Galiyev shoots down SKA, Serebryakov denies Neftekhimik. October 8 round-up

A three-point game from Stanislav Galiyev led Dinamo Minsk to a 4-2 home win over SKA. In Nizhnekamsk, Nikita Serebryakov made 40 saves to blank one of the most productive attacks in the league, while Mikhail Gulyayev got the only goal of the game for Avangard. Maxim Dorozhko also celebrated a shut-out as Amur won at Traktor for the second time in three days. Severstal edged Torpedo 3-2 in Nizhny Novgorod.

Tigers tear down Traktor again

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

The Tigers made it two wins in Chelyabinsk in the space of three days after Maxim Dorozhko blanked the home offense. Third-period goals from Dmitry Kostenko and Artyom Shvaryov secured the win for the visitor as Traktor continues to struggle on home ice.

After a 1-2 loss to this opponent on Tuesday, Scott Gordon had to do without Mikhail Grigorenko and Vladislav Valentsov tonight as both players reported illness. Amur brought Kostenko into the defense in place of Slava Voynov.

As in the previous meeting, neither team could score in the first period. Traktor had two power plays and outshot Amur but rarely posed a serious test for Dorozhko.

Early in the second, the visitor got its first power play, also unsuccessful. Then Yaroslav Likhachyov, Tuesday’s game winner, failed with a penalty shot. That was awarded when Konstantin Lukin’s breakaway forced Ivan Vydrenkov into a foul. Later in the frame, Traktor gained the upper hand but once again found Dorozhko on top of his game.

The home power play continued to splutter, passing up two more opportunities in the third. And Amur punished that profligacy when Kostenko found an accurate shot from mid-range. That was his first goal in 2022/2023 when he was playing for Kunlun. Former Traktor prospect Shvaryov doubled the visitor’s lead, capitalizing on slack defensive work. At the other end, Dorozhko made 33 saves to secure his third shut-out of the season to leave Traktor facing a five loss in its last six at home.

Galiyev proves too much for SKA

Dinamo Minsk 4 SKA St. Petersburg 2 (0-1, 2-1, 2-0)

Stanislav Galiyev made the difference as Dinamo Minsk defeated SKA. The home forward scored twice and added an assist to give Sergei Brylin’s team the edge.

The result moves the Belarusians to within a point of tonight’s opposition, while Igor Larionov’s men suffered a third loss in four. That’s an abrupt turnaround after winning seven of their first eight.

The visitor started well enough tonight, getting ahead in the first period on Matvei Korotky’s third of the season. Although Dinamo had more possession in the opening session – helped by two power plays – the home team could do little with it and the youngster’s goal after 15 minutes separated the teams at the intermission.

The Minsk PP got it right in the middle frame, though. Scoring leaders Ty Smith and Chris Tierney combined to give Galiyev a clear shooting lane from the left-hand circle, and his wrister was too good for Sergei Ivanov in the visitor’s net. The next PP gave Dinamo the lead, Galiyev again on target after he got to the rebound from a Sam Anas effort.

SKA managed to tie it up before the intermission on a goal from Sergei Plotnikov close to the intermission, and the third period was finely poised.

But Dinamo came out and snatched the lead 10 seconds after the restart. Xavier Ouellet kept the puck in the SKA zone and unleashed a point shot. It took a couple of deflections on its way through traffic and deceived Ivanov; Galiyev added a helper.

And the home team made it 4-2 midway through the session when Sergei Kuznetsov forced a turnover on the boards and set up Daniil Sotishvili.

SKA refused to give up, and Larionov went to six skaters early with Ivanov coming to the bench in the 56th minute. But, despite some anxious moments, Dinamo held on for the win.

Abrosimov grabs winner for Severstal

Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 2 Severstal Cherepovets 3 (1-2, 0-0, 1-1)

Two in-form teams produced a tight battle at the VOLGA Arena, but visiting Severstal edged a verdict by the odd goal in five.

That result sees Andrei Kozyrev’s men improve to six wins from seven, while Torpedo saw it’s three-game streak come to an end. It might be that Alexei Isakov and his players are still getting used to their new home: three out of four Torpedo losses this season have been on home ice, with just one defeat in seven road games.

Severstal made a bright start and quickly opened a 2-0 lead. David Dumbadze struck in the third minute and Danil Veryayev, once a Torpedo player, doubled the lead after seven.

The home team replied through Yegor Vinogradov midway through the opening frame and continued to press for an equalizer before the intermission. However, Severstal carried its lead to the end of the first.

After the intermission there were fewer scoring chances. Neither team could change the scoreline in the middle frame, and frustrations sparked a clash on the hooter as Vladislav Firstov clashed with the visitor’s Vladimir Grudinin. Scooter Brickie picked up a 10-minute misconduct penalty in the same incident.

Severstal came out at the start of the third and increased its lead. Ruslan Abrosimov found the net for the second game in a row, while Nikita Popugayev’s assist moves him to nine points in seven games since arriving at the club from the Dragons.

That third goal proved decisive: Torpedo got one back thanks to Daniil Seroukh in the 52nd minute but could not force overtime. Severstal edges ahead of SKA into sixth, Torpedo remains third, two points off the lead.

Gulyayev shoots down Neftekhimik, Serebryakov makes 40 saves

Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 0 Avangard Omsk 1 (0-1, 0-0, 0-0)

Avangard’s injury worries are easing a little, and today brought a hard-earned victory over one of the league’s most potent offenses.

Only Barys has scored more than Neftekhimik’s 44 goals this season, but the Wolves fired blanks at home to the Hawks. Perhaps surprisingly, given how productive Igor Grishin’s team has been, this was the third time it had failed to score in 14 games.

Some of the credit for Avangard’s defensive display surely goes to Damir Sharipzyanov, playing only his second game of the season after recovering from an injury that ruled him out for the first month of the campaign. Fellow blue-liner Semyon Chistyakov was playing his second game back after a shorter absence dating back to Sep. 20.

And a third defenseman, Mikhail Gulyayev, made the crucial contribution to this game. In the 12th minute, he scored what proved to be the only goal, reacting first to put away the rebound from a Josh Leivo effort that Yaroslav Ozolin spilled. The home bench was unhappy with Andrew Poturalski’s play in front of the goalie, but the challenge came to naught.

The Avangard goal wasn’t the whole story, though. The visitor killed three power plays in the opening stanza, absorbing consistent home pressure but still managing to lead the shot count 13-11. Kirill Adamchuk’s foul late in the frame meant that the Hawks were a man down for the start of the second as well, but once again the PK was strong and German Tochilkin went to the box to neutralize Neftekhimik’s numerical advantage.

After that, the visitor cut out the fouls and had more control of the play in the second period, but could not add to its lead.

In the third, the teams began by trading chances. However, as the clock ran down, Neftekhimik was forced to up the tempo in search of a tying goal. Nikita Serebryakov was put to some hard work in the Avangard net, and finished the game with an impressive 40 saves. Guy Boucher was feeling the pressure on the bench and called a time-out in the 57th minute to give his players a chance to recover some composure; later Grishin did the same in the hope of inspiring a last-gasp goal. But in the end, Gulyayev’s marker proved decisive.