MHL. Last minute rally pays off for Medvedi

Yegor Nazarov took place in the nets. Andrei Yerofeyev from Chelmet came in the first line while Maksim Korinevsky became the 13th forward.

Surprisingly enough, visitors began the game in a more active fashion, creating a number of scoring chances near our goal in the first few minutes. Yevgeni Lyzin’s shot turned out to be particularly dangerous, but Yegor Nazarov stopped it. After a while, Irbis played perfectly in the hosts’ zone, a pass went to Ruzal Galeyev – Nazarov made a nice save. Vladimir Ionin created the first scoring opportunity for Medvedi, throwing the puck from the faceoff circle, but the goaltender pulled the puck out of the top corner.

The pace of the game has changed drastically in the second period. Belye Medvedi were much more active, which, however, did not help much in their attacking efforts. There were a handful of chances, but the puck did not go in. Artyom Melikhov had an excellent chance – Irbis goaltender Golubev was on top. A minute later, Aleksei Zakarlyukin took part in a similar episode, but the puck again didn’t go in. Irbis later punished hosts with the opening goal of the game. Artyom Valeyev took advantage of the commotion near Medvedi’s goal and finished off the puck into an empty net – 0:1. Irbis did not stop at this and continued to assault Medvedi’s goal. Defenseman Roman Halikov went through the entire ice, but his angle shot did not reach the goal. A few seconds later Medvedi’s goaltender saved the team after Irbis’ two on one counter. This time it was Medvedi’s turn to punish Irbis for squandering scoring opportunities. A minute before the second break Nikita Voynov lightly shot from the blue line, and the puck treacherously plunged into the net – 1:1.

At the start of the third period Artur Tyanulin had an excellent opportunity to pull Irbis ahead, but he hit the post. In the middle of the period Vladimir Ionin outmaneuvered two opposition players, quickly sent the puck toward the net, but the goalkeeper blocked it with his pad. Time was running out, and Belye Medvedi organized a heavy assault on Irbis’ goal. Kazan players just threw the puck out of their zone, reducing the risk to a minimum. It did not help them though. Two minutes before the end of the game Andrei Yerofeyev appeared at the right time on the slot, and for the first time in this game, managed to pull Medvedi ahead – 2:1. Irbis’ coaching staff took a timeout and pulled the goalie afterwards, but it did not bring any dividends. Artyom Melikhov brought the puck out of our zone, and Ilya Zinovyev sent it into the empty net – 3:1. As it turned out, it was not the last goal of the game. With thirteen seconds left on the clock, Andrei Yerofeyev set the final score of this rather equally-matched contest – 4:1.

Game details

BELYE MEDVEDI vs. IRBIS – 4:1 (0:0, 1:1, 3:0)

Goals: Valeyev (Tsukanov, Redkov), 29 (0:1 – PP goal); Voynov (Isayev), 39 (1:1); Yerofeyev (Sharov, Zakarlyukin), 59 (2:1); Zinovyev (Melikhov), 60 (3:1 – empty net goal); Yerofeyev (Zakarlyukin), 60 (4:1). 

BELYE MEDVEDI
Nazarov;
Nazarkin – Zabavin, Yerofeyev – Sharov – Zakarlyukin;
Voynov – Isayev, Kulikov – Tridchikov – Ionin;
Petrikov – Alekseyev, Afonasyevsky – Melikhov – Zinovyev;
Lukin, Mosharov – Korinevsky – Bezrukov – Gomolyako.

IRBIS
Golubev;
Khalikov – Danilov, Aleksarov – Kashtanov – Rasulov;
Galin – Tsukanov, Valeyev – Redkov – Kochkaryov;
Ryzhenkov – Sergachyov, Tyanulin – Yeliseyev – Lyzin;
Marin – Derzayev, Galeyev – Samsonov – Bayin.

Shots: 23 (8+7+8) – 23 (9+8+6).
Faceoffs won: 22 (5+7+10) – 23 (8+6+9)
PIM: 4 (2+4+0) – 8 (2+4+0)
PP goals: 0-1.
Senior official: Mikhail Surdyayev (Perm).

January 7, 2015. Traktor Arena, Chelyabinsk, Russia.