Dinamo double

2 March 2025

Long road trips can start to feel like groundhog day: airport, hotel, arena, rinse, repeat. This week threatens an even greater sense of déjà vu with two trips to Minsk in seven days, punctuated by a visit to Spartak Moscow. Both opponents are preparing for the playoffs and will be looking for points to get the best possible first-round pairing. But while both have produced some impressive hockey at times this season, they also have some weaknesses to exploit.

Dinamo Minsk (a) March 3, 1910 Moscow Time and March 9, 1710 Moscow Time

Last time out: We played our home games against Dinamo early in the season. September brought a 1-3 loss, but we got revenge in November with a 3-0 victory. Jeremy Smith made 37 saves, Tyler Graovac had a two-point game and there were further goals from Tomas Jurco and Colin Campbell.

Familiar faces: In those earlier meetings, we had former Bison Graovac and on-loan Stepan Zvyagin on our team. Now, defenseman Joey Duszak can be added to the list of ex-Dinamo players who might be involved. Duszak began his KHL career in Minsk, contributing 45 points to help the team make the 2023 playoffs.

Setting the scene: There’s no arguing with Dinamo’s recent form. The Belarusians made light work of securing a playoff place, even though at the start of February the Bison looked to be in a battle with Torpedo and ourselves for a top-eight finish. A run of five wins prior to Sunday’s game against SKA lifted Dmitry Kvartalnov’s team up to sixth in the standings and victories over Dynamo Moscow (5-0) and Spartak (3-0, 2-1) suggest that playoff progress could be a realistic ambition this season.

Forward Sam Anas seems to be hitting form at the right time, with five goals in the last five games. Local hero Vadim Moroz is also showing good consistency, while all-time KHL top scorer Vadim Shipachyov brings elite-level experience even as his 38^th birthday approaches.

Spartak Moscow (a) March 5, 1930 Moscow Time

Last time out: Our previous visit to Spartak this season ended in a 0-2 loss. However, our last home game against the Red-and-Whites was much more satisfying. The Foo brothers shared three goals in the last 10 minutes to grab a 4-2 win on Dec. 27.

Familiar faces: In recent weeks, Artyom Zagidulin has established himself as Spartak’s first-choice goalie. Dragons fans with long memories might recall how he started out in the KHL, on loan with KRS in 2016. He was responsible for our first home shut-out, in a 1-0 win over Amur on Oct. 27.

Setting the scene: Alexei Zhamnov’s team is battling for second place in the West – although the standings are so tight that, at the time of writing, there’s a three-point gap up to second and a similar margin down to sixth place. It all suggests that any playoff pairing is likely to involve an opponent that has competed hard with Spartak all year, but the Red-and-Whites will surely want to go into post season in buoyant form.

That means more of the kind of hockey that brought a 7-2 win at SKA last week – a performance so dominant that Spartak could afford to coast through a goalless third period, knowing the game was done. However, there’s a vulnerability in this team, as exploited by Dinamo Minsk twice in the last three games. Defensively, things can be suspect as well – not just in 6-8 and 0-6 losses to Severstal and Torpedo, but also in a 6-5 win over Avangard or a 7-4 verdict against Torpedo. It’s fair to expect plenty of action in this one. We know our forwards will get scoring chances, but can we convert enough to win the game?