MHL. No retreat

There were two changes in Medvedi’s line-up in comparison with the first game. Goalie Yegor Nazarov was replaced by Vasili Demchenko, and Artyom Sevankayev changed Vladimir Ionin on the wing of the second line.

The game began very optimistically for our team – just forty seconds after the starting buzzer Artyom Sevankayev opened the score after an assist from Aleksandr Tridchikov. Until the middle of the period, Belye Medvedi possessed some advantage but did not convert their scoring chances, including those during the power play. Then, SKA-1946 scored two goals in less than one and a half minute. Viktor Komarov and Denis Orlovich-Grudkov gave the home side a one goal advantage. The second half of the period passed without many scoring chances, but plenty of power game. Aleksandr Dergachov started a fight with Vyacheslav Osnovin right on the face-off spot. Throughout the last three minutes Medvedi desperately stormed SKA’s goal; Andrei Yerofeyev put decent pressure on opposition’s D-men, but the score did not change.

Our boys started the second period with a power play, but unfortunately were unable to score. The black-and-white then stepped up the pace; Aleksandr Sharov could have scored, but earned a power play chance for his team. When SKA-1946’s fifth player hit the ice, Maksim Korinevsky tied the game at two apiece. SKA intensified their game, but our team’s dedication grew with every minute. In the end Medvedi were once again left shorthanded, but the five-on-four situation did not give SKA any dividends.

The final period of the game was very tough and aggressive as both teams had plenty of chances on goal. The game soon turned into a duel of goaltenders while skaters continued to fight each other. Seven minutes before the end of regulation, Medvedi gained another minor. Aleksandr Volkov could have pulled hosts ahead, but Demchenko miraculously pulled the puck out of the empty corner. Later, SKA-1946 defenders somehow managed to push Artyom Penkovsky off the puck that was loose after Shestyorkin was unable to cover it. The regular time did not give the fans the winner, and the game went into the overtime, where yet another penalty by Medvedi led to an OT goal for SKA-1946. The series score is now two nothing, and any SKA victory ends this affair right there.

Game details

SKA-1946 vs. BELYE MEDVEDI – 3:2 OT (2:1, 0:1, 0:0, 0:1)
Goals: Sevankayev (Tridchikov), 1 (0:1), Komarov (Volodin), 12 (1:1), Orlovich-Grudkov, 14 (2:1), Korinevsky (Sevankayev), 32 (2:2), Demidov (Dergachyov), 65 (3:2 – PP goal).

SKA-1946
Shestyorkin (Korobov);
Kozlovsky – Yermakov, Komarov – Volodin – Barabanov;
Gasyukov – Churkin, Larichev – Orlovich-Grudkov – Dergachyov;
Valentsov – Alexandrov, Nikolayev – Grebenshchikov – Nekolenko;
Kostygov – Sulteyev, Lelin – Khatsey – Churkin.

BELYE MEDVEDI
Demchenko (Nechistovsky);
Zabavin – Nazarkin, Bezrukov – Sharov – Zakarlyukin;
Voynov – Isayev, Gomolyako – Tridchikov – Sevankayev;
Petrikov – Zhuldikov, Afonasyevsky – Melikhov – Zinovyev;
Chistyakov, Penkovsky – Osnovin – Yerofeyev.

Shots: 38 (14+10+9+5) – 30 (13+7+10+0).
Faceoffs won: 42 (17+10+10+5) – 35 (13+6+14+2).
PIM: 16 (8+4+4+0) – 18 (8+4+4+2).
PP goals: 1-0.
Series score: 2-0.
Senior officials: Aleksei Belov (Yaroslavl), Denis Solovyov (Moscow).

April 8, 2015. Yubileyny Sports Palace (Smaller Arena), Saint-Petersburg, Russia.