MHL. Two years, two sets of bronze medals

No changes were made in the lineups compared to game 3.

Medvedi played better during the first five minutes of the game. All lines put a lot of pressure on the opponents, shooting on goal quite a few times. SKA was able to bounce back and pull ahead in a counter; Denis Orlovich-Grudkov beat a D-man and sent the puck between goalie’s legs to open the score – 0:1. Four minutes later, Belye Medvedi seemingly tied it up, but the referee waived it off as he had just given a whistle for a stoppage. Immediately thereafter, the top line organized an excellent attack; but a Korinevsky shot was blocked by goalie’s leg pad. Shortly before the first break, SKA-1946 scored for the second time; in a skirmish on Medvedi goal crease, Aleksandr Dergachyov was able to push the puck past Demchenko and into the net – 0:2. After that, Chelyabinsk fans began to cheer up their favorites in a very loud manner. That inspired our team. In one of the attacks, SKA-1946 players somehow collected two penalties, and Medvedi gained a great chance to get back into the game. Some thirty seconds later, Artyom Chistyakov lit the lamp with a blistering slapshot to pull one back before the break – 1:2.

The second period started off with fireworks. SKA-1946 earned a minor, but everything went wrong for Medvedi during the power play. The black-and-white ran into the attacking zone in the hope to score a shorthanded goal, but SKA replied with a three against two breakaway, and with Yury Kozlovsky’s took an accurate shot that found the back of the net – 1:3. A few minutes later, two SKA players were ejected once again, and Medvedi again took advantage of this gift. Artyom Penkovsky assisted Andrei Yerofeyev, who sent the puck right under the crossbar – 2:3. It seemed that in the remaining minutes Medvedi could have tied it up, but SKA-1946 had their opinion. In one of the attacks, Svyatoslav Grebenshchikov entered the attacking zone and hit the right corner with a wrist shot hidden from Demchenko – 2:4. After the fourth goal, Medvedi’s coaching staff replaced Vasili Demchenko with Yegor Nazarov. The second half of the period went rather quietly. It was evident that the teams were afraid to make a mistake and were playing very tightly in defense.

Throughout the third period, Medvedi organized a heavy assault on SKA-1946 possessions. Our team owned the puck for a very long time, but couldn’t turn it into something more meaningful. Five minutes into the period, Denis Aleksandrov executed an illegal head check against Konstantin Zabavin and was sent to the sin bin for a 2+10 penalty. Medvedi played very badly during the first minute of the power play, but a single opening was enough to reduce the goal differential to a minimum. Aleksandr Tridchikov picked up the rebounded puck and sent it into the far corner – 3:4. A few minutes later Medvedi received yet another PP chance, but once again played sloppily and did not utilize this chance. Perhaps, Artyom Chistyakov’s shot from faceoff circle was the last chance to bring the game into overtime, but Shestyorkin pulled the puck from the top corner with his glove. Having pushed themselves to the limit, our junior team failed to hang on. For two consecutive years, the black-and-white were one step away from entering the league finals, but hey, there is always next year!

Game details

BELYE MEDVEDI vs. SKA-1946 – 3:4 (1:2, 1:2, 1:0)
Goals: Orlovich-Grudkov (Komarov, Larichev), 6 (0:1); Dergachyov (Larichev), 16 (0:2), Chistyakov (Voynov), 18 (1:2 – PP goal); Kozlovsky (Komarov), 23 (1:3 – PP goal); Yerofeyev (Penkovsky), 27 (2:3 – PP goal); Grebenshchikov, 28 (2:4 – shorthanded); Tridchikov (Voynov), 47 (3:4 – PP goal).

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

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

Shots: 32 (9+10+13) – 21 (9+8+4).
Faceoffs won: 36 (8+14+14) – 36 (13+10+13).
PIM: 6 (0+4+2) – 34 (14+6+14).
PP goals: 3-1.
Series score: 1-3.
Senior official: Viktor Spirin, Andrei Baturin (Tyumen).

April 12, 2015. Traktor Arena, Chelyabinsk, Russia.