Down 0-2 Dinamo Minsk rally to win over Neftekhimik

Alexander Materukhin had a pair of goals and Geoff Platt and Alexei Kalyuzhny scored on the power play as Dinamo Minsk defeated Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 4-3 at Minsk Arena on 26 November.

Down 0-2 after 11 minutes of the first period, Dinamo erased that lead with goals from Geoff Platt and Alexander Materukhin, and Minsk rallied to earn their second consecutive win under acting head coach Lubomir Pokovic.

Although the support of the 8,200-strong crowd kept the home team going from the very start it was Neftekhimik that scored the first two goals.

Egor Milovzorov robbed Tomas Surovy in the right circle to snap it past Dinamo’s Lars Haugen at 4:35. Maxim Rybin extended Neftekhimik’s lead to 2-0 just some seven minutes later sending the puck home seconds after the won faceoff.

Minskers got a chance to response soon enough. Two consecutive penalties on Neftekhimik players opened the ice for 5-on-3 action. Geoff Platt needed some six seconds to narrow the gap to 1-2 and extend his point scoring streak to five games.

After the first break Alexander Materukhin tied the game in the Bobrov-style, putting the puck in the near corner from behind the net. The Belarusians took the lead on Alexei Kalyuzhny’s power play goal midway through the second period.

Egor Milovzorov helped his team to catch up late in the final stanza sending the six short-handed goal into Minsk net this season.

Surrounded by three opposing players Alexander Materukhin scored from the slot to decide the game into Minsk’s favor at 58:17. The home team withstood the remaining minute and a haft against six attackers to celebrate their second win over the last three days.

With 30 points after 30 games the Belarusian team remains at the bottom of the Western Conference, 14 points away for the playoff zone. Dinamo Minsk will wrap up their home series on 28 November against Traktor Chelyabinsk.