Brosseau sets record in Sochi romp
20 February 2024
Kunlun Red Star 4 HC Sochi 0
Devin Brosseau potted his 22nd goal the season, setting a new club record for single-season goalscoring. Along the way, he helped to secure a convincing win over the Leopards as we leapfrogged today’s opponent into ninth place.
If we can stay there – and our next game is on the road in Sochi on Friday – ninth would represent our best finish since our debut season. And, after recording our biggest victory of the season, confidence is high going into the final week of the campaign.
The game was decided in a five-minute blast in the second period. The opening session finished goalless. Sochi gave as good as it got at equal strength, but two home power plays gave us a chance to put some pressure on the opposition. The best scoring chance came late in the session when Tyler Graovac sent Luke Lockhart clean through on goal, only for Mikhail Berdin to make the save.
However, Berdin was in for a tough time after the intermission. Red Star only managed seven shots at the visiting netminder, but boy did we make them count. Four of them ended up in the net during a purple patch that took the game away.
Before that, there was an early scare when Amir Gareyev opened up his box of tricks, danced his way to the slot, and looked for the top shelf, only to see Matt Jurusik produce a fine glove save to keep the scoresheet blank. Then, the Dragons took control. The opener came midway through the frame, Parker Foo setting up brother Spencer for a shot from the bottom of the right-hand circle.
Fifteen seconds we got to rewrite the history books as Brosseau made it 22 for the season. Tyler Wong played the feed from behind the net, and Devin gobbled up the chance in front of the net to claim that single-season goal record ahead of Brandon Yip. Yipper, of course, has two 20-goal seasons in our colors, so there’s another target for Brosseau to look for next season.
A good day soon graduated to a great day. Parker Foo came off the left-hand boards to add a third (Turner Ottenbreit collecting his second assist of the game in the process), then Brandon McMillan added a fourth. The whole sequence took 5:19, and not surprising it spelled the end of Berdin’s evening.
It also marked the end of the scoring. With the game done, the third period lacked some of its earlier intensity. Jurusik had another good save early on to deny Michal Kristoff and protect his shut-out (29 saves for Juice tonight). Although there was no more scoring at the other end, nobody in red was complaining. And, as we prepare to visit Sochi on Friday, it makes sense to keep some goals in reserve for that game was our guys look to complete six wins in six games against the Leopards this season.
Leave a Reply