KHL Results - January 06-08, 2017

Friday, January 06, 2017

Avtomobilist v Torpedo 1-2 SO
Bobby Butler, a recent revival at Torpedo following his transfer from Medvescak, was the architect of his new team’s second win of the New Year. The 29-year-old American broke the deadlock in an evenly-matched game, scoring the opening goal late in the second period after escaping the clutches of Nikita Shchitov and beating Vladimir Sokhatsky from close range. Avto responded with barely five minutes left, in a play that seemed to mirror the opening goal. This time Butler turned over possession to Alexei Mikhnov, and Shchitov exacted revenge by firing home the equalizer. A Nikolai Zherdev deke almost handed Torpedo an overtime winner, but the game went to a shoot-out. Ilya Proskuryakov came off the bench to replace Mikhail Biryukov in the Torpedo net. Butler scored the decisive goal at the other end, to wrap up a good day for him and a Torpedo team that remains third in the Western Conference.
Barys v Sochi 0-4
For the second game running, Sochi rattled up a big road win to reignite its playoff prospects. This win in Kazakhstan was enough to lift the team back into the top eight, level on points with its closest rival, Vityaz. Despite the scoreline, though, much of the game was even, with wayward finishing from Barys and strong goaltending from Konstantin Barulin doing much to keep Sochi on top. The visitor took the lead late in the first period. Ivan Zakharchuk crunched Martin St. Pierre behind the net and quickly stuffed the puck past the surprised Henrik Karlsson. In the second period Alexei Pepelyayev doubled the lead, firing a shot through a screen of players to beat Karlsson. Andrei Kostitsyn put the result beyond doubt in the 47^th minute and Yury Alexandrov wrapped it up late on. Barys tested Barulin on 33 occasions, but failed to find a way to score.
Medvescak v Admiral 1-4
With four wins in a row either side of the New Year, Medvescak was showing signs of putting together an unlikely late playoff push. Meanwhile Admiral’s inconsistent form saw it drop to eighth in the East. So, when Kirill Voronin gave the home team a third-minute lead here, things looked set fair for another Medvescak success and further pressure on the team from Vladivostok. It wasn’t to be, though. Maxim Kazakov tied the game late in the first period and Admiral went on to dominate much of the middle session. Artyom Zemchyonok’s 35-minute goal was arguably an ungenerous reward for a period in which the visitor had twice as many opportunities as its host. Alexander Gorshkov added a third in the 45^th minute with his team’s first shot of the final stanza. Medvescak worked hard for a route back into the game, but the puck would not bounce the right way and an empty-net goal for Kazakov finished it off. Admiral’s win takes the team up to seventh in the East; Medvescak remains 10 points behind the top eight.

Saturday, January 07, 2017

Sibir v Vityaz 3-2

Two teams seeking points to bolster their playoff ambitions met in Siberia, with the host edging a narrow verdict to claim a vital win. Konstantin Okulov was Sibir’s star, getting the opening goal in the 13^th minute and returning to grab the game-winner in the 55^th. In between, though, Vityaz came close to picking up the point that would have lifted it back into the top eight in the Western Conference. Roman Horak and Alexander Pankov gave the visitor a first-period lead and even after Zach Boychuk tied the scores midway through the game, Sibir struggled to find a way past Igor Saprykin in the visitor’s net. But Okulov finally solved the goalie late on to seal a win that puts Sibir just a point shy of the top eight in the East.
Avangard v Lokomotiv 3-2

