There is always next year

Yevgeny Kuznetsov captained Traktor in his last game in a black-and-white jersey. Ian White replaced Aleksey Vasilchenko and was put in the fourth pair. Abdullin replaced an injured Semen Kokuyov; he was placed in the fourth line along with Valeyev and Panov. Consequently, Mokin was moved up to accompany Kontiola and Kostitsyn; Zavarukhin was downgraded a bit and put in the third line as center. Another change took place in defensive pairs as Klimontov constituted a second D pair with Kondratyev.

First period
Traktor could quickly pull ahead, but a decent combination of the first line ended in a shot sent wide of the goal. Ak Bars reciprocated swiftly and cold-bloodedly; Pesonen converted a one-on-one. Having taken over the lead, visitors focused on the defense and counterattacks while Traktor failed to pose any sort of threat to Barulin's goal throughout the period. After the mid-period mark Garnett made a pad save to thwart Tkachyov's chance on goal. Traktor had two PP chances before the horn, but neither resulted in a scoring effort.

Second period
Traktor was a changed team in the second twenty as the black-and-white looked more pumped up than ever. First off, Kuznetsov hit the post, then moments later Zavarukhin passed the rubber on the crease to Glinkin, but it recoiled from a D-man and found its way into the net. Quite soon Traktor garnered a double power play, and Kuznetsov did all by himself as he found a little recess somewhere above the shoulder of Barulin. After some back-and-forth Ak Bars was able to tie the match; Medvedev sent the puck towards the goal, and somewhere along the way Janne Pesonen deflected it into the net. This concluded the flurry that was the second period.

Third period
Ak Bars dominated the early portion of the last twenty, but Traktor D-men put on their A-game to keep the score tied. At mid-period mark Kostitsyn and Petruzalek exchanged stiff shots on goal, making the goalies showcase all of their abilities. Some time later Traktor was left shorthanded, but despite that unfortunate incident, created the best scoring chance of the period; Bulis and Kuznetsov spurted away for a two-on-one, and Jan decided to handle the puck by himself, but could not outplay Barulin. Ak Bars had a chance of their before the buzzer – Petrov hit the post, then sent the puck into Garnett.

OT and shootouts
After a rather uneventful OT the game rolled into penalty shootouts where Burmistrov gave visitors the win.

Game details

TRAKTOR vs. AK BARS – 2:3 SO (0:1, 2:1, 0:0, 0:0, 0:1)

Goals: Pesonen (Burmistrov), 6 (0:1); Zavarukhin (Glinkin), 23 (1:1); Kuznetsov (Kontiola), 28 (2:1 – PP goal); Pesonen (Medvedev), 33 (2:2); Burmistrov, 65 (2:3 – game-winning penalty shot).
Shootouts: Kontiola (0:0 – denied by goaltender); Pesonen (0:0 – denied by goaltender); Kuznetsov (0:0 – wide); Petruzalek (0:0 – denied by goaltender); Glinkin (0:0 – wide); Burmistrov (0:1).

TRAKTOR
Garnett;
Ryabykin (A) – Bondarev, Chistov – Bulis (A) – Kuznetsov (C);
Klimontov – Kondratyev, Kostitsyn – Kontiola – Mokin;
Katichev – Borodkin, Glinkin – Zavarukhin – Popov;
White – Khlystov, Abdullin – Valeyev – Panov.

AK BARS
Barulin;
Korneyev – Nikulin (C), Petruzalek – Tereshchenko (A) – Petrov;
Medvedev (A) – Heshka, Pesonen – Burmistrov – Stapleton;
Osipov – Zakharchuk, Milovzorov – Svitov – Varnakov;
Tkachyov – Bodrov – Obukhov.

PIM: 6 (0+2+4+0) - 10 (2+4+4+0).
Shots: 27 (6+11+8+2) - 25 (7+8+9+1).
Faceoffs won: 32 (10+9+9+4) - 29 (16+7+5+1).
TOI: Ryabykin (22:06), Kuznetsov (20:57), Kontiola (19:25) – Nikulin (25:59), Korneyev (25:40), Heshka (23:18).
PP goals: 1-0.

March 4, 2014. Traktor Arena, Chelyabinsk, Russia. Attendance – 6000.