28 October 2024
We expected last week’s home stand to be tough and, at times, it proved even harder than we anticipated. But despite the heavy loss to SKA, there were positives from a battling performance against Metallurg and especially a hard-earned point against CSKA. Now, the Dragons are preparing for a different kind of challenge. Kazakhstan awaits, with Barys seemingly resurgent after yet another coaching change. Then it’s on to Cherepovets, scene of a memorable KRS win a couple of weeks ago.
Barys Astana (a), Oct. 29, 1400 Moscow Time
Last season: We shared the verdicts with Barys last term, but encouragingly both games went to the visiting team. Since we’re on the road this time, a repeat of November’s 2-1 win (goals from Kyle Wood and Brandon McMillan) would be most welcome. In fact, the Dragons won the last two games in Astana, enjoying a 5-0 romp in the previous season.
Familiar faces: Ivan Nikolishin, who was fourth in team scoring for Red Star in 2020/21, joined Barys from Avangard 10 days ago. He scored his first goal for his new club in a 3-1 win at Sibir.
Setting the scene: The 2024/25 campaign has been pretty chaotic in Astana. Head coach Galym Mambetaliyev is the third man in the hot-seat so far, following the abrupt departures of first David Nemirovsky, then Vyacheslav Butsayev. Coaching in Kazakhstan is a precarious business, it would seem. The playing staff has changed as well: almost every import is gone, and the focus is now very much on home-grown Kazakh talent, seasoned with some experienced KHL campaigners such as Viktor Antipin, Anton Burdasov and Stanislav Bocharov.
It’s a big change, but it might be getting results. Barys got back-to-back wins for the first time this season, and young Alikhan Omirbekov is leading the team in scoring over the last five games. This will be Mambetaliyev’s first home game since returning to the position he briefly held last season, and it’s up to us to spoil the housewarming party for the new man.
Severstal Cherepovets (a), Nov. 1, 1930 Moscow Time
Last time out: It’s only a couple of weeks since our last trip to Cherepovets, and we had a great time. A 3-0 victory brought our first ever win in Severstal’s building, while goalie Kyle Keyser secured his first KHL shut-out and produced the save of the week in the process. Plus, Jayden Halbgewachs got his first goal and assist for the club. Did we mention we had a great time? We really did!
Familiar faces: As before, Severstal’s Alexei Kruchinin is the only ex-Dragon involved in this one.
Setting the scene: Beware the wounded beast? After losing to the Dragons, Severstal reeled off three road wins in a row. The run started with a typically high-scoring game at Admiral that ended 6-5 in overtime. The trip to the Far East continued with success at Amur (2-1) and Sibir (4-2). Back home, Severstal had a rematch with Amur on Sunday, winning 3-0 to go fifth in the Western Conference. As before, Kirill Pilipenko and Danil Aimurzin are among the scoring leaders. Meanwhile, Ruslan Abrosimov has hit form of late, with 6 (1+5) in his last five games.
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