16 October 2025

Before the Game: Barys vs Avangard

The third opponent for Barys in its October home stretch will be one of the Eastern Conference leaders — Avangard.

The Omsk team arrives in Astana following a high-scoring victory in Chelyabinsk over Traktor (8:5). Dmitry Rashevsky, Nikolai Prokhorkin, and Andrew Poturalski each scored twice, while Vasily Ponomaryov and Damir Sharipzyanov added one goal apiece. Goaltender Nikita Serebryakov made 33 saves. Head coach Guy Boucher noted that the second period resembled “pond hockey,” full of turnovers and chaos, but praised his team’s intelligent play in the third, which secured the win.

After 15 games, Avangard has earned 22 points. Andrew Poturalski (6+13) and Konstantin Okulov (6+10) rank among the league’s top scorers, while defensemen Maxim Lajoie (4+10) and Damir Sharipzyanov (4+9) are among the most productive blueliners. Forward Nail Yakupov remains sidelined due to injury.

Barys suffered its second shootout loss of the season on Tuesday, falling to Sibir (3:4). Samat Daniyar scored his first goal of the season, while Tice Thompson and Riley Walsh also found the back of the net — Walsh now leads the team in both goals and points (5+8). Dinmukhamed Kairzhan registered two assists, and Andrey Shutov stopped 24 shots. Head coach Mikhail Kravets expressed disappointment that his team, leading 2:0, failed to capitalize on two key chances and allowed the opponent back into the game.

The Astana side currently holds 14 points after 16 games. Ivan Nikolishin, having cleared waivers, has been assigned to the farm team Nomad.

Faceoff: 19:30 Astana time
Tickets: Available at Barys Arena box office and on hcbarys.kz/tickets
Broadcast: Qazsport TV Channel

General Partner of HC Barys: JSC “Samruk Kazyna”
Partner of HC Barys: “Tourism and Sports Industry Support Fund”