MHL. Blowout, shutout

After a break due to two Russian junior team tournaments, D-man Dmitri Alekseyev and forwards Vitali Abramov, Platon Popov, and Aleksandr Podkorytov returned to the team. For various reasons, Nikita Voynov and Ilya Zinovyevcould not participate in this game. Artyom Sevankayev was out to help Chelmet in VHL.

In the first few seconds of the game, visitors could have taken the lead. Konstantin Okulov beat two Medvedi players with individual skills and sent the puck from excellent position just off target. Belye Medvedi responded with a heavy assault in the middle of the period when Aleksandr Sharov and Yevgeni Petrikov had very dangerous scoring chances that did not end in a goal. It is worth noting that the game was played at high speed and almost without pauses. The teams tirelessly attacked each other’s goal. Three minutes before the first break, Sibirskie Snaipery played three against five for 15 seconds, but the black-and-white failed to score. A PP chance enabled Medvedi to put incredible pressure on their opponents, and eventually it paid off. Thirteen seconds before the break, after another save from Snaipery goaltender Orekhov, the puck bounced to Konstantin Zabavin who with opened the score with a wrist shot – 1:0.

The complexion of the game has not changed during the second period, which was obviously a treat to the fans. Aleksei Zakarlyukin had two straight scoring chances. First, he took a strong shot at the middle of the goal, but the goalie stopped it. Then, he ran away, it seemed, for a breakaway but was caught by a D-man on his exit from the sin bin. Vadim Orekhov, visitors’ goaltender, then continued to create miracles in his own net. However, six minutes before the horn even he was unable to save Snaipery from Aleksandr Tridchikov’s shot – 2:0. Immediately, hosts’ fourth line could have increased the lead, but a minute-long assault in the attacking zone didn’t lead to a goal. 27 seconds before the second break Aleksandr Sharov disappointed Novosibirsk goaltender for the third time, finishing off the puck into the empty net – 3:0.

At the start of the third period, Vitali Abramov, who returned from the national team of Russia, confirmed his status of a great goalscorer. Medvedi’s young striker entered the attacking zone and tossed the rubber over the shoulder of the goaltender – 4:0. Four minutes later, Abramov swept behind the goal, drove out of the wing and sent the puck into the far corner – 5:0. Novosibirsk team coaching staff replaced goalie Vadim Orekhov with Semyon Mukhutdinov. Medvedi’s coaching staff responded with a goalie switch of their own, replacing Yegor Nazarov with Vladislav Sukhachev. During the remaining time, Sukhachev made a couple of saves and claimed a shutout. Mukhutdinov, however, couldn’t boast that distinction as he allowed his only goal 30 seconds before the end. Aleksandr Sharov quietly rolled out in front of the goal and, without resistance from visitors’ defensemen, gently sent the puck between the goalie’s pads – 6:0.

Thus, the black-and-white got three victories out of four matches in the final home series of the regular season, and the next time Chelyabinsk faithful will see Medvedi in action on home ice will be the first round of playoffs for the Kharlamov Cup.

Game details

BELYE MEDVEDI vs. SIBIRSKIE SNAIPERY – 6:0 (1:0, 2:0, 3:0)
Goals: Zabavin (Afonasyevsky), 20 (1:0); Tridchikov (Petrikov, Bezrukov), 34 (2:0); Sharov (Korinevsky), 40 (3:0); Abramov (Mosharov), 44 (4:0); Abramov (Popov, Zhuldikov), 48 (5:0), Sharov, 60 (6:0).

BELYE MEDVEDI
Nazarov (Sukhachev, 53);
Zabavin – Alekseyev, Korinevsky – Sharov – Zakarlyukin;
Nazarkin – Lukin, Bezrukov – Tridchikov – Ionin;
Petrikov – Zhuldikov, Afonasyevsky – Melikhov – Lukin;
Popov – Podkorytov – Abramov – Mosharov.

SIBIRSKIE SNAIPERY
Orekhov (Mukhutdinov, 48);
Orlov – Rachinsky, Dergunov – Okulov – Nekryach;
Malenkikh – Kirillov, Chebotayev – Maslikhin – Yakovlev;
Anokhin – Molodev, Veshutkin – Vorobyov – Ivanov;
Bakhtin, Lapin – Nazarov – Korotkov – Tkachenko.

Shots: 48 (22+13+13) – 22 (8+8+6).
Faceoffs won: 27 (13+5+9) – 19 (2+6+11).
PIM: 10 (0+2+8) – 12 (4+2+6).
PP goals: 0-0.
Senior official: Viktor Spirin (Tyumen).

February 9, 2015. Traktor Arena, Chelyabinsk, Russia.