Avangard reinforced its position as the Chernyshev Division leader with a hard-fought win at home to Lokomotiv, which remains fourth in the Western Conference. The first period was a lively affair, with both sides hitting the front before going into the first intermission tied at 2-2. Nikolai Lemtyugov was Avangard’s key player, opening the scoring in the ninth minute and tying the game less than a minute before the hooter. In between, Lokomotiv responded strongly, with Vladislav Gavrikov making it 1-1 in the 14^th minute and Denis Mosalyov giving his team a short-lived lead on 18:51. But this heavyweight clash was settled by Ilya Mikheyev’s power play goal on 25 minutes. Yegor Martynov’s shot from the point was parried, enabling Ilya Zubov and Maxim Pestushko to play tic-tac-toe around the slot before Mikheyev finished off the move and win the game.
Lada v Ufa 4-2
Sergei Demagin’s first goal of the season turned out to be the game-winner as Lada beat Salavat Yulaev 4-2. The 30-year-old has missed significant chunks of the season, but was in the right place to grab Lada’s third goal in the 26^th minute of today’s game. Team-mate Alexei Mastryukov also got his first of the season, in only his second appearance, while the more prolific pair of Stanislav Bocharov and Anton Shenfeld also found the net. Alexander Loginov and Tomas Mertl replied for the visitor, but Salavat was always chasing this game.
Neftekhimik v Traktor 1-0
Neftekhimik had goalie Andrei Kareyev to thank for a narrow victory over Traktor that lifts the team’s playoff hopes. He made 26 saves to deny the visitor, ensuring that Richard Gynge’s 38^th-minute goal was enough to claim all three points. Neftekhimik moves up to ninth, level on points with eight-placed Kunlun and part of a group of five teams separated by just three points. As an indicator of how much the team has improved in recent weeks, the previous meeting with Traktor ended in a 0-6 defeat in November.

Sunday, January 08, 2017

Barys v Torpedo 1-3
2017 continues to be a good year for Torpedo, with Peteris Skudra’s men making it three wins from three since the bells chimed on December 31.
Barys was the latest victim, despatched by a double from Carter Ashton and a somewhat fortunate first-period goal credited to Maxim Osipov. He took advantage of a foray forward to relieve some of the pressure that the home team was building and fired in a shot from the blue line. It didn’t look all that dangerous until Corey Trivino deflected the puck past his own goalie to unwittingly open the scoring. The second period was goalless, although Kevin Poulin had a busy time of it in the home net, but the third got underway with a flurry of goalmouth action. Ashton got his first of the game, converting a slick counter-attack. Barely a minute later, though, Barys got back in contention with a power play goal. Nigel Dawes combined with Brandon Bochenski behind the net, Dustin Boyd exploited open space in the slot to beat Mikhail Biryukov. It wasn’t enough to save Barys. As the clock ran down, Ashton got his second of the game into the empty net. Torpedo’s happy new year seems set to continue for a while longer. Ugra v Sochi 3-1

Yegor Ivanov has managed barely a handful of KHL games over the last two seasons, and his contribution has barely troubled the league’s statisticians. But deep into Sunday’s home game with Sochi the 21-year-old grabbed his first goal in the competition to snap a 1-1 tie and give Ugra the verdict over playoff-chasing Sochi. It wasn’t a bad way to announce himself in the big league, collecting Vitaly Shulakov’s pass on his own blue line and advancing through center ice to evade the attentions of Alexei Pepelyayev and place a wrister onto the top shelf. Ivanov’s strike came shortly after Ilya Krikunov tied the game, cancelling out Roman Lyuduchin’s 40^th-minute opener. Pavel Varfolomeyev added an empty-net goal to seal Ugra’s win and leave Sochi in the thick of an arduous quest for a top-eight finish.
Slovan v Admiral 3-2

Jeff Taffe scored twice, including a last-minute winner, as Slovan put a dent in Admiral’s hopes of making the playoffs. The visitor was hoping to lift itself a little way clear of the logjam of teams bunching together in midtable in the Eastern Conference, but this defeat leaves it firmly stuck in the middle of the pack. Slovan, meanwhile, moves to within eight points of a playoff spot in the West, kindling outside hopes of sneaking into post-season. The outcome was largely down to Taffe. Andrej Stastny gave the home team an early lead, but Admiral turned things around early in the second period with goals from James Wright and Pavel Makarenko. Then Taffe got to work, tying the game in the 35^th minute when he fired home a big rebound off a Jonathan Cheechoo shot, before snatching the winner with just 38 seconds remaining when he got the decisive touch on Kyle Chipchura’s effort from deep.