The key facts
- Severstal beat Spartak 3:2 (in a shootout) in a KHL game
- Ioannis Kaldis tied the game 14 seconds before the final horn
- After the win, both teams have 26 points in the Western Conference
A dramatic victory in Cherepovets
Cherepovets' Severstal defeated Moscow's Spartak 3:2 in a home game of the KHL regular championship, reports Life.ru. The outcome was decided at the very end: in the final minute of the third period, Ioannis Kaldis scored the saving goal 14 seconds before the final horn, sending the game into overtime. The five-minute overtime produced no winner, and in the shootout Severstal forward Ilya Ivantsov converted the decisive attempt.
How the match unfolded
Spartak defenseman Will Reilly opened the scoring in the fifth minute, but in the seventh minute David Dumbadze restored the balance. In the second period the visitors went ahead again thanks to Ivan Ryabov's accurate shot in the 34th minute and held onto the narrow lead almost until the final horn.
What changed in the standings
The win allowed the Cherepovets club to snap a three-game losing streak. Both teams now have 26 points in the KHL Western Conference: Spartak sits fourth after 20 games, with Severstal one line below after 21. Thus, the single point earned in the shootout narrowed the gap between the teams to a minimum — while the Muscovites have a game in hand. The rivals will meet again on the ice in Cherepovets as early as October 30.
Other games of the day
In the other games of the day, according to Life.ru, Novosibirsk's Sibir handed Metallurg its first defeat under head coach Konstantin Shafranov, Yekaterinburg's Avtomobilist beat Nizhny Novgorod's Torpedo in a shootout (3:2), Yaroslavl's Lokomotiv thrashed Sochi, and Neftekhimik lost at home in Nizhnekamsk to Vladivostok's Admiral, conceding the decisive goal late in regulation (3:4).
