Good day for a road trip. October 1 round-up

All three of Thursday’s KHL games ended in victory for the visiting team. CSKA took control of its trip to Minsk in the first period, going on to win 4-1 after scoring two in 28 seconds during the opening stanza. Torpedo fell behind early at Dynamo Moscow, but turned the game around in the first and closed out a 3-1 verdict.  And Admiral ended its three-game skid with a shoot-out success at Severstal, where the home team saw its three-game hot streak cool.

Khaiullin double leads CSKA to victory

Dinamo Minsk 1 CSKA Moscow 4 (0-2, 0-1, 1-1)

Two goals in 28 seconds put CSKA in control of this game in the irst period. The visitor converted its first power play of the game on 11:55, moving the puck around the Minsk zone until Marat Khairullin was able to get off a wrister from the left-hand circle.

Then came Rob Hamilton to score on his former club. Again, Dinamo was forced deep into its zone and Hamilton got the puck in a central position. After a slight pause, he picked out the corner of the net to double the lead.

Dinamo finished the first period with a power play chance, but could not reduce the deficit. However, the home team began brightly in the second, with opportunities for Brady Lyle and Sam Anas early on. Gradually, the Muscovites regained control, though, and in the 33rd minute Khairullin’s second of the night chased starting goalie Zach Fucale from his net as Vasily Demchenko came into the game.

Demchenko did not allow another goal, although CSKA put a fourth into an empty net through Ivan Drozdov after 55 minutes. Before that, Daniil Sotishvili’s power play early in the third gave the home team hope of a fightback, but the visitor prevailed after scoring four goals on 16 shots.

Torpedo too good for Muscovites

Dynamo Moscow 1 Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 3 (1-2, 0-1, 0-0)

Torpedo added to Dynamo’s problems, claiming a 3-1 win in Moscow and handing the host a fourth straight loss.

The game started well enough for Dynamo, with the home team taking the lead in the fifth minute. It came from a well-worked play: Jordan Weal’s diagonal feed to the left wing, Mario Patalakha joining the attack and sending the puck to the slot for Nick Merkley to beat Denis Kostin from close range.

And there was a further opportunity when the visitor’s Matvei Polyakov was assessed a delay of game minor, giving the Muscovites the first power play of the night. However, an assured penalty kill helped Torpedo find its way into the game and, back at equal strength, the visitor turned things around. Anton Sizov tied it up on a counterattack in the 14th minute before Daniil Zhuravlyov made it 2-1 as the intermission approached.

Sergei Goncharuk played a big part in that Torpedo goal, and he got on the scoresheet himself as the visitor padded its lead after 26 minutes. Polyakov went behind the net, Mikhail Vorobyov swiftly moved the puck on for Goncharuk to fire home on the doorstep.

That was the end of the scoring. The third period was a cautious affair, with Dynamo held to just 5 shots as Torpedo closed out the win.

Sailors snap skid

Severstal Cherepovets 3 Admiral Vladivostok 4 SO (0-1, 1-1, 2-1, 0-0, 0-1)

Admiral got off to a good start. In the second minute, Severstal’s young defenseman Semyon Chuklinov was assessed a holding penalty, and Ivan Muranov converted the power play on 2:14. That lead held to the intermission, with just the one goal separating the teams after an even 20 minutes of play.

Soon after the restart, the Sailors doubled their lead. Yegor Chezganov scored, Ilya Morozov collected his second assist of the night, and Severstal was left shorthanded after unsuccessfully challenging for too many men.

The power play was shortlived: just five seconds later, Muranov got an interference call and the teams continued at equal strength.

Severstal began to flex its offensive muscles as the period progressed and pulled one back after 34 minutes. Nikita Popugayev has sparked the Lynx attack into life since his arrival from Shanghai Dragons and he struck on the power play to make it for goals in five games for his new club. The forward made his debut in Severstal’s third successive loss to zero; after that, he helped the team to three straight wins before today.

Popugayev also contributed to Severstal’s second goal, in the 49th minute. That came after Kyle Olsen’s first of the season restored a two-goal advantage for the Sailors. And Alexander Skorenov’s power play goal took the game to a overtime, only for the visitor to take it in a shoot-out thanks to Anthony Camara’s winner.