TOGLIATTI (Interstat) — Riley Sawchuk scored two goals and Nikita Podskrebalin made 24 saves Monday afternoon as Lada Togliatti beat Dinamo Minsk 4-2 in a Kontinental Hockey League game at Lada Arena. The announced attendance was 3,742. Lada improved to 1-4-0, and Dinamo Minsk fell to 0-4-0. Dinamo Minsk has lost all four of its games this season. Podskrebalin earned the win after facing 26 shots. Nikita Setdikov had a goal and an assist for Lada, Mason Millman added a goal and two assists, and Nikita Mikhailov recorded two assists. Sam Anas and Sergei S. Kuznetsov scored for Dinamo Minsk. Kuznetsov also had two shots, five penalty minutes and one hit. Joshua Brook had an assist, four penalty minutes and one hit for Dinamo Minsk. Maxim Belousov added an assist for Lada, while Christopher Tierney recorded one shot for Dinamo Minsk.

The game was chippy from the start. Arsen Taimazov was penalized for interference at 16:28 of the opening period. Dinamo Minsk’s Joshua Brook then went to the box for hooking at 6:20 of the second period. Lada broke through soon after when Sawchuk scored at 6:59 of the second, with Millman and Mikhailov assisting. Podskrebalin protected the lead as Dinamo Minsk sought an answer. Xavier Ouellet was called for hooking at 9:12 of the second, and offsetting roughing penalties to Nikolai Makarov and Bogdan Belkin followed at 16:21. Brook received a second minor, for holding, at 18:38 of the middle period. Lada carried its advantage into the final period.

The third period featured a fight and a decisive Lada surge. Taimazov and Kuznetsov received five-minute fisticuffs penalties at 9:17. Dinamo Minsk’s Vladimir Alistrov was then penalized for too many players on the ice at 9:53. Lada capitalized. Setdikov scored at 11:14, with Millman and Mikhailov picking up assists. Sawchuk added his second goal at 14:51, assisted by Setdikov and Belousov, pushing the lead to 3-0. Dinamo Minsk answered 23 seconds later when Kuznetsov scored at 15:14, with Brady Lyle and Ouellet assisting. Millman restored Lada’s three-goal cushion at 16:16. Dinamo Minsk again responded late when Anas scored at 18:51, with Brook and Ty Smith assisting. That finished the scoring.

Lada’s penalty kill and goaltending held up through a chippy finish. Dmitry Kugryshev was sent off for slashing at 13:30 of the third. Podskrebalin’s 24 saves were the backbone of the win. Sawchuk finished with two goals on two shots, Setdikov had a goal and an assist with four shots, and Millman had a goal and two assists with three shots. Mikhailov contributed two assists and one shot. Anas had a goal and three shots for Dinamo Minsk. Kuznetsov added a goal and two shots while serving five penalty minutes. Brook had one assist and four penalty minutes. Tierney recorded one shot for Dinamo Minsk. Belousov had one assist for Lada. The teams combined for 10 penalties, including two five-minute majors.

The loss kept Dinamo Minsk winless on the young season. Lada earned its first victory of the campaign. Lada had dropped its first four games before Monday. Lada next hosts Barys Astana on Wednesday, Sept. 16. Dinamo Minsk returns home to face Sibir Novosibirsk on Friday, Sept. 18. Lada then travels to Ak Bars Kazan on Monday, Sept. 21. Dinamo Minsk will host Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg on Sunday, Sept. 20, before a road game at Dynamo Moscow on Thursday, Sept. 24. The teams are scheduled to meet again on Monday, Sept. 28, when Lada Togliatti visits Dinamo Minsk.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Dinamo Minsk 2, Lada 1. Interstat’s ELO system gave Dinamo Minsk a 74.5 percent probability to win before the game.