KHL Hockey: mass brawls on night of high-scoring action

Four games, 31 goals and a massive punch-up were the highlights of another exhilarating chapter in the Continental Hockey League. It saw comfortable wins for Salavat Ulaev and Barys, but the game of the day featured a nail-biting triumph for Metallurg Mag

Metallurg Magnitogorsk 6 – Dynamo 5

European champions Metallurg Magnitogorsk held off Dynamo's late charge to gain the upper hand in a bad tempered match.

The sides were tied at 3-all after the second interval. Denis Platonov broke the tie early in the third period and soon after Yaroslav Kudna doubled the lead for Metallurg.

But then tempers got the better of the players. Five of them had to watch the remainder of the game from the sin-bin after a mass punch-up that broke out 9 minutes from time.

After peace was restored, Kudna scored his fourth of the match to make it 6-3 to Metallurg. The hosts refused to give-in, scoring twice within a minute, but it was too late, and Magnitogorsk sealed their 11th successive win by a 6-5 score line.

Avangard 2 – Barys 5

Meanwhile, there was another day to forget for Avangard's under-fire coach Wayne Fleming.

The men from Omsk slipped up once again, despite boasting one of the league's top players – Jaromir Jagr – in their ranks.

Avangard were able to claw their way back into the match.

Nikita Nikitin put them 2-1 up early in the last period – but all that only to concede four goals in the remaining ten minutes.

Maksim Spiridonov completed  the 5-2 rout with his second of the game.

Ak Bars 4 – Torpedo 3 ,  Salavat Ulaev 5 – Spartak Moscow 1

Elsewhere second placed Ak Bars kept the pressure up on leaders Atlant courtesy of a third period winner against Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod.

No such worries for Salavat Ulaev – the title contenders blitzed Spartak Moscow on the road 5-1.