9 October 2024
Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 3 Kunlun Red Star 2 OT
Red Star was moments away from claiming a famous victory over table-topping Lokomotiv, but a late, late goal from the Railwaymen robbed us of victory in regulation. And while a point against a formidable opponent is no disgrace, this OT loss feels like a point dropped rather than gained.
The Dragons travelled to Yaroslavl after a disappointing loss at Torpedo. Despite that 0-4 reverse, Mikhail Kravets did not make big changes to the team. Jeremy Smith continued in goal, and the only other switch saw Tomas Jurco return to the offense, while defenseman Martin Lefebvre sat this one out. As a result, we were back to six D, including Alexei Kozhevnikov, currently on loan from Lokomotiv. Jurco joined Jayden Halbgewachs and Tyler Graovac on our second line, with Semyon Sinyatkin serving as the 13th forward.
Smith was the first goalie called into action. With five minutes gone, Pavel Kraskovsky’s no-look pass found Alexander Polunin in space at the back door. With an open corner to aim for, he lashed in a one-timer but Smitty reacted smartly to get his pad across and close the door.
But the Dragons were not intimidated by Lokomotiv’s reputation. Instead, our guys worked to get time in front of Alexei Melnichuk’s net and began to disquiet the home team’s second-choice goalie. Jurco gave Melnichuk something to think about with a close-range effort that the netminder shrugged over the top. However, a minute later we got in front.
Kyle Wood banged in a point shot and Melnichuk was unable to control the rebound. The Foo brothers were sniffing around, and Parker set up Spencer for a gilt-edged chance. In the 12th minute, we had the lead – and we had a first-period goal for the first time since Sep. 29!
That lead lasted until the intermission. Although Loko had more of the attacking play in the opening frame, our defense did a great job of neutralizing that threat. In the end, both goalies faced just six shots in the session – and Smitty stopped everything that came his way to preserve the 1-0 advantage.
There was even more to enjoy at the start of the second period. Lokomotiv killed an early penalty, but Red Star’s momentum kept us going and Nikita Cherepanov barely got back into the game before we had a second goal. Nolan Moyle’s surge down the wing enabled him to fire the puck to the danger zone where Austin Wong stretched out his stick to turn…
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