Siberians in town for crucial Wednesday clash

29 October 2025

SKA and Sibir Novosibirsk, two clubs locked in battles for Gagarin Cup playoff qualification slots in their respective conferences, go head-to-head at the Ice Palace this evening in a vital showdown for both sides.

SEASON STRUGGLES CONTINUE

Sibir supporters have certainly been put through the mill across the maiden two months of the campaign. Having floundered since the get-go, the Siberians find themselves languishing in 10^th spot of a highly competitive Eastern Conference with a mere 16 points on the board, a dreadful -15 goal difference and only one (!) victory in regulation time.

And, just for the record, that particular win was a forgettable 1:0 away triumph at Amur Khabarovsk on 19 September.

Sibir made the call to fire head coach Vadim Yepanchintsev in favour of Vyacheslav Butsayev after losing 2:5 on the road to Salavat Yulaev Ufa on the first day of October. Butsyaev did initially win three out of his first four matches in charge, but that proved to be a false dawn as his troops subsequently lost the next four on the bounce.

However, while Sibir are starved of wins, they are nicking the odd point here and there, notably taking talent-stacked Metallurg Magnitogorsk to overtime at home and only falling in a shootout to Traktor Chelyabinsk on Saturday. That particular setback marked the first shootout in seven which Sibir have lost this season.

Nikita Soshinikov, Vladimir Tkachyov and Scott Wilson are without doubt the ones to watch out for in the first line, especially when you consider that the trio make up three of Sibir’s leading four scorers. 26-year-old Ivan Chekhovich has made a strong start to life in Novosibirsk with four points from his opening five appearances since transferring from Shanghai, while ex-SKA forward Arkhip Nekolenko is standing out for all of the right reasons and fellow familiar face Sergei Shirokov offers plenty of experience.

When signed from the Hershey Bears in the summer, defenseman Chase Evans Priskie was expected to provide potent attacking threat from the blue line for his new employers, but the Canadian has struggled to make an impact and was recently replaced by Yegor Alanov in Sibir’s top powerplay unit. Butsayev is backed up by solid goaltending with 33-year-old former New York Rangers goalkeeper Louis Domingue taking it in turns with Anton Krasotkin to defend the Sibir net.

Interestingly, although they do possess the league’s second worst powerplay percentage with a rotten conversion rate of 11.1%, Sibir are fourth in the standings when it comes to their penalty-killing abilities.

LEADERS

GOALKEEPERS

Anton Krasotkin: 10 matches, 6 wins, 93.2% save percentage, 2.06 GAA, 1 shutout

Louis Domingue: 10 matches, 1 win, 90.5% save percentage, 3.48 GAA, 1 shutout

Semyon Kokaulin: 1 match, 92.3% save percentage, 2.41 GAA

DEFENSEMEN

Yegor Alanov: 9 (2+7) points, +8

Chase Evans Priskie: 5 (0+5) points, +1

Timur Akhiyarov: 2 (1+1) points, -7

FORWARDS

Nikita Soshnikov: 11 (2+9) points, -1

Scott Wilson: 9 (7+2) points, 0

Akhip Nekolenko: 8 (2+6) points, -4

SPECIAL TEAMS

45 attempts, 5 goals, 11.1% conversion rate, 21^st place

59 penalties, 9 conceded goals, 84.7% success rate, 4^th place

WHERE TO WATCH

Puck-drop is scheduled for 19:30 local time. You can purchase a live video broadcast on the KHL’s official website, whereas text updates are available on our official X account.