KHL - Baltic - Round Up January 11-19, 2017

SKA

Avangard (h) 5-3 - Wednesday, January 11, 2017

SKA’s power play, with Ilya Kovalchuk to the fore, made all the difference as the league leader won its third straight game to remain one point clear of CSKA.
The Army Men’s first three goals all came while the visitor had a man in the penalty box, leaving Omsk head coach Fyodor Kanareikin to praise the skills of SKA’s special teams. Kovy and Pavel Datsyuk combined to set up the opening goal for Sergei Plotnikov in the fourth minute, and even though Vladimir Sobotka tied the game soon afterwards, SKA was in no mood to ease off. Vadim Shipachyov made it 2-1 with another power play effort, Kovalchuk again in a supporting role, before the second period saw Kovy make it 3-1 as another Avangard penalty was punished. When Viktor Tikhonov made it 4-1 shortly after, it seemed that the game was done, but Avangard, and especially Sobotka, had other ideas. The Czech international had a helper as Nikolai Lemtyugov pulled a goal back then scored his second of the night to make it 4-3 going into the third. That was as good as it got for Avangard, as Maxim Chudinov eased any anxieties for the home fans with his team’s fifth goal midway through the final stanza.
Metallurg Novokuznetsk (h) 9-1 - Friday, January 13, 2017
A majestic performance from the league leader left lowly Metallurg reeling. It was a night when almost everything went right for SKA, starting with a goal from Anton Belov after just 32 seconds. Viktor Tikhonov and Alexander Khokhlachov added two further markers in the 10^th minute and already the outcome was a question of ‘how many?’  Vadim Shipachyov proved to be the most persistent threat. The forward finished with two goals and two assists, opening his personal account for the night with a helper as Evgeny Dadonov made it 4-0 late in the opening stanza. He followed that up with two goals of his own early in the second period then, with the score at a more than healthy 6-0, SKA showed a little mercy to its opponent. The scoreline remained unchanged until the 52^nd minute, with not even a high hit from Metallurg’s Alexander Titov provoking SKA into more offensive fury before that. Then Shipachyov and Dadonov set up Dinar Khafizullin for the 7-0 goal. Alexei Razumov got Kuznya on the scoresheet, but home goalie Igor Shestyorkin responded with an assist as Pavel Datsyuk conjured another piece of magic moments later. Nikita Gusev made it nine in the last minute; SKA scored on more than one in three of its shots.
Sibir (h) 6-2 - Sunday, January 15, 2017

Controversial forward Evgeny Artyukhin found himself in trouble once again after a flare-up against one of his former clubs. The Sibir enforcer, who played in Petersburg from 2010-2013 and again last season, was ejected from the game after an incident at the end of the second period. Handed a minor penalty for interference after bundling into home goalie Mikko Koskinen, Artyukhin, 33, seemed to jab his stick into Viktor Tikhonov’s groin. The officials duly handed down a 5+game penalty, giving SKA a seven-minute power play. That verdict also determined the outcome of the game. Ilya Kablukov and Vadim Shipachyov scored two goals in two minutes on that power play, extending SKA’s advantage to 5-2 and ending Sibir’s hopes. Small wonder the visiting head coach, Andrei Skabelka, described that long PP as a belated Christmas gift for the league leader, while Tikhonov also labelled it the turning point of the game. Earlier, Sibir had competed well, recovering from Evgeny Dadonov’s first-minute goal to lead 2-1 thanks to goals from Konstantin Okulov and Joonas Kemppainen midway through the second period. Artyukhin got the assist on Kemppainen’s goal. SKA responded quickly, scoring twice in the 33^rd minute through Tikhonov and Nikita Gusev before Artyukhin’s indiscretion. Dadonov completed the scoring with his second of the game in the 52^nd minute.

Jokerit

Kunlun (a) 6-3 - Thursday, January 12, 2017

A goal blitz at the start of the third period saw Kunlun shake off its New Year hangover in style and reinvigorate its playoff push. The Chinese team had lost five of its last six and looked to be continuing its downward spiral after goals from Brian O’Neill and Roope Talaja gave Jokerit a 2-0 lead early in the second period. But the host dug deep, showing great character to tie the game with a short-handed goal from Chad Rau and an equalizer on the wraparound from Martin Bakos. All square at the second intermission. Then Red Star went through the gears to score three goals in less than six minutes. French forward Damien Fleury had a role in all three, getting the tip on Tommi Taimi’s shot from the point to make it 3-2 in the 42^nd minute, before chasing play into the corner and emerging with the puck to set up Tomas Marcinko for 4-2. Finally, Fleury screened goalie Ryan Zapolski as Tobias Viklund crashed home a fifth. Ville Lajunen got one back for Jokerit, but Tomi Sallinen finished it off with an empty-net goal. Kunlun moves into seventh ahead of Admiral, Jokerit remains seventh in the West.
Admiral (a) 4-5 OT - Saturday, January 14, 2017

Admiral, in need of a win to boost its playoff push, enjoyed its first ever victory over Jokerit in KHL action. But the Far East team allowed its opponent to recover from 1-4 to force overtime, before Maxim Kazakov completed his hat-trick to settle the outcome. Ville Lajunen gave Jokerit an early lead, but Viktor Alexandrov quickly tied the scores and Kazakov got his first to make it 2-1 at the first intermission. Then Jonathon Blum and Kazakov’s second of the night took the lead to 4-1 before Jesse Joensuu got one back late in the second period. The final stanza saw Jokerit rally. Charles Genoway and Brian O’Neill hauled the visitor level at 4-4 with 13 minutes to play, but neither side could find a winner in regulation. Then Kazakov got Admiral’s first chance in overtime and converted it to give the home team the verdict.
Amur (a) 2-3 - Monday, January 16, 2017

