MINSK (Interstat) — Sergei S. Kuznetsov scored with 39 seconds left in regulation and added an assist as Dinamo Minsk defeated Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 5-3 on Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026, in a Kontinental Hockey League game at Minsk-Arena. The home victory came before an announced attendance of 15,086 and left both teams with 2-4 records. Kuznetsov, a 6-foot-2, 192-pound forward, finished with one goal, one assist, two shots on goal and two penalty minutes.

Daniil Sotishvili opened the scoring at 8:26 of the first period, with Ilya Usov and Kuznetsov picking up assists. Dinamo Minsk doubled its lead at 21:38 of the second period when Xavier Ouellet scored, assisted by Sotishvili and Christopher Tierney. Avtomobilist got on the board at 26:00 of the second when Maxim Denezhkin scored, with Jordan Gross and Alexander A. Sharov assisting. Daniil A. Lipsky restored the two-goal cushion at 31:54, with Tierney and Joshua Brook getting assists.

After Sharov was called for tripping at 34:53, Nicolas Aube-Kubel made it 4-1 at 35:48, assisted by Stanislav Galiyev and Ty Smith. Brook was sent off for tripping at 38:14. The score remained 4-1 until the third period, when Smith was penalized for slashing at 44:06. Daniel Sprong scored for Avtomobilist at 45:23, assisted by Adam Ruzicka and Kale Clague, cutting the deficit to 4-2. Vladimir Alistrov then received a bench minor for too many players on the ice at 46:29, and Kuznetsov was called for tripping at 51:59.

Avtomobilist pulled closer at 57:19 when Alexander Barabanov scored, assisted by Gross and Ruzicka, making it 4-3. Kuznetsov answered at 59:21, scoring with help from Dmitry S. Kuzmin to seal the win. Vasily Demchenko stopped 28 of 31 shots for Dinamo Minsk. Sotishvili, a 5-foot-11, 170-pound forward, had one goal and one assist with two shots. Ouellet, a defenseman, scored once and put two shots on net. Tierney, a forward, recorded two assists, two shots and three hits. Aube-Kubel, a 6-foot, 214-pound forward, added one goal, two shots and two hits, while Usov, a 6-foot, 183-pound forward, had one assist and one hit.

For Avtomobilist, Sprong, a forward, scored once and registered nine shots on goal. Gross, a defenseman, had two assists and two shots. Barabanov, a 5-foot-10, 196-pound forward, scored once and recorded five shots. Denezhkin also scored. Sharov, Clague, Ruzicka and Kuzmin contributed assists. Kuznetsov entered the game after recording two shots on goal in a win against Sibir Novosibirsk on Sept. 18. He had one goal, two shots and five penalty minutes at Lada Togliatti on Sept. 14, two shots and two penalty minutes at Dynamo Moscow on Sept. 12, and one goal with three shots against Shanghai Dragons on Sept. 10.

Avtomobilist entered after a 3-2 overtime loss at Avangard Omsk on Sept. 15, a 5-2 win at Sibir Novosibirsk on Sept. 13, a 3-1 loss at Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk on Sept. 11, a 4-3 overtime loss to Traktor Chelyabinsk on Sept. 7, and a 2-1 win over Dynamo Moscow on Sept. 5. Dinamo Minsk entered after a 4-1 win over Sibir Novosibirsk on Sept. 18, a 4-2 loss at Lada Togliatti on Sept. 14, a 3-2 shootout loss at Dynamo Moscow on Sept. 12, a 4-3 overtime loss to Shanghai Dragons on Sept. 10, and a 4-3 shootout loss to Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod on Sept. 7.

Interstat’s game simulator projected a final score of Dinamo Minsk 3, Avtomobilist 2, and its ELO system gave Dinamo Minsk a 55 percent probability to win. Dinamo Minsk next plays at Dynamo Moscow on Thursday, Sept. 24, then visits Shanghai Dragons on Sept. 26. Avtomobilist next visits Shanghai Dragons on Tuesday, Sept. 22, then visits Severstal Cherepovets on Sept. 24. Dinamo Minsk will host Lada Togliatti on Sept. 28 and CSKA Moscow on Oct. 1. Avtomobilist will visit Spartak Moscow on Sept. 26 and host Lada Togliatti on Sept. 30.