McLeod hits hat-trick, Grigorenko scores 200th goal. October 16 round-up

Avangard’s Mike McLeod had the best individual performance of the day, scoring a hat-trick in his team’s 4-2 win over Avtomobilist. Another forward, Mikhail Grigorenko, potted a landmark 200th goal but could not save Traktor from an overtime loss at Neftekhimik. Kirill Semyonov scored twice as Ak Bars beat the Dragons, also in OT. Spartak had a big win at Admiral, and Torpedo defeated Dynamo by the odd goal in nine to record a victory at the VOLGA Arena.

Strong finish gives Spartak the win

Admiral Vladivostok 1 Spartak Moscow 5 (0-1, 1-0, 0-4)

Spartak ran away with this game in the third period, scoring four without reply to secure a fourth successive victory.

The Red-and-Whites welcomed back Pavel Poryadin, who joined Luke Lockhart and Daniil Gutik on the third line. The latter was up against his former club, having traded Vladivostok for Moscow in the course of last season.

Admiral captain Libor Sulak returned after missing the overtime win against Lada. Grigory Vashchenko was also back on defense, but there was no room for new signing Borna Rendulic.

Spartak made a bright start and deservedly opened the scoring thanks to leading scorer Yegor Filin. The visitor’s top line was impressive throughout the opening frame, although gradually Admiral came into the game and began to test goalie Artyom Zagidulin. A hard-hitting game was typified by Max Comtois’s check on Sulak, which rocked the Czech defenseman.

The second period saw Spartak constantly on the power play, yet unable to score. It started when Anthony Camara managed to earn six penalty minutes in a single incident, starting with a trip on Will Reilly and continuing through angry words and gestures. However, not only did the home PK do its job, it even managed to tie the game on a short-handed effort later in the session: Alexander Volkov found the net while Vladislav Tsitsyura was in the box.

The penalties kept coming in the third, and a spell of four-on-four play brought a goal for Ivan Ryabov to put Spartak back in front. Two more goals put the game out of Admiral’s reach: Belyayev on the power play, then Nikita Kholodilin at equal strength. The Sailors’ problems weren’t helped by a major penalty for Oskar Bulavchuk, and Poryadin had the final word with his team’s fifth goal.

McLeod hat-trick inspires Hawks

Avangard Omsk 4 Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 2 (2-0, 0-1, 2-1)

A hat-trick from Mike McLeod earned Avangard a win that lifted it off the foot of the Eastern Conference. It made for a perfect start to a home stand that Guy Boucher will hope to see move his team up into the playoff places in what remains a tight section. Friday’s win over Avtomobilist puts the Hawks level on points with the eighth-placed Motormen.

There was a big boost for Boucher as he was able to name an almost full strength roster. Defenseman Max Lajoie and forward Yegor Afansyev both returned to action tonight. Avtomobilist also welcomed back key players: dangerous forward Daniel Sprong, and leading goalie Evgeny Alikin.

There were chances from the start. Josh Leivo went close for Avangard, Yegor Chernikov hit the post at the other end. For a time, the visitor had the upper hand, testing Ivan Prosvetov in the home net and getting the first power play of the night. But when a penalty was called against Avtomobilist, it took just 10 seconds for Leivo and Andrew Poturalski to combine for McLeod to net the opener. The Canadian center doubled the lead before the intermisnsion, setting up Afanasyev for a shot then putting away the rebound after Alikin’s initial save.

Avto started well in the middle frame, pushing Avangard back and quickly earning another power play. Once again, though, the home PK was sound and when Afanasyev jumped out of the box he almost got clear to score a third goal. However, Avtomobilist still had the better of the play and got a goal back thanks to Sprong. Avangard responded with a run of dangerous attacks and Konstantin Okulov hit the crossbar before the intermission.

Okulov began the third period in the box, but after serving his time he rejoined the game and created his team’s third goal. He raced towards Alikin’s net, circled the goal and set up Vasily Ponomaryov for a simple finish with the goalie stranded. The goal quashed Avto’s attempts to fight back and for half the period Avangard calmly protected its lead. It wasn’t until late on that Alexei Kudashov’s team was able to start testing Prosvetov once again, but after switching to a sixth skater the visitor gave up an empty-net goal and McLeod completed his hat-trick. There was still time for Sprong to score again on a power play, but that was too late to change the outcome.

Grigorenko’s landmark not enough for Traktor

Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 3 Traktor Chelyabinsk 2 OT (2-1, 0-1, 0-0, 1-0)

An overtime goal from German Tochilkin halted a two-game losing streak for Neftekhimik, keeping the unfancied Wolves second in the Eastern Conference.

