Loko, Barys hit the goal trail. October 10 round-up

Saturday was a game of big wins: 6-1 for Lokomotiv over Dinamo Minsk, 5-1 for Barys over Avangard and 4-1 for Severstal at Ak Bars. As a result, Loko shares top spot in the West with CSKA and Severstal climbs to third after winning seven of eight. Elsewhere, Sibir edged a 2-1 win over Traktor thanks to a pair from Arkhip Nekolenko, and Admiral inflicted a ninth straight loss on Lada.

Fightback from 0-2 ends in OT loss

Admiral Vladivostok 4 Lada Togliatti 3 OT (2-0, 0-1, 1-2, 1-0)

Lada’s losing streak extends to nine games after Saturday’s loss in Vladivostok, but the Motormen picked up their first point since Sep. 21 before falling in overtime.

And it might have been even better for the visitor, which rallied from 0-2 to lead in the closing stages before a late Kyle Olson goal tied the game at 3-3.

Admiral, back home after taking five points from a four-game road trip, made a good start. Ivan Muranov opened the scoring after 98 seconds, and Danila Moiseyev doubled the lead in the 14th minute.

Things began to change in the second period when Doyle Somerby pulled one back for Lada. The defenseman potted his first of the in the 27th minute. Then, at the start of the third, the visiting power play came to prominence. The Sailors took three penalties in a row at the start of the final stanza; Andrei Chivilyov and Nikolai Makarov took advantage to put their team up 3-2 with 15 to play.

But Somerby, who started the revival, allowed Admiral back into the game when he was assessed an interference minor in the 57th minute. The host leapt into action and Olson quickly converted the power play, taking the game to overtime. And a minute into the extras, Olson got his second point of the game with an assist on Dmitry Zavgorodny’s winner.

Nekolenko shoots down Traktor

Traktor Chelyabinsk 1 Sibir Novosibirsk 2 (0-1, 0-1, 1-0)

In a game between two teams looking to halt two-game losing streaks, Sibir came out on top. Two goals from Arkhip Nekolenko made the difference, while Darren Dietz assisted on both.

The home team welcomed back Nikita Soshnikov from the injury he sustained in the game against Spartak. Mikhail Grigorenko and Vladislav Valentsov, who missed the previous game through illness, also returned. Taylor Beck and Ivan Vorobyov were back on the Sibir roster and Daniil Chayka made his debut for the club.

However, Valentsov’s return proved short-lived; the defenseman picked up an injury late in the second period and missed the rest of the game. By that time, Traktor was also trailing by two: Nekolenko twice redirected Dietz’s point shots and found Henrik Haukeland’s net on both occasions.

Traktor got back into the with the help of a couple of power plays either side of the second intermission. The second of them brought a goal when Andrei Svetlakov screened Anton Krasotkin and Grigory Dronov fired home. The home team continued to press, but the offensive effort was undermined by penalty trouble.

Late in the game Scott Gordon replaced Haukeland with a sixth skater. Nekolenko almost took advantage to complete his hat-trick, but his empty-net tally was ruled out for offside.

Free-scoring Barys puts Avangard to the sword

Barys Astana 5 Avangard Omsk 1 (1-1, 2-0, 2-0)

The swashbuckling Barys offense was back in business, scoring five on Avangard to claim a third straight win. The Hawks, still struggling with injuries, continue to alternate wins and losses with head coach Guy Boucher acknowledging his team is in survival mode until the personnel situation improves.

This game was competitive in the first period. Avangard got in front early, taking advantage of a too many men call to engineer a power play goal for Nail Yakupov after four minutes. But the lead did not last long: four minutes later, Tyce Thompson tied the game after a three-on-two rush.

Once level, Barys began to dominate the game. But the next scoring had to wait until the second period. Justin Bailey scored in trademark fashion to put the home team in front with a breakaway effort. Forced to fight back, Avangard took control of the puck, but lacked the necessary cutting edge to worry Andrei Shutov in the home net. Instead, a Barys power play saw Mason Morelli increase the home lead before the intermission.

That pattern continued into the third period: plenty of Avangard pressure, but not enough danger for Barys. At the other end, the home team continued to impress: Bailey and Thompson both completed doubles to build a decisive final scoreline.

Severstal up to third in the West

Ak Bars Kazan 1 Severstal Cherepovets 4 (1-0, 0-1, 0-3)

A seventh win in eight games lifted Severstal up to third in the Western Conference, while Ak Bars fell to a third successive home loss.

Last season’s beaten finalist failed to build on a first-period lead and falls to sixth in the East.

The home team handed a debut to Denis Zernov, signed from CSKA during the week, but the experienced forward was unable to reverse his new team’s slump as the game went on.

Yet for a good chunk of the evening, Ak Bars looked the likelier team. Anvar Gatiyatulin’s men were good value for the lead given to them by Kirill Semyonov’s 16th-minute goal. They outshot Severstal 10-5 in the first period and even though the second period was a more even contest, the 1-0 lead held until Danil Veryayev struck just before the intermission.

But the third period began in horrific fashion for the host. Veryayev turned provider as Ivan Podshivalov put Severstal in front 17 seconds after the restart. Then came a power play for the visitor and a third goal, scored by Thomas Gregoire. Before the home team could regroup, Ilya Ivantsov added a fourth.

That left Ak Bars looking at three goals in 12 minutes to save the game. However, the host managed just three shots on goal in the third period, and could not beat Vsevolod Skotnikov in the visitor’s net. Severstal coolly played out the closing stages and celebrated an impressive win on the road.

Revenge win for Kvartalnov and Lokomotiv

Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 6 Dinamo Minsk 1 (2-0, 0-1, 4-0)

A week ago, Dmitry Kvartalnov returned to Minsk with his Lokomotiv team and suffered a 3-4 loss. Today, on home ice, he avenged that result in emphatic style, powering to a 6-1 victory over the Belarusians and joining CSKA on 22 points at the top of the Western Conference.

The defending champion took control of the game with a couple of quickfire goals midway through the first period. Yegor Surin set things in motion, potting his fifth goal of the season after 11 minutes. Soon after, Georgy Ivanov doubled the lead and stayed 2-0 until the intermission.

But Dinamo refused to roll over. The visitor remained competitive in the first period, and pulled a goal back in the second. Alex Limoges, who missed the start of the season got off the mark midway through the game to make it 1-2. Loko had a frustrating time of it, seeing a second-period tally ruled out on a bench challenge for offside.

The Railwaymen worked out that frustration in the third. The home team outside Dinamo 21-5 and scored four unanswered goals to complete a convincing win. Rushan Rafikov converted a power play in the 46th minute, Maxim Shalunov added another three minutes later. The game was effectively gone, and Minsk’s efforts to salvage at least a consolation goal went astray. Alexander Radulov and Artur Kayumov both scored empty-netters to wrap up a 6-1 win.