Rau of Hope

24 February 2025

HC Sochi 2 Kunlun Red Star 5

There’s something about the name ‘Rau’ on a Red Star jersey. Back in our inaugural season, Chad Rau led the Dragons in scoring, with 40 (20+20) points to fire us to the playoffs.

This season, his younger brother Kyle arrived and hit a rich vein of form. Today he potted his fifth goal in eight games to help us to an important win at Sochi. Breaking into the top eight remains a tall order, with seven points to make up on Torpedo. But if we get there, it’s likely that once again, a member of the Rau family will play a crucial role.

But Kyle wasn’t the only big performer today. Tyler Graovac grabbed his first hat-trick in the KHL. He got the all-important equalizer at the start of the second period and took the game away with two late goals.

Today’s win meant coping with adversity. In the first period, the Dragons had it tough. Sochi dominated the play and got in front on a goal for Igor Shvyryov. He’s been a regular problem for us this term: of his six goals in total, four have been in games against KRS.

Happily, the second period went much better for our guys. Whatever was said in the locker room had the right effect and we outshot Sochi 18-3 in the middle frame. More importantly, we garnered three goals from that effort. It started with a great play from Jayden Halbgewachs, skating almost the full length of the ice to test Evgeny Volokhin in the home net. The first shot was saved, but Graovac gobbled up the rebound.

Then came Rau’s latest, a true poacher’s effort from the doorstep after Jan Drozg drove the puck into the danger zone. That one came just as Amir Gareyev was returning to the ice following an interference call. And there was more. Four minutes later, Austin Wong’s relentless forecheck built us a platform in Sochi territory, enabling Hudson Elynuik to set up Alexander Sharov for 3-1.

However, an impressive 20 minutes of hockey ended with an unwelcome blemish when Alexander Khokhlachyov pulled an undeserved goal back for Sochi. That made it a one-goal game going into the third and kept the pressure on.

With a lead to protect, the team had to choose between defense and attack. We went for the latter, and it was the right decision. Even if some early chances didn’t go our way, it took the play away from our net and made it tough for Sochi to get into the game. And, eventually, the pressure paid off. Graovac potted his second of the game, a snipe from between the hash marks midway through the session to open a 4-2 lead and give us some valuable breathing space. At the other end, Patrik Rybar made full use of all his equipment to halt a dangerous attack from the Leopards. Then, in the final seconds, Graovac completed his hat-trick with an empty-net goal. That was his second empty-netter in two games, and it underlined our second win in two. Next stop, Moscow, where CSKA awaits on Thursday.