Sochi vs Neftekhimik 11/3/2026
03.11.2026
Neftekhimik will play game #22 of the season!
DATE OPPONENT TIME TV
11/3/2026 vs Sochi ⏰ 7:30 pm KHL WEB
Neftekhimik will play its second of three road games. Neftekhimik won its last game.
Sochi will play its second of six home games. Sochi won its last game.
Career Milestone:
Neftekhimik forward Andrei Belozyorov may score his 100th career assist (currently at 99).
Injuries:
Sochi: Pavel Akolzin, Pyotr Andreyanov, Artyom Guryev, Cameron Lee.
Top Player
Nikita Gusev ranks among the KHL’s top players, with 760 points in 798 league games. The Olympic champion joined HC Sochi only on October 2, but he has picked up points in eight straight games since then. On Sunday, his perfect pass set up the opening goal in a game against Avangard.
Facing Former Teammates
Timur Khafizov came up through the Neftekhimik Organization and is now at HC Sochi.
Rafael Bikmullin’s path went the other way: a product of Neftekhimik, he played for Sochi last season, then returned to Nizhnekamsk – and scored a short-handed goal against Sibir just the other day.
Artur Tyanulin, who also came up through the Tatarstan hockey system, played for the Leopards last season and is now at Neftekhimik.
Changes at HC Sochi in the Summer of 2026
The summer rebuild at HC Sochi went deeper than it may look. The team brought in an entirely new goaltending tandem.
The biggest changes came on the blue line. Jesse Graham returned to Sochi after spells in Switzerland and Slovakia, most recently with Nitra; Canadian Colby Williams arrived from Lada, where he recorded 10 points in 10 games last season; 19-year-old Yaroslav Belyakov joined from Spartak; and defenseman Timur Akhiyarov, one of the league leaders in blocked shots, was acquired from Sibir for forward Sergei Popov.
The forward group also changed. Kirill Slepets and Artur Gizdatullin arrived from Amur Khabarovsk, Kirill Voronin from Dinamo Minsk, and Alexander Khokhlachyov from Salavat Yulaev.
Earlier this season, our team beat Sochi 5–1 at home. Neftekhimik enter this game second in the Eastern Conference with 27 points after a 3–1 win in Novosibirsk. Sochi have an energetic home crowd behind them and feature Gusev, a player who has finally found a team that matches his caliber.
