Late heartache for battling Dragons

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 13^th 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 12^th 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 it past Melnichuk.

In the first half of the game, KRS did not take a single penalty. When that finally came to an end, Spencer Foo’s trip merely cancelled out an early Lokomotiv offense. The home team had more problems with discipline, and that cost Nikulin a goal after the officials whistled off his effort because of a Byron Froese foul on Smitty. Froese went to the box and was soon joined by Artur Kayumov, but we couldn’t take advantage of the five-on-three play.

However, late in the middle frame, Lokomotiv did get its PP right. This was another five-on-three, Austin Wong and Hudson Elynuik landing in trouble. Froese made a nuisance of himself on the slot – legally, this time – and young Daniil But stuffed the puck home at the second attempt.

With a slender lead to defend in the third, our guys knew there would be plenty of pressure. Lokomotiv didn’t disappoint on that score, but for a long time the home team’s best chance came on a power play. But thought he had his second when he got a vital touch on the slot. Smitty, for once, was beaten, but the puck was cleared off the line by a defenseman and the penalty kill finished its job.

There was another moment of concern when Graovac felt the full force of a hit from Mark Ulev. Happily, our forward didn’t suffer any lasting consequences from a clean but powerful check, although it took him a moment to recover himself.

Gradually, Lokomotiv began to tire and there were a couple of half chances for our forwards. Nail Yakupov was causing problems for the home defense and even without extending our lead he did a great job at eating up valuable seconds. However, with four minutes to play, Nikita Kiryanov drew a foul from Adam Clendening and earned another power play for the Railwaymen. Again, we dug deep, killed the penalty and even had chances for a short-handed goal, but in the 58^th minute Rushan Rafikov’s tying goal was a heartbreaking blow.

And there was another blow to come in overtime as Maxim Shalunov potted the winner for Lokomotiv. Now it’s time to take the positives into Friday’s trip to Severstal and get another ‘W’ in the books.