TOGLIATTI, Russia (Interstat) — The Lada Togliatti hockey club, anchored by a stellar performance from goaltender Ivan Bocharov and fueled by a dominant third period, delivered a significant upset Tuesday afternoon, defeating the visiting Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 3-1 in Kontinental Hockey League action at Lada Arena.

Entering the game with one of the league’s poorest records at 15-38, Lada defied pregame projections that heavily favored Torpedo. Interstat’s game simulator had predicted a 3-2 Torpedo victory, and its ELO system gave Lada just a 33.6 percent chance to win. Instead, the home side executed a disciplined defensive game and capitalized on key opportunities to snap Torpedo’s two-game winning streak.

The game was a tense, scoreless goaltending duel through the first period and deep into the second. Torpedo, which holds a playoff position with a record now at 31-23, finally broke through at the 22:33 mark of the second period. Forward Yegor Vinogradov netted his 20th goal of the season, assisted by Robert Nardella and Anton Sizov, to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.

That advantage was short-lived. Just over a minute later, Lada defenseman Alex Cotton was sent off for tripping, but Torpedo could not extend its lead on the power play. The middle frame was marred by penalties, including a rare abuse of officials and unsportsmanlike conduct call against Lada’s Andrei Chivilev at 34:42, but the score remained 1-0 for Torpedo heading into the final period.

Lada emerged for the third period with renewed vigor. The equalizer came at 41:18 when forward Ivan Savchik scored his fifth of the season, converting a setup from Dmitry Kugryshev and Cotton. The game then turned decisively in Lada’s favor during a chaotic sequence in the final eight minutes.

With Torpedo’s Yegor Sokolov in the penalty box for his second too-many-players-on-the-ice infraction of the afternoon, Lada’s power play went to work. Just three seconds into the man advantage, at 52:34, Dmitry Kugryshev fired home the go-ahead goal, his seventh, with assists from Cotton and Tomas Jurco.

Torpedo, frustrated and unable to solve Bocharov, pulled goaltender Denis Kostin for an extra attacker in the final minute. The strategy backfired when Lada’s Andrei Altybarmakyan sealed the victory with an empty-net goal at 59:59, his 17th of the campaign, for the 3-1 final.

Bocharov was the undeniable first star, turning aside 28 of 29 shots for the win. His counterpart, Denis Kostin, made 25 saves on 27 shots in the loss. Lada’s special teams proved crucial, going 1-for-4 on the power play while killing all three of Torpedo’s opportunities. Defenseman Alex Cotton contributed two assists in a solid all-around performance.

The victory improves Lada’s record to 16-38, while Torpedo falls to 31-23. Lada will look to build on this momentum as they continue a road trip Thursday at Sibir Novosibirsk. Torpedo, meanwhile, must regroup quickly for a challenging matchup Thursday at Ak Bars Kazan.