CHELYABINSK (Interstat) — Henrik Haukeland stopped 21 of 22 shots and Traktor Chelyabinsk scored twice in the second period to beat Avangard Omsk 2-1 on Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026, at Traktor Sport Palace in Traktor Arena. A crowd of 7,500 saw Traktor improve to 2 wins and 4 losses while Avangard fell to 3 wins and 3 losses. Haukeland, listed at 6-foot-2 and 205 pounds, earned the win after entering with two straight losses.

Avangard opened the scoring despite early penalty trouble. Yegor Afanasyev was called for tripping at 13:01 of the first period. Traktor’s power play could not convert, and Afanasyev then put Avangard ahead at 16:57. The goal made the score 1-0. Yaroslav Fedoseyev received an interference penalty at 17:32, giving Avangard a power play, but Traktor kept the deficit at one before intermission. Avangard held the lead after 20 minutes. Afanasyev finished with one goal, two shots and two penalty minutes.

Traktor responded early in the second period. Ivan Vydrenkov tied the game at 21:05 with assists from Vladislav R. Yusupov and Mikhail Goryunov-Rolgizer. Vydrenkov, listed at 6-foot-1 and 198 pounds, finished with one goal and three shots. Penalties slowed both sides. Gleb Burlaka was sent off for holding the stick at 29:27. Andrew Poturalski received a hooking penalty at 33:15. Konstantin Okulov was called for diving at 37:01. Grigory Dronov scored at 38:05, assisted by Nathan Legare and Mikhail Grigorenko, putting Traktor ahead 2-1 while Okulov was in the penalty box. Dronov, listed at 6-foot-2 and 207 pounds, recorded one goal and seven shots.

Haukeland protected the lead in the third period and finished with 21 saves. He was Traktor’s top star. Afanasyev had one goal, two shots and two penalty minutes for Avangard. Semyon Chistyakov had seven shots from defense. Andrei Svetlakov recorded five shots and four hits. Legare had one assist, four shots, two penalty minutes and three hits. Goryunov-Rolgizer added one assist, three shots and three hits. Grigorenko contributed one assist and one shot. Yusupov had one assist. At 56:53, Legare and Avangard’s Kirill Adamchuk received roughing penalties, but neither team scored again. Traktor’s defense held Avangard without a third-period goal.

The game featured seven penalties, with Avangard assessed five and Traktor two. Avangard’s penalties included Afanasyev’s tripping, Burlaka’s holding the stick, Poturalski’s hooking, Okulov’s diving and Adamchuk’s roughing. Traktor’s Fedoseyev was called for interference, and Legare received roughing. The coincidental roughing penalties at 56:53 left both teams skating four aside for the final minutes.

Traktor had lost consecutive home games to Spartak Moscow and Lokomotiv Yaroslavl before Sunday. Haukeland had lost his previous two starts, stopping 30 of 32 shots in a 3-1 loss to Spartak Moscow on Sept. 18 and 17 of 19 in a 2-1 loss at Ak Bars Kazan on Sept. 9. Traktor also lost 4-1 at home to Lokomotiv Yaroslavl on Sept. 15, lost 2-1 at Ak Bars Kazan on Sept. 9, beat Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 4-3 in overtime on Sept. 7, and lost 5-1 at Lokomotiv Yaroslavl on Sept. 5. Avangard had won three straight before a 2-1 loss at Lokomotiv Yaroslavl on Sept. 18. Avangard beat Avtomobilist 3-2 in overtime on Sept. 15, Metallurg Magnitogorsk 3-2 in overtime on Sept. 13, and HC Sochi 4-1 on Sept. 10. Avangard lost 4-0 to Salavat Yulaev Ufa on Sept. 7. Avangard will visit Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod on Tuesday and Spartak Moscow on Sept. 24. Traktor will host SKA Saint Petersburg on Friday and travel to Dynamo Moscow on Sept. 28.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Traktor 3, Avangard 2, while Interstat’s ELO system had projected Avangard with a 62.5 percent probability to win. The actual result was Traktor 2, Avangard 1.