Make it Eight for Baikal, Kuzbass Stumbles

Trud Stadium, IRKUTSK, Russia -- Make it eight victories in a row for Baikal-Energia, who bested SKA-Zabaikalets Chita 8-0 on Tuesday night.

Chita managed to play a pretty stiff defensive game in the first 15 minutes, but it was apparent from the start that it was only a matter of time before Baikal started to get their offense going.

In the 16th minute, Dmitry Sokolov dished to Maxim Gavrilenko to open the scoring. Nikolai Kadakin scored in the 32nd minute off an impossibly long shot to make the score at halftime 2-0.

Zabaikalets had a good chance near the end of the period when Baikal goalie Alexei Negrun made a great leg save off a shot from the top of the zone. Baikal quickly jumped onto the counterattack, and managed to earn themselves a corner, but no goal.

Gavrilenko kept the momentum going early in the second half with his second goal of the game in the 48th minute. Seven minutes later, Sergei Rogulyov made a stellar pass to spring Sergei Yusupov on a breakaway, which he converted to make the score 4-0.

And things kept getting worse for Chita.

Kadakin scored again in the 64th minute, and after a battery of corners by Irkutsk on the Chita net, Maxim Koshelev finally converted in the 68th minute.

Yusupov racked up an assist to go with his goal when he made a pass to Danila Savchenko, who scored his first goal in a Baikal-Energia uniform.

Finally, with two minutes left to play, Maxim Blem fired from 25 meters out to beat goalie Andrei Bryukhanov and make the final in this one 8-0.

Baikal's next game will be February 1st against Metallurg Bratsk. That game was originally scheduled for December 28th but was postponed during Baikal's disciplinary hearings with the federation.

Other scores:

January 22nd

SKA-Neftyanik Khabarovsk 5:3 Kuzbass Kemerovo
Yenisei Krasnoyarsk 7:0 Metallurg Bratsk