. Inside four minutes Anthony Camara opened the scoring with a goal against his first KHL team. He fired home from the deep slot to send a reminder to the team where he played 90 games from 2022-2024.

That goal came from Admiral’s first shot on target; Yaroslav Ozolin would stop the next 25 as the visitor’s evening peaked early. A power play midway through the first period went nowhere and was cancelled out when Mikhail Grass followed Andrei Belozyorov to the sidelines. When Belozyorov re-entered the fray, he had an assist as Damir Zhafyarov tied the scores, and the game remained deadlocked until the first intermission.

After Neftekhimik had the better of the play in the first, Admiral gained the edge in the second. Oleg Bratash’s men deprived the home offense of opportunities and topped the shot count 10-6 for the frame. However, there was no further scoring.

The winner came in the 47th minute. Admiral managed to repel a counterattack, but Belozyorov went behind the net to keep the play alive and Mityakin potted the winner from close range off Vladislav Yeryomenko’s feed.