Kunlun quells Sochi fightback

6 December 2024

Kunlun Red Star 5 HC Sochi 3

This game was so good, we won it twice! Up 2-0 and 3-1, the Dragons seemed to have things under control. However, life isn’t always as straightforward as all that. Sochi hit back to tie it up at 3-3 going into the third – but our guys dug in to win it on a late goal from Parker Foo.

The disappointing loss to Neftekhimik prompted changes on defense. Kyle Keyser took over in goal from Jeremy Smith, while Adam Clendening and Kyle Wood came into the line-up in place of Martin Lefebvre and Yury Pautov. Austin Wong returned to the team as a 13^th forward.

The first period went exactly to plan. The Dragons took an early grip on the game with a couple of quick goals. First, Danny O’Regan opened the scoring in the fifth minute. A neat interception set three forwards on the way to the Sochi net, Stepan Zyvagin got the puck to the slot and after Rourke Chartier was denied, Danny followed up to score. Zvyagin claimed his first point since joining us on loan from Dinamo Minsk.

A minute later, our PK unit stepped up to claim a shorthanded goal. Doyle Somerby won possession in our zone and gave the puck to Luke Lockhart to start the breakaway. Our longest-serving forward couldn’t finish the job himself, but defenseman Doyle stayed with him every inch of the way to fire home for 2-0.

So far, so good, even if Sochi did have a slight advantage in shots on goal. That advantage was partly explained by the visitor getting three power plays in the first period, but the visitor’s first goal came at equal strength early in the second. The Red Star response was rapid. Within three minutes we had our first PP of the night, and Colin Campbell parleyed that into a third goal. Tomas Jurco’s feed found Lockhart on the doorstep and he steered it back into the danger zone for Campbell to bury a one-timer from between the hash marks.

That was 3-1, and it could have been more. Jurco executed a lovely dangle to get on the wraparound before Sergei Ivanov closed the door. Then Spencer Foo had a big chance in front of the net but couldn’t beat Ivanov.

Those misses proved costly: Sochi got one back on a breakaway, then tied it up in controversial circumstances. It looked like Joe Duszak was fouled behind our net but the officials saw it differently. Play continued with the KRS man down, and Maxim Fedotov took advantage to make it 3-3 at the second intermission.

Having had the game under control, the Dragons had to go out and do it all again in the third if they were to claim a first victory over Sochi this season. There were chances to get in front, the best of them coming midway through the session when Yaroslav Likhachyov set up Clendening in a dangerous position, only for Ivanov to produce another important save.

All we could do was keep going and trust that the chance would come. And, on 57:54, it duly arrived. It looked for all the world as if the visiting PP had won it, but Keyser produced a spectacular save to keep the game tied. The rest of the penalty passed without undue alarm and, back at full strength, we prepared one more push. This time, Likhachyov chased hard, forcing the Sochi defense deep into trouble. He got the puck out from behind the net, and Parker was on hand to fire home from close range for the game-winner. Could you ask for anything more? Well, yes! Why not? There was still time for an empty-netter from Campbell to finish the job and sink Sochi at the third attempt.