Victories split

After last night, yet another Traktor player was cut down with an injury; yesterday Konstantin Panov blocked a shot and got injured in the process. Semyon Kokuyov replaced him in this game; this change prompted a couple new ones – Ruzicka was sent back to the third line while Penkovsky was ‘demoted’ to the fourth one. Aleksei Vasilchenko and Aleksei Petrov constituted the fourth D pair.

Sibir tried to redeem themselves for the lackluster performance last night, which led to a whopping 17 shots on goal throughout the first twenty. Between them, Traktor created a couple of decent scoring chances, but shots from Bulis and Penkovsky were stopped by the returning Alexander Salak. Michael Garnett was also impeccable during these minutes, stopping a couple of difficult shots by Jonas Enlund and Stepan Sannikov. However, Sibir’s advantage finally spilled out in the form a go-ahead goal scored by the aforementioned Sannikov 35 seconds before the horn.

Sibir looked better throughout the better part of the second twenty. After killing off two straight penalties, the black-and-white acquired a chance to have a power play of their own. All of a sudden, Sibir came up with another goal. Oh man, how former Traktor players love to upset their former team; Maksim Shalunov turned a two-on-one into the two nothing on the scoreboard. Nonetheless, visitors found their chance to pull one back. Deron Quint launched a pass from his own net and through the entire rink; Ruzicka caught it and outplayed Salak from close range. Having gotten back into it, Traktor started to feel themselves a little bit more comfortable. This led to a dirty foul by another Traktor hockey school alumnus, Sergei Shumakov, and a power play goal that came after the buzzer.

Deron Quint scored his third goal in two games, also garnering a fifth point in two days in the process. After a completed comeback, Traktor easily allowed a breakaway during the power play, and Jarno Koskiranta earned a chance at penalty shot, which he converted in a scintillating fashion. Koskiranta quickly scored the double two minutes later; Traktor D-men forgot the Finnish forward on the slot, and he must have loved this gift, piercing the puck through Michael Garnett. Traktor almost went all-in and allowed another (!!!) goal during the power play; Maksim Shalunov scored his second goal of the night. Some three minutes before the buzzer, the opponents let their fists fly, which led to a total 20 penalty minutes. Nothing worthy of mention happened until the end of the game. Five two; Sibir ties the series that now moves to Chelyabinsk.

Game details

SIBIR vs. TRAKTOR – 5:2 (1:0, 1:1, 3:1)
Goals: Sannikov (Gimayev, Gubin), 20 (1:0); Shalunov (Bobrov, Hersley), 27 (2:0 – shorthanded); Ruzicka (Quint, Borodkin), 36 (2:1); Quint 41 (2:2 – PP goal); Koskiranta, 43 (3:2 – penalty shot); Koskiranta (Kopeikin, Kugryshev), 45 (4:2); Shalunov (Bobrov), 52 (5:2 – shorthanded).

SIBIR
Salak;
Hersley – Ozhiganov, Enlund (A) – Ullström – Monya;
Belov – Alekseyev, Kopeikin (C) – Koskiranta – Kugryshev;
Ignatovich – Gimayev, Shumakov – Gubin – Sannikov;
Vereshchagin – Menshchikov, Butuzov – Bobrov – Shalunov.

TRAKTOR
Garnett;
Quint – Borodkin, Kokuyov – Bulis – Chistov (C);
Kondratyev – Piganovich (A), Glinkin – Pestunov – Popov;
Martynov – Davydov, Pare – Osnovin – Ruzicka;
Petrov – Vasilchenko, Penkovsky – Atyushov – Gubarev.

PIM: 44 (0+29+15) – 28 (4+4+20).
Shots: 36 (17+11+8) – 24 (4+9+11).
Faceoffs won: 32 (6+15+11) – 28 (11+8+9).
Hits: 20 (6+8+6) – 16 (4+4+8).
Shots blocked: 9 (1+4+4) – 8 (2+2+4).
TOI: Ozhiganov (18:52), Sannikov (18:51), Hersley (18:50) – Bulis (21:26), Quint (20:45), Chistov (19:22).
PP goals: 0-1.

Referees: Jyri Rönn (Juväskulä, Finland), Aleksandr Soin (Moscow).
Linesmen: Sergei Morozov (Moscow Oblast), Ivan Sazonov (Moscow).

March 1, 2015. Sibir Sports Palace, Novosibirsk, Russia. Attendance – 7400.