The Road Trip Continues

23 January 2025

Only two games for your Dragons this week, and both are away from home. Thursday sees the guys heading to Severstal hoping for a repeat of our first time in Cherepovets this season. Then on Saturday we’re up against playoff rival Vityaz, looking for a win that would keep us firmly in the race for the top eight.

Severstal Cherepovets (a), Jan. 23, 1900 Moscow Time

Last time out: We’ve been to Cherepovets twice this season. The first trip was great – a 3-0 scoreline brought Kyle Keyser his first shut-out in the KHL, and Jayden Halbgewachs first points. The second trip? Not so much. A 2-7 defeat has our guys returning to the north with a point to prove.

Familiar faces: Our defenseman Joey Duszak began this season at Severstal. Oddly, it’s the only club in the KHL where he’s struggled to make an impact, playing just nine games and compiling a modest four points. Previously, Joey was a regular scorer at Dinamo Minsk and now he’s consistently productive for us. On the home roster, forward Alexei Kruchinin is a former Dragon.

Setting the scene: Kirill Pilipenko remains the man to watch for Severstal as Andrei Kozyrev’s team looks to seal a place in the top four in the Western Conference. The former Dynamo Moscow man blossomed in Cherepovets under Andrei Razin and has continued his prolific form. He’s currently third in the KHL scoring race with 46 points and leads his team in recent scoring with 8 (4+4) in his last five games. His partnership with Danil Aimurzin has led the Lynx offense throughout the season and represents a key component of the team’s success this term.

However, much as Severstal is a potent attacking force, there are weaknesses on defense. On a good day, this team can be as miserly as anyone. However, when things go wrong, they can go very wrong. It often adds up to high-scoring hockey: in the last five games, Severstal has had 7-4 and 5-4 wins, plus a 5-6 loss.

Vityaz Moscow Region (a), Jan. 25, 1400 Moscow Time

Last time out: A 3-2 win in OT at the start of the month formed part of our record-breaking seven-game hot streak. It also avenged a 2-7 loss in Balashikha earlier in the season.

Familiar faces: It’s something a KRS 2020 reunion on the Vityaz defense this season. Defensemen Ruslan Pedan and Mikhail Sidorov both featured for us that year, as did goalie Dmitry Shikin. All three are now Balashikha based. On our side, Tyler Graovac helped the 2022/23 Vityaz team to make the playoffs in his second season of KHL action.

Setting the scene: Like the Dragons, Vityaz has struggled for consistency at times this season. The longest winning streak is just three games (although it can be included in a longer sequence of five victories from six); the longest skid is five games. There have been some impressive scorelines, such as a 7-1 success at Severstal or last week’s 6-2 win at Lada, and some horror shows like the 1-8 reverse at home to SKA. As a result, like Kunlun, Vityaz urgently needs wins to push for the top eight in the Western Conference.

Given all that, it’s maybe not surprising that this is a team that lacks secondary scoring. Dmitry Buchelnikov, Ivan Chekhovich and Derek Barach have an impressive 107 points between them, but there’s a long gap to Frederik Gauthier in fourth place in the scoring charts. The outcome of most games this season is determined by how well opposing defenses marshal that trio.