A prolific and exciting start to the season for Igor Grishin’s team was in danger of stalling after a run of four losses in five games – albeit each by a one-goal margin. But today’s home game against Traktor produced a gritty win over an inconsistent opponent.

Traktor, meanwhile, fell to a fourth loss in five games, having won four from five prior to its current run. Mikhail Grigorenko scored his 200th KHL goal, but that wasn’t enough for Scott Gordon’s team.

The game got off to a fast start as the teams shared three goals inside eight minutes. Matvei Nadvorny and Rafael Bikmullin were on target for the home team, sandwiching an Andrei Svetlakov effort for the visitor.

Grigorenko’s big moment came in the middle frame, tying the game at 2-2. He struck on the power play, unleashing a rocket of a one-timer from the right-hand circle off Grigory Dronov’s feed to beat Filipp Dolganov in the home net.

With the play evenly matched – both teams finished the game with more than 40 shots, and both Dolganov and Henrik Haukeland had good games – it was little surprise that this one went to overtime. The extras were also end-to-end, but with 30 seconds left Tochilkin converted a one-on-one break after Traktor’s Ivan Vydrenkov fired wide of the net at the other end and Neftekhimik quickly swung from defense to attack.

Five-star show helps Torpedo feel at home

Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 5 Dynamo Moscow 4 (1-0, 2-1, 2-3)

A 5-4 win over Dynamo ended a run of three straight home losses for Torpedo, bringing Alexei Isakov’s team back into the top four in the West. The visitor continues to struggle, with 10 losses in its last 12 games, and sits outside the playoff spots in the West.

Two goals apiece for Amir Garayev and Sergei Goncharuk tipped this game in the home team’s favor, even though Maxim Letunov scored on his return to Nizhny Novogorod.

Torpedo had the better of the first period, outshooting Dynamo 12-7 and having a big advantage in offensive possession. The home team also had a long five-on-three power play when Magomed Sharakanov and Nikita Novikov went to the box around the 13-minute mark. Dynamo’s penalty kill just about held on, but the pressure told and shortly after the visitor return to full strength, Garayev opened the scoring.

Arguably, Torpedo deserved more than a one-goal lead for its efforts in the opening stanza. However, the home team doubled its advantage at the start of the second through Goncharuk and seemed well in control. Dynamo hinted at a fightback when Daniil Pylenkov pulled a goal back and managed to even up the play in the middle frame, but fell further behind in the 36th minute on Daniil Seroukh’s marker.

In the final frame, Dynamo finally got its offense moving. After struggling to test Dmitry Shugayev through two period, the Blue-and-Whites scored three in the third. The Muscovites also limited Torpedo to just three shots on goal – but two of them found the net.

Letunov pulled one back on the power play, then Goncharuk and Mario Patalakha traded goals midway through the session – the latter potting his first of the season for Dynamo. That made it 4-3 and Leonids Tambijevs urged his team to up the pressure, playing six-on-four during a power play in the 55th minute without making a breakthrough. Vladislav Podyapolsky returned to the visitor’s bench on 56:32, but this time the gamble worked proved costly. Garayev found the empty net, giving Dynamo too much to do in the closing stages. There was still time for Pavel Shen to net a last-second consolation, but Torpedo had done enough to take the points.

Ak Bars silences Jaskin and beats Dragons

Shanghai Dragons 2 Ak Bars Kazan 3 OT (0-1, 0-0, 2-1, 0-1)

The pre-game talking point was all about Dmitrij Jaskin facing his former Ak Bars team-mates for the first time since joining the Dragons in the summer. But it was Kirill Semyonov who grabbed the headlines, scoring twice including the overtime winner.

Semyonov, who moves clear of Grigory Denisenko as the scoring leader for Ak Bars this season, struck early in the extras. Good work from Alexander Chmelevski carved a path through the Dragons defense, with Jaskin trailing in his wake. Then he dished off the puck for Semyonov on the doorstep to stuff it home at the third attempt.

At the other end, Jaskin was limited to just one shot at goal, in the first period, as the visitor edged a close-fought battle.

The first period was short of scoring chances, but Semyonov made the breakthrough in the 17th minute, converting the first power play of the game.

In the second, Ak Bars had to dig deep to defend that lead. Shanghai got two power plays and forced the visitor to block 11 shots, but the score remained unchanged after 40 minutes.

After a long wait for a goal, three arrived in a hurry. Brett Murray tied it up on 50:55, only for Ak Bars to regain the lead just 16 seconds later thanks to Dmitry Katelevsky. But that lead was shortlived and David Chen’s third goal in as many games made it 2-2 on 53:28 and sent the game to overtime.