Yipper overtakes Jagr
14 October 2022
Kunlun Red Star 3 Severstal Cherepovets 5
Brandon Yip found the net for the sixth game in a row, but this time it was not enough to keep the Dragons’ winning run alive.
When Yipper scored on Barys during the week, he joined the great Jaromir Jagr as the only player to score goals in five consecutive games after the age of 37. Today, he extended that streak late in the game to overtake the Czech legend.
The big moment came in the 58th minute as Red Star was trying to claw back a two-goal deficit. Jack Rodewald brought the play into the Severstal zone and sent the puck around the boards. Ethan Werek collected it behind the net and picked out Yip all alone on the slot. Our captain doesn’t miss chances like that.
The goal made it 3-4 with two-and-a-half minutes to play, and there was genuine hope of another big fightback. This time, though, it was not to be. Severstal grabbed an empty net goal and our streak came to an end.
Ahead of the game, the Dragons welcomed Cliff Pu back from injury. He resumed his place on the third line, pushing Garet Hunt back down to the fourth. Josh Nicholls made way. Other than that, the line-up was unchanged from the one that thrashed Barys 5-0 in Astana on Tuesday.
In the early stages, our guys brought the confidence from that game back to Mytishchi. Brett Pollock tested Vladislav Podyapolsky in the early stages. Then Nikita Khlystov’s delay of game penalty saw us open the scoring on seven minutes. Pollock got the assist here, stripping #56 of the puck and setting up Devin Brosseau to make it 1-0.
However, that success stung Severstal into life. The visitor responded with two goals in the first period to take a lead to the intermission.
The second session followed a similar pattern. Once again, Red Star got the first power play of the frame and converted it into a goal. Moreover, Brosseau was again the scorer. This time, he redirected a Jake Chelios point shot past Podyapolsky to tie the game at 2-2. Pu marked his return to action with a helper on that play.
Unfortunately, history continued to repeat itself. Kirill Pilipenko restored Severstal’s lead midway through the game and Nikolai Timashov extended the advantage four minutes later.
In the final frame, Red Star was determined to play its way back into contention. The visitor, though, did a good job of closing out the game. Despite the absence of head coach Andrei Razin, missing today due to suspension, Severstal never lost sight of its gameplan. For long periods in the third period, chances were hard to come by.
That prompted a bold move from the KRS bench, with goalie Jeremy Smith going to the bench on 54:54. The idea was to turbocharge the power play and get us back into the game. It didn’t quite pay off, and Smitty was back on the ice as the game went back to equal strength. However, he was making his way back to the sidelines when Yip pulled a goal back and spent most of the closing stages watching on as the Dragons launched one final storm.
This time, sadly, it was not enough to save the game. But as all good things come to an end, our guys can continue to build on the positives of our recent run as we prepare for Spartak’s visit on Sunday.
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