Big moment for summer signings as Dragons win at Severstal

11 October 2024

Severstal Cherepovets 0 Kunlun Red Star 3

It was a big day for Jayden Halbgewachs. Our summer signing got his first points in the KHL to lead the way to victory in Cherepovets. Meanwhile, Jayden’s linemates Tomas Jurco and Tyler Graovac also had great games: Jurco had 2+1 and Graovac claimed three helpers to make the difference.

After a heartbreakingly narrow loss at Lokomotiv, Mikhail Kravets did not want to make big changes to the roster. Kyle Keyser got the start in goal ahead of Jeremy Smith and defensive rotation meant that Martin Lefebvre came in for Ian McCoshen, but otherwise we were unchanged for the trip to Severstal.

Keyser has been used sparingly this season but he collected his second win here. In addition, our American goalie got his first KHL shut-out, stopping 41 shots.

But the outcome of this game was dictated by our second line. They combined for the first time in the second minute: Graovac brought play into the Severstal zone and dished a pass to his left for Halbgewachs. Jayden swung the puck across the ice where Jurco rifled it home from between the hashmarks.

That was just the boost we needed after Wednesday’s exertions and it inspired a strong first-period performance from the Dragons. Halbgewachs created yet another good chance, weaving his way through the home defense but seeing his shot squirm wide. Nail Yakupov also had a good opportunity, while at the other end Keyser made a good glove save to deny Mukhanov.

At the start of the second period, Red Star doubled the lead. Jurco and Halbgewachs swapped roles this time, with our Slovak top scorer turning provider as Jayden roasted a one-timer past Konstantin Shostak to make it 2-0. That sparked Severstal into action and it was time for Keyser to show what he could do. It turned out he could plenty, denying Joe Duszak after a defensive breakdown, then stopping Emil Pyanov with his back after another flurry of shots on our net.

There were more big saves to come to deny Severstal’s top scorer, Kirill Pilipenko – including some sharp reactions to snuff out an attempted Michigan.

In the midst all of that, our habit of starting each period strong continued. Two minutes into the final frame, Jurco exchanged passes with Graovac before making it 3-0. Two goals for Jurco, three helpers for Gravy and a commanding lead to defend in the closing minutes.

In the event, it was a fairly straightforward finale. True, we had to kill a penalty for the first time in the game when Danny O’Regan sat for cross-checking in the 46^th minute. And there was that Pilipenko lacrosse effort to pad the highlight reel. But our guys held on to finish their six-game road series on a high note.