Amur’s players put their bodies on the line to deny Jokerit and record a third successive victory in Khabarovsk. The home team blocked an impressive 20 shots, 13 of them in the third period, to hold on for a 3-2 win against the Finns.
Jokerit went into a 2-0 lead in the second period thanks to goals from Brian O’Neill and Peter Regin, but Amur belied its lowly league position with a stirring comeback. Teemu Ramstedt got things moving in the 33^rd minute to reduce the defict, but the game was decided early in the final stanza. Nikita Kamalov tied the scores in the 42^nd minute before Vladislav Ushenin combined with twin brother Vyacheslav to grab the winner on a power play. Jokerit piled on the pressure in search of vital points in its playoff push, but Amur’s defense was willing to get anything in the path of the puck and clinch the win.

Dinamo Riga

Admiral (a) 1-3 - Thursday, January 12, 2017

Missed chances, failed PP and general frustration summed up Admiral’s day as the Eastern Conference playoff chaser dropped points at home to struggling Dinamo Riga. The first period had the game in a microcosm: Admiral attacked and attacked, firing in 15 shots and allowing just four, but could not score. Filipp Toluzakov gave the Latvians the lead with a power play goal from an end-to-end move, and Admiral then squandered a long 5-on-3 advantage with no home player seemingly willing to take responsibility for the decisive shot. The middle stanza was similar, with Admiral dominating but failing to turn its advantage into goals. Tim Sestito doubled Dinamo’s lead before Alexander Gorshkov finally got the host on the scoreboard after an error in the visitor’s defense. A second goal for Sestito early in the third put the seal on a disappointing day for the Sailors, who drop to eighth place, just one point better off than Neftekhimik.
Amur (a) 0-5 - Saturday, January 14, 2017

These two teams have little more than pride left to play for this season, but Amur enjoyed a thumping win over Western Conference struggling Dinamo Riga. Vyacheslav Ushenin led the way with two goals as the host ran riot after a cagey first period. The first goal came in the 23^rd minute through Kirill Kapustin, before Ushenin opened his account off an assist from his twin brother Vladislav. Kristian Kuusela made it 3-0 in the 38^th minute. The final stanza brought two more Amur goals: Ushenin again on the power play in the 45^th minute and Jan Kolar in the 47^th. Juha Metsola posted his second shut-out in a row, but Dinamo Riga only troubled the goalie on 15 occasions in a toothless display.
Kunlun (a) 4-3 SO - Monday, January 16, 2017
Kunlun battled back from 0-3 down to tie the game with just nine seconds to play, but Dinamo recovered to take the verdict in a shoot-out. The Latvians bounced back from a 5-0 drubbing in Khabarovsk with an emphatic start, scoring three times in the first 11 minutes. Oskars Cibulskis started it off on the power play in the second minute, before Georgs Golovkovs and Gints Meija extended the lead. Kunlun tried to hit back in the second period, dominating the play despite the loss of forward Jonas Enlund on a 5+game checking from behind call, but could not find a way past Jakub Sedlacek in the visitor’s goal. That all changed in the third. Martin Bakos got one back in the 42^nd minute and a power play goal from Tuukka Mantyla put the game back in the balance with 12 minutes left. It seemed that Dinamo had done enough to hold on when a Bakos shot rebounded for Chad Rau to snaffle an equalizer with the clock showing 59:51. Dinamo, disappointed, refused to give up. Surviving a penalty in overtime, the Latvians were flawless in the shoot-out. At the other end, Damien Fleury’s miss ended Kunlun’s hopes.
Dinamo Minsk (a) - Thursday, January 19, 2017

The Latvians turned the league table upside down to defeat their namesake from Belarus, scoring two late goals to take the points. Without even a theoretical chance of reaching the playoffs, the visitor could play without any pressure and responded with a first-period goal from Guntis Galvins. Neither side really created many clear chances after that, and it wasn’t until the 46^th minute that the puck was in the net again as Andrei Stepanov tied it up for Minsk. But Riga would not be denied. Two power plays late in the third brought two goals. First Miks Indrasis made it 2-1 then Filipp Toluzakov, Dinamo’s shoot-out hero in Beijing last time out, wrapped up the points.





SKA v Jokerit - Thursday, January 19, 2017
The race for the Western Conference playoffs is going right to the wire, and Jokerit’s unexpected win at SKA was a big boost for Jukka Jalonen’s men.
The Jokerit head coach got his second win in two weeks against his former club in an entertaining Baltic battle, with two goals from Tommi Huhtala leading the way. At first, though, SKA looked to be cruising to victory. Two goals from Ilya Kovalchuk put the leaders in a commanding position in the first period, and kept Kovy in close pursuit of Mozyakin in the scoring charts. But it all turned around after the intermission as Jokerit scored three goals in eight minutes to stun the home crowd. Jesse Joensuu and Oliver Lauridsen tied it up by the 23^rd minute, then Huhtala’s first put the visitor in front in the 29^th. Evgeny Dadonov hauled SKA level, but the momentum of the game had shifted decisively. The final stanza began with Huhtala making it 4-3, and he came close to grabbing a hat-trick moments later. Instead, Pekka Jormakka added a fifth in the 51^st minute and SKA was unable to find a way back into the game. Jokerit moves on to 78 points and remains in eighth, one point ahead of HC Sochi.