Severstal stuns SKA, Avto blanks Hawks. October 6 round-up

A 5-2 win for Severstal at SKA was the big story of Tuesday’s play. Danil Aimurzin scored twice against his former club but ended on the losing side. Avtomobilist beat Avangard 4-0, spoiled Damir Sharipzyanov’s return to action after injury ruled him out of the start of the season. And a late Yaroslav Likhachyov goal lifted Amur past Traktor.

No joy for Hawks despite Sharipzyanov’s return

Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 4 Avangard Omsk 0 (0-0, 1-0, 3-0)

Damir Sharipzyanov returned for Avangard, but the captain’s inspirational presence could not lift his team in Yekaterinburg. Instead, the host claimed a 4-0 verdict as Vladimir Galkin recorded his first shut-out of the season.

Sharipzyanov’s first game of the season wasn’t the only big team news: Avtomobilist scratched Daniel Sprong and recalled Daniil Gushchin, who had missed the past few games.

The visitor made a bright start to the game, frequently forcing the home defense into mistakes. That led to the first power play of the game, but the Hawks all-star special team was unable to force the breakthrough.

Things improved for Avtomobilist later in the opening frame. Despite the loss of Roman Gorbunov to injury, the home team took control of the game and began to test Nikita Serebryakov on a regular basis.

The pressure continued into the second period. Gushchin was close to his first KHL goal, but Serebryakov said no. However, even he was powerless when Kale Clague took matters into his own hands, skilfully taking the puck past two opponents before placing his shot on the top shelf. Avangard appeared punch-drunk, and Alexander Sharov danced through the defense only to be denied by Serebryakov.

By the second intermission, Avangard’s offensive threat had almost evaporated. The shot count through 40 minutes read 30-8, and the visitor was relieved to be just one goal behind.

With a game to be saved, the Hawks started well in the third. Gleb Burlaka forced a notable save from Galkin early on, but the momentum soon faded. In truth, it was squashed by two quick goals: Alexander Sharov, followed by Alexander Kadeikin on the power play. 3-0 in the 46th minute, and effectively game over. Jesse Blacker’s empty netter merely confirmed the inevitable; Galkin finished with 22 saves.

Likhachyov grabs late winner

Traktor Chelyabinsk 1 Amur Khabarovsk 2 (0-0, 1-1, 0-1)

Amur made it four wins from five games thanks to a late goal from Yaroslav Likhachyov. He struck in the 58th minute, snapping a 1-1 tie and halting Traktor’s three-game hot streak.

The goal came right after Mikhail Grigorenko’s dangerous raid on the Amur net had home fans dreaming of victory. But his advance was charged down on the slot and the Tigers set up a counter that sent Likhachyov clean through on Henrik Haukeland’s net. The visiting forward had the measure of the Norwegian and celebrated only his second goal of the season.

That capped a frustrating evening for the home team. In the first period, Traktor was unable to capitalize despite having more of the play. Maxim Dorozhko made 14 saves and the game was deadlocked at the intermission.

In the second, Amur managed to keep Traktor in its own zone for some time, and a deflected shot saw Alexei Kruchinin open the scoring against his former club. However, Artemy Nizameyev tied it up and the home team finished strongly with two power plays.

But in the final frame, Amur managed to get the decisive goal. Earlier the visitor was denied by the post, before Likhachyov settled the outcome.

Five-star Severstal shoots down SKA

SKA St. Petersburg 2 Severstal Cherepovets 5 (1-2, 1-2, 0-1)

Severstal sprang the surprise result of the evening, picking up a road win at SKA. The home team was looking to close to within two points of the KHL’s leaders, while the visitor was down in eighth in the West at the start of play.

However, the gap in the standings was not entirely reflected in recent form: both teams had four wins from their last five, with Severstal’s offense clicking at last after a run of three games without a goal last month.

It didn’t take long for the visitor to show its new-found scoring prowess this evening. After 90 seconds, Denis Yan opened the scoring, assisted by Nikita Popugayev, whose arrival in Cherepovets now looks like something of a catalyst for Severstal’s attack.

SKA then had two power plays in a row but could not take advantage. And seven minutes later, Yanni Kaldis doubled the lead, firing home from the blue line after a face-off win.

Moments later, the visitor almost had a third when Ruslan Abrosimov found Ivan Podshivalov in front of the net. Artemy Pleshkov came up with the save.

And play went straight down the ice for SKA to make it 1-2. This was a big moment for Danil Aimurzin, who got his KHL breakthrough at Severstal and moved to Petersburg in the summer. He got to the slot in time to redirect Rocco Grimaldi’s shot past Alexander Samoilov.

The middle frame began with a power play goal for Severstal. Popugayev was involved again, breaking down the wing and dishing off a feed for Abrosimov to unleash a one-timer into the far corner. Aimurzin continued to provoke his former colleagues and made it 2-3 after more good work from Chebykin.

But the visitor always had more of the game and got its reward as the intermission approached. A strong forecheck opened a shooting lane for Timofei Davydov to make it 4-2 in the 37th minute.

Vsevolod Skotnikov replaced Samoilov in the Severstal net for the third period. He acquitted himself well as SKA tried to force the tempo, and made some big saves to preserve the lead. Sergei Plotnikov came closest to beating him in the 57th minute, but saw his effort hit the post. Then, at the other end, Nikita Artamonov  - a player well known to SKA head coach Igor Larionov after their time together at Torpedo – finished the job with an empty net goal to make the final score 5-2.