Ex-Dragons’ factor

4 December 2024

Kunlun Red Star 2 Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 5

There was big news ahead of Wednesday’s game. Our head coach, Mikhail Kravets, was added to the coaching staff for the KHL World Team, due to play at next weekend’s Channel 1 Cup in St. Petersburg. Kravets, and Admiral’s Leonids Tambijevs, will work alongside former Dragon Mike Keenan and his long-term assistant Mike Pelino on a roster of KHL imports. That team will compete with national squads from Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan in the traditional December tournament.

Before that, though, there’s the small matter of three home games. The first action saw the Dragons host Neftekhimik. After back-to-back losses last week – a narrow 1-2 verdict against Lada and a battling overtime reverse against Dynamo Moscow – Red Star went with an unchanged team today. The Wolves, beaten 3-1 when we visited Nizhnekamsk late last month, hoped to bounce back from a shoot-out defeat at Vityaz and continue their streak of alternate wins and losses. The visiting roster featured three ex-Dragons: goalie Artyom Zagidulin and forwards German Tochilkin and Vyacheslav Leshchenko.

The first period saw KRS playing with the confidence you’d expect from our recent success against this opponent. Our guys moved the puck around well, created chances and deservedly took a 13^th-minute lead. Luke Lockhart started the play with a face-off win, steered the puck back to Joe Duszak on the blue line, then got into position in front of the net to redirect the defenseman’s shot. The result: 1-0 to Red Star, and a fourth point in three games for our American acquisition.

After the intermission, Neftekhimik stepped up its game and five minutes into the middle frame, Tochilkin scored on his former club to tie the scores. The visitor continued to have more of the play, but the next goal went our way. The teams were playing four-on-four after roughing calls on Ian McCoshen and Jean-Sebastien Dea, and the extra space encouraged Jake Chelios to step up from the blue line in search of a shooting lane. Chelly’s effort flew through traffic and Colin Campbell got the touch to take it away from Zagidulin and restore our lead.

However, we couldn’t quite hold on to the intermission. Neftekhimik cranked up the pressure and got a tying goal in the last minute through Riley Barber.

The psychological impact of losing a goal right on the hooter has long been debated. Today it certainly seemed to hurt our guys. Neftekhimik came out in the third period and added two quick goals to build its first lead of the game. Tochilkin continued to enjoy his return to the Dragons’ Lair, potting his second of the night in the 46^th minute. The next shift saw Kirill Petrov make it 4-2, claiming his second goal in two games after joining the Wolves last week.

Red Star tried to find a way back, but ran into difficulties from another of our former players. Leshchenko is more noted for scoring goals, but when Chelios got a great chance to reduce the deficit late on, the visiting forward tracked back to make a vital poke check and turn a clear shooting chance into an awkward one.