Misstep for Traktor in most eastern point of KHL

The first twenty was an equally matched affair, and the nerve of the game was indeed palpable. Traktor began the game with a little more pep in their step and, after earning a power play chance, opened the score at the hands of Jan Bulis. Admiral soon proved their reputation of being one of Traktor’s sworn and grittiest enemies, tying this game. Hosts were on a mission to pull ahead, but Garnett saved Traktor on a couple of occasions, saving the tied score for the upcoming periods.

Admiral took control of the game at the start of the second twenty, but only after Traktor pulled ahead once again when, during the power play, Deron Quint slapped from the blue line, and Panov redirected the shot into the goal. This was the moment when Admiral took over. First off, Konstantin Makarov tied the game at two with a stiff wrist shot. Shortly thereafter, the black-and-white got two straight penalties, and, in a heroic team effort, killed off both of them. Even more so, Ruzicka had a sweet chance in a two-on-one breakaway, but Admiral goaltender Ivan Nalimov stopped him in his tracks. Unfortunately for the visitors, the accumulated fatigue finally took its toll, and, closer to the horn, hosts got the lead for the first time in this game at the hands of Aleksandr Gorshkov.

The third twenty was rather placid, with the exception of a tying goal by Martin Ruzicka who fully redeemed himself for a botched two-on-one earlier in the game. Once this scoring effort came about, both teams concentrated on what they had already earned instead of going for more, and the game slowly rolled into OT.

The additional five minutes looked a lot like the third period. Opponents only took a handful of shots on each other’s goal, seemingly settling for the hockey lottery. When it did happen, Traktor coaching staff made an interesting decision by replacing Michael Garnett with Vlad Fokin, but this move did not earn the black-and-white an additional point; Gynge and Bergfors beat Fokin while Ruzicka and Kruchinin missed the mark.

Despite this loss, Traktor is bringing home ten points out of possible twelve, finally tasting the sweet feeling of being in the playoffs zone.

Game details

ADMIRAL vs. TRAKTOR – 4:3 SO (1:1, 2:1, 0:1, 0:0, 1:0)

Goals: Bulis (Panov), 5 (0:1); Sigaryov (Gynge, Bergfors), 8 (1:1); Panov (Chistov, Quint), 21 (1:2 – PP goal); Makarov (Kolar, Lisin), 25 (2:2); Gorshkov (Belyakov), 35 (3:2); Ruzicka (Osnovin, Velichkin), 45 (3:3); Bergfors, 65 (4:3 – game-winning penalty shot).
Shootouts: Ruzicka (0:0 – denied by goaltender), Bergfors (1:0), Kruchinin (1:0 – denied by goaltender), Gynge (2:0).

ADMIRAL
Nalimov;
Osipov – Heshka, Bergfors – Sigaryov – Gynge;
Zemchenok – Kuzmin, Makarov – Schütz – Lisin;
Kolar – Belyakov, Li– Ushenin – Gorshkov;
Lisov, Barbashev – Kuznetsov – Sokolov.

TRAKTOR
Garnett (Fokin, 65:00);
Quint – Borodkin, Panov (A) – Bulis (A) – Chistov (C);
Kondratyev – Piganovich, Glinkin – Pestunov – Popov;
Davydov – Atyshov, Velichkin – Osnovin – Ruzicka;
Martynov, Gubarev – Kruchinin – Kokuyov;
Zavarukhin.

PIM: 10 (4+2+4+0) – 8 (2+4+2+0).
Shots: 32 (11+14+3+4) – 22 (7+6+7+2).
Faceoffs won: 24 (9+8+4+3) – 32 (9+9+10+4).
Hits: 11 (3+4+3+1) – 7 (3+4+0+0).
Shots blocked: 12 (3+3+5+1) – 13 (4+4+5+0).
TOI: Osipov (25:28), Heshka (22:38), Kolar (22:06) – Quint (23:22), Atyushov (21:53), Piganovich (20:38).
PP goals: 0-1.

Referees: Denis Naumov (Togliatti), Aleksandr Soin (Moscow).
Linesmen: Jakov Paley (Magnitogorsk), Andrei Matyusha (Barnaul).

December 14, 2014. Fetisov Arena, Vladivostok, Russia.

Photo courtesy of Admiral Press Office