Lesson in power play

After suffering an injury in game 1, Konstantin Panov returned to the lineup and headed straight to the top line. Mikhail Mokin replaced Anton Glinkin in the second line while the latter was moved to the fourth one. Ilya Davydov became the seventh D-man; Semyon Kokuyov – the 13th forward.

Sibir dominated in the early going and scored a quick power play as Deron Quint was sent to the sin bin 10 seconds after the starting buzzer. A defensive lapse from Traktor led to a Patrik Hersley goal. However, the black-and-white evened the game out shortly thereafter; Andrei Popov put a stop to a huge goal drought from Traktor’s second line. Four minutes later, an individual effort by Stas Chistov resulted in a penalty shot executed by Traktor captain with ease and brilliance.

No one in their wildest dreams could have imagined what a nightmare for Traktor the second twenty would turn out to be. First off, the evil genius, Traktor’s prodigal son Maksim Shalunov scored his third goal in three games, tying the game at two apiece. After that, Aleksei Kopeikin was sent to the locker room, but Traktor did not manage to organize anything substantial. Sometime later, officials returned the favor by sending off Dmitri Pestunov, which was further exacerbated by a previous penalty by Vitali Atyushov. A five-on-three situation did not bring any dividends to visitors, but after Atyushov hit the ice, Sibir scored four times within two minutes. Jonas Enlund, Stepan Sannikov, Dmitri Monya and Sergei Shumakov put their name on the scoreboard. Somewhere in between a goalie substitution took place. The score could have been even more humiliating, but Vasili Demchenko stopped a penalty shot from the aforementioned Enlund.

Traktor put all the efforts in trying to get something going, but after several shots stopped by Alexander Salak, Maksim Shalunov further increased the goal margin as Chelyabinsk faithful showered him with boos. Maksim Kondratyev was able to sweeten things up just a little for Traktor, but all in all, this one has to sting. Three seven; the black-and-white have a lot of work to do, but time is running out.

Game details

TRAKTOR vs. SIBIR – 3:7 (2:1, 0:5, 1:1)
Goals: Hersley (Enlund, Ullström), 2 (0:1 – PP goal); Popov (Pestunov), 13 (1:1); Chistov, 17 (2:1 – penalty shot); Shalunov (Bobrov), 24 (2:2); Enlund (Kugryshev), 33 (2:3 – PP goal); Sannikov (Gubin, Ignatovich), 33 (2:4 – PP goal); Monya (Hersley, Enlund), 34 (2:5 – PP goal); Shumakov (Belov), 35 (2:6 – PP goal); Shalunov (Hersley, Monya), 55 (2:7); Kondratyev (Osnovin, Penkovsky), 59 (3:7).
Penalty shot: Enlund, 40 (denied by goaltender).

TRAKTOR
Garnett (Demchenko 33:21 – 60:00);
Borodkin – Quint, Panov – Bulis – Chistov (C);
Kondratyev – Piganovich, Mokin – Pestunov – Popov;
Martynov – Atyushov (A), Pare – Osnovin – Ruzicka;
Davydov, Glinkin – Gubarev – Penkovsky;
Kokuyov.

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

PIM: 33 (4+27+2) – 33 (4+27+2).
Shots: 27 (8+10+9) – 27 (8+13+6).
Faceoffs won: 29 (8+10+11) – 28 (12+8+8).
Hits: 31 (11+10+10) – 23 (5+10+8).
Shots blocked: 4 (2+1+1) – 9 (4+1+4).
TOI: Quint (24:31), Chistov (18:47), Kondratyev (18:45) – Ozhiganov (21:22), Hersley (21:07), Enlund (20:55).
PP goals: 0-5.

Referees: Sergei Gusev (Serov), Anatoli Zakharov (Moscow).
Linesmen: Aleksandr Otmakhov (Yekaterinburg), Jakov Paley (Magnitogorsk)

March 3, 2015. Traktor Arena, Chelyabinsk, Russia. Attendance – 7500.