MHL. Unlucky lottery ticket

There was only one change in Medvedi’s lineup. Forward Nikita Mosharov replaced D-man Danil Mamayev.

During the current regular season, the teams met on September 21 in Tyumen where Belye Medvedi gained a blowout victory – 5:1. The hero of the game was Aleksandr Sharov, the captain of Medvedi, who scored four goals while Ivan Bezrukov scored the fifth one.

The game began with a dangerous shot from Aleksei Zakarlyukin, after which the puck went inches over the crossbar. Legion responded with a solo effort from Nikolai Patrushev who beat two of his opponents, but in the final stage of the exchange he sent rubber right into the goaltender. Interestingly enough, although the teams did not play at high speed, and the first pause of the match happened seven minutes after the starting horn. In the middle of the first period, Artyom Melikhov got a minor for showering Sergei Molochkov with an ice drizzle. Tyumensky Legion tried to attack, but there were not a lot of really dangerous moments during these minutes.

In the beginning of the second period, the hosts managed to light a red lamp behind the Legion’s goal, but on-ice official immediately canceled the goal, deeming the goal illegal as it was scored with the skate. It was evident that the teams played without much risk, minimizing the possibility of making a mistake. This affected the entertainment value of the match. In the middle of the game, Tyumensky Legion got two minors, and Medvedi had a two-man advantage. The black-and-white played spent this time in the attacking zone, shooting a lot, but visitors’ goalie was confident, turning the threats away. Three minutes before the second break Semyon Afonasyevsky had a decent scoring chance, but his shot was not accurate enough to get rid of two zeroes on the scoreboard.

Medvedi dominated throughout the third period, organizing a large number of attacks that, however, did not lead to goals. Konstantin Zabavin, Maksim Kulikov, Vladimir Ionin, and Artyom Melikhov all had excellent scoring chances, but Legion goaltender was on top in all of the exchanges. Medvedi second line had the last chance to snatch the victory in regulation time; the black-and-white locked visitors in their own zone for a good minute or two, but all to no avail. The game then went into OT.

During the OT, Belye Medvedi were closer to victory, but the score did not change. A shootout series was very long and, alas, the victory, along with two points, went to Tyumen. Anatoli Ryabov gave his team the win.

Game details

BELYE MEDVEDI vs. TYUMENSKY LEGION – 0:1 SO (0:0, 0:0, 0:0; 0:0, 0:1)

Goal: Ryabov, 65 (0:1 – game-winning penalty shot).
Shootouts: Patrushev (0:0 – denied by goalie); Gomolyako (1:0); Sevostyanov (1:1); Sevankayev (2:1); Votintsev (2:2); Tridchikov (2:2 – missed), Zabavin (2:2 – denied by goalie); Votintsev (2:2 – missed); Zinovyev (2:2 – denied by goalie); Sevostyanov (2:2 – denied by goalie); Sevankayev (2:2 – denied by goalie); Ryabov (2:3).

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

TYUMENSKY LEGION
Molochkov;
Sitnikov – Zelenin, Votintsev – Belov – Safaraleyev;
Karmanov – Kolganov, Klyuchnikov – Ryabov – Sevostyanov;
Naumov – Fatkullin, Patrushev – Kutselapov – Ozhigikhin;
Syomin, Leshkov – Penzin – Grukhvin.

Shots: 30 (11+8+9+2) – 19 (10+3+4+2).
Faceoffs won: 19 (2+11+5+1) – 33 (11+7+11+3).
PIM: 6 (4+2+0+0) – 8 (4+4+0+0).
PP goals: 0-0.
Senior official: Andrei Tomilov (Ufa).

February 4, 2015. Traktor Arena, Chelyabinsk, Russia.