Dinamo Minsk kick off Gagarin Cup campaign with 5-2 win

HC Dinamo Minsk launched their KHL playoffs run at Minsk Arena for the first time to secure a 5-2 victory over HC CSKA Moscow.

The Bisons faced an early two-goal deficit. Three minutes into the game Vasily Demchenko failed to make a save after being blocked from seeing Dmitry Samorukov's powerful shot from the blue line. Soon after HC CSKA made it 2-0: Vasily Demchenko cleared Nikita Nesterov’s point shot, but with a series of rebounds on the slot Pavel Karnaukhov was the fastest to double the lead.

HC Dinamo Minsk gradually got themselves back into the game and narrowed the gap five minutes before the first break. Sergei Kuznetsov did a good job by sending a shot from the faceoff circle into a top near corner, catching Pavel Khomchenko off guard. The Bisons then took advantage of the first power play of the night. Vitaly Pinchuk sent Sam Anas to slot the puck beyond Pavel Khomchenko to level off the game.

Dmitry Kvartalnov’s men took the lead in the middle frame. Yegor Borikov scored off a feed from Chris Tierney to finish it from close range.

The Bisons extended their advantage in the final stanza with Alexander Volkov producing a mid-range shot with a feed from Vitaly Pinchuk. Alexander Volkov scored his second of the night into the empty net to make the final score 5-2.

HC Dinamo Minsk will be back in action on 28 March. Then, the team will travel to Moscow for match-ups on 30 March and 1 April. Additional games, if needed, will be played in Minsk on 3 April, in Moscow on 5 April and in Minsk on 7 April.

Press service of the NOC of Belarus
Photos by the NOC of Belarus