One Czech goalie reigns supreme over other
Traktor’s
lineup was rather predictable despite the starting line that underwent changes
due to Stas Chistov feeling a little bit under the weather. Therefore, Alexander Shinin became team’s captain for this bout; the top line consisted
of Pare on the left wing, Alexei Kruchinin at center, and Mikhail Mokin on the right wing. Pavel Francouz was the starting goalie.
Fans of both teams honored the memory of one of Sector A’s most prominent figure, Vitali Spiridonov who passed away several days ago as they were silent for the first five minutes of this game. However, when they finally started chanting, this was when the game really blew up; Ruzicka hit the post from zero angle; quite soon, Alexei Dostoinov replied with a stiff shot that was brilliantly saved by Pavel Francouz. Around mid-period mark, Traktor had two consecutive power play chances. A simple yet effective combination was to get the puck to Borodkin who would slap the taste out of it; unfortunately, Artyom was unlucky two times as the rubber either went wide or hit Kovar on the way. Sometime later, visitors got a PP chance of their own and almost converted it; after a kerfuffle at the crease the puck bounced off to Artyom Gareyev who failed to send it to the empty corner. However, it was not the last scoring chance of the period; around the buzzer, Traktor D-men lapsed defensively, and Alexander Pankov had a sure-fire chance from the slot, but Francouz made another scintillating stop.
Even though the tension of the game was increasing with every attack, two Czech goaltenders had another opinion regarding the score. Each opponent had two power play opportunities during the second twenty, but no luck again. Yegor Martynov was the most notable player of the closing minutes of this stanza, but none of his three shots ended in an opening goal.
Something had to give in the third period, and four minutes in, Osnovin tore through the left wing and cut the angle to appear one on one with Jakub Kovar, and despite Slava could not put it away, Popov caught a rebound and directed the puck into the net. Then, fatigue started to take its toll on the hosts, and penalties started to come one after another. The black-and-white killed off the first one, but the next one proved to be fatal; Artyom Gareyev redeemed himself for a terrible miss back in the first period. Immediately thereafter, Dostoinov could have pulled the red-and-white ahead, but Francouz did not budge. The score did not change before the final horn, so once again, Traktor and Avtomobilist had to determine the winner outside of regulation time. After a fairly entertaining yet goalless OT, hosts got the win in the shootout lottery at the hands of Anton Glinkin and Martin Ruzicka.
Game details
TRAKTOR vs. AVTOMOBILIST – 2:1 SO (0:0, 0:0, 1:1, 0:0, 1:0)
Goals: Andrei Popov (Osnovin, Petrov), 44 (1:0); Gareyev (Vitali Popov), 51 (1:1 – PP goal); Ruzicka, 65 (2:1 – game-winning penalty shot).
Shootouts: Glinkin (1:0), Popov (1:0 – denied by goalie), Quint (1:0 – denied by goalie), Koukal (1:1), Pare (1:1 – denied by goalie), Roman (1:1 – denied by goalie), Koukal (1:1 – denied by goalie), Ruzicka (2:1).
Fans of both teams honored the memory of one of Sector A’s most prominent figure, Vitali Spiridonov who passed away several days ago as they were silent for the first five minutes of this game. However, when they finally started chanting, this was when the game really blew up; Ruzicka hit the post from zero angle; quite soon, Alexei Dostoinov replied with a stiff shot that was brilliantly saved by Pavel Francouz. Around mid-period mark, Traktor had two consecutive power play chances. A simple yet effective combination was to get the puck to Borodkin who would slap the taste out of it; unfortunately, Artyom was unlucky two times as the rubber either went wide or hit Kovar on the way. Sometime later, visitors got a PP chance of their own and almost converted it; after a kerfuffle at the crease the puck bounced off to Artyom Gareyev who failed to send it to the empty corner. However, it was not the last scoring chance of the period; around the buzzer, Traktor D-men lapsed defensively, and Alexander Pankov had a sure-fire chance from the slot, but Francouz made another scintillating stop.
Even though the tension of the game was increasing with every attack, two Czech goaltenders had another opinion regarding the score. Each opponent had two power play opportunities during the second twenty, but no luck again. Yegor Martynov was the most notable player of the closing minutes of this stanza, but none of his three shots ended in an opening goal.
Something had to give in the third period, and four minutes in, Osnovin tore through the left wing and cut the angle to appear one on one with Jakub Kovar, and despite Slava could not put it away, Popov caught a rebound and directed the puck into the net. Then, fatigue started to take its toll on the hosts, and penalties started to come one after another. The black-and-white killed off the first one, but the next one proved to be fatal; Artyom Gareyev redeemed himself for a terrible miss back in the first period. Immediately thereafter, Dostoinov could have pulled the red-and-white ahead, but Francouz did not budge. The score did not change before the final horn, so once again, Traktor and Avtomobilist had to determine the winner outside of regulation time. After a fairly entertaining yet goalless OT, hosts got the win in the shootout lottery at the hands of Anton Glinkin and Martin Ruzicka.
Game details
TRAKTOR vs. AVTOMOBILIST – 2:1 SO (0:0, 0:0, 1:1, 0:0, 1:0)
Goals: Andrei Popov (Osnovin, Petrov), 44 (1:0); Gareyev (Vitali Popov), 51 (1:1 – PP goal); Ruzicka, 65 (2:1 – game-winning penalty shot).
Shootouts: Glinkin (1:0), Popov (1:0 – denied by goalie), Quint (1:0 – denied by goalie), Koukal (1:1), Pare (1:1 – denied by goalie), Roman (1:1 – denied by goalie), Koukal (1:1 – denied by goalie), Ruzicka (2:1).
TRAKTOR
Francouz;
Quint – Borodkin, Pare – Kruchinin – Mokin;
Martynov – Davydov, Glinkin – Osnovin (A) – Andrei Popov;
Petrov (A) – Khlystov, Ruzicka – Glovatsky – Yakutsenya;
Shinin (C), Gubarev – Penkovsky – Kokuyov.
AVTOMOBILIST
Kovar;
Koivistö – Megalinsky (C), Vitali Popov – Roman – Gareyev (A);
Vasilevsky – Timashov, Elo – Koukal (A) – Dostoinov;
Tryamkin – Shchemerov, Mityakin – Alexeyev – Pankov;
Zhuravlyov – Turbin, Yemelin – Torchenyuk – Velichkin.
Shots on goal: 31 (11+12+6+2) – 28 (6+11+11+0).
Faceoffs won: 36 (11+13+11+1) – 26 (11+9+6+0).
PIM: 10 (2+4+4+0) – 10 (6+4+0+0).
Shots blocked: 17 (3+6+3+5) – 16 (4+3+7+2).
Hits: 14 (10+2+2+0) – 10 (7+1+2+0).
PP goals: 0-1.
Referees: Yakov Deyev, Andrei Rogachyov (both – Moscow).
Linesmen: Yakov Paley, Anton Ponamarenko (both – Magnitogorsk).
August 26, 2015. Traktor Arena, Chelyabinsk, Russia. Attendance – 7500.
Francouz;
Quint – Borodkin, Pare – Kruchinin – Mokin;
Martynov – Davydov, Glinkin – Osnovin (A) – Andrei Popov;
Petrov (A) – Khlystov, Ruzicka – Glovatsky – Yakutsenya;
Shinin (C), Gubarev – Penkovsky – Kokuyov.
AVTOMOBILIST
Kovar;
Koivistö – Megalinsky (C), Vitali Popov – Roman – Gareyev (A);
Vasilevsky – