YEKATERINBURG, Russia (Interstat) — Michael McLeod scored 11:13 into overtime to lift Avangard Omsk to a 2-1 victory over Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg in a tightly contested Kontinental Hockey League game on Thursday night at KRK Uralets.

The win extended Avangard’s strong run of form, marking their third consecutive victory and improving their record across all competitions to 32 wins and 15 losses. Avtomobilist, despite a valiant effort from goaltender Vladimir Galkin, fell to 27-21.

The game unfolded as a defensive struggle and goaltending duel, defying the pregame projection from Interstat’s simulator, which had forecast a 4-3 win for the home side. Avangard’s netminder, Nikita Serebryakov, earned the win with 25 saves on 26 shots. His counterpart, Galkin, was spectacular in a losing effort, turning aside 40 of Avangard’s 42 shots to keep his team in contention.

Avtomobilist struck first, capitalizing on an early opportunity. Roman Gorbunov opened the scoring just 5:09 into the first period, netting his 12th goal of the season with an assist from Reid Boucher. The home team’s lead held through a disjointed opening frame that featured four minor penalties, including an unusual infraction against Galkin for displacing the goal frame.

Avangard’s persistent pressure finally paid off in the second period. At the 25:13 mark, Andrew Poturalski netted the equalizer, his 18th goal of the campaign, with helpers from Konstantin Okulov and Damir Sharipzyanov. The goal shifted momentum toward the visitors, who continued to pepper Galkin but could not find a go-ahead marker in regulation.

The third period saw no scoring but several penalties, setting the stage for a tense overtime. Just over a minute into the extra session, McLeod delivered the decisive blow, firing home his 11th goal of the season. Assists went to Mikhail Kotlyarevsky and Joseph Cecconi, sealing the road victory for Avangard.

The contest was a special teams battle that never materialized into power-play goals, as both sides went a combined 0-for-9 with the man-advantage. Avangard’s discipline wavered at times, taking six minor penalties to Avtomobilist’s three, but their penalty kill and Serebryakov were up to the task.

The victory continues a positive trend for Avangard in head-to-head matchups this season, having now defeated Avtomobilist twice in extra time, following a 3-2 overtime win on Oct. 19. The two clubs are scheduled to meet again on Feb. 5 in Omsk.

Avangard looks to continue its momentum when it hosts Admiral Vladivostok on Monday. Avtomobilist aims to rebound at home against Amur Khabarovsk the same night.