Despite having to get by without head coach Andrey Nazarov, Vityaz Chekhov, who are rock bottom in the KHL’s Western Conference, have claimed a 3-2 away victory against Spartak Moscow.
Things have not been going well recently for Vityaz, as they took on Spartak Moscow. They have the second-worst record in the KHL, while the club is more famous for their fights on the ice rather than the quality of their hockey.
And if things couldn’t get any worse, head coach Andrey Nazarov, was banned for two games, after striking out at fans last time out in Minsk after his team’s bench had had objects thrown at them.
However, the Chekhov side’s netminder says the incident was perhaps blown out of proportion.
“I think everyone is thinking something different,” Matthew Dalton, Vityaz keeper, told RT. “For us Canadians, we kind of used to it a little bit. It doesn’t really scare us or anything. That kind of stuff happens all the time back at home. It’s different here. It’s a different mentality here. But it was interesting, you know.”
However, despite a scoreless first period, things would start well for the visitors as they would take the lead through Mikhail Anisin, whose slapshot managed to beat Spartak goalie Aleksey Yakhin from close range.
The Muscovites were soon level as Slovakia’s Marcel Hossa restored parity for the home side midway through the second period.
With just six minutes remaining, Hossa grabbed his second to put the Red-and-Whites on the verge of victory.
However Vityaz had other ideas and would make it 2-2 just 30 seconds later, with Fedoseev getting the vital goal to give his side the chance of getting a much needed win in overtime.
In the end, the side from Chekhov would not need the extra period, as they would settle the game with just a minute left.
Spartak committed too many men forward and the visitors took full advantage as Anisin added his second of the game on the break away to give Vityaz the points.
“We only won those five games, but we have beaten some pretty good teams,” Dalton said. “I think we showed to people that we can play hockey too if we want to. We aren’t just a bunch of hooligans and fighters. So hopefully, we can get something on again. But you know it is tough. Every team in this league is good. It’s not like any game is an easy games, especially for us. We have to work hard to be successful.”
Delight for Andrey Nazarov, who was forced to watch the game from the stands, while his side managed to snap a two game losing streak with that 3-2 victory.