Dinamo Minsk held off by HC Sochi at home

Dinamo Minsk suffered the first official loss from the KHL's newcomer HC Sochi as the Belarusian team opened their two-game home series on 24 November.

Outshot 28-42 the Bisons fell 2-4 on Monday night.

Andrei Stepanov that signed with Dinamo Minsk a couple of weeks ago made his debut on the night to earn his first assist for the team feeding Matt Ellison in the opening period. Sochi answered with three in the second. Andre Petersson tied the score just before Igor Ignatushkin scored his two, both times assisted by Belarusian hockey player Andrei Kostitsyn.

Late in the third period Dmitry Meleshko gave Minsk fans a hope for the win scoring from a close range. His goal reduced the gap to the minimum and built up pressure. However, Roman Lyuduchin drew the line scoring the winner some five minutes later.

Dinamo Minsk and HC Sochi met in the preseason during the Ruslan Salei Memorial Tournament in Minsk. The hosts celebrated a 2-1OT win then.

With 46 points after 30 games Dinamo Minsk keeps the 6th spot in the KHL's Western Conference, sitting just ahead of Vityaz Moscow Region (45 points) and Lokomotiv Yaroslavl (43).

The Bisons are back in action on 29 November as they host Medvescak Zagreb, the team they routed 5-2 last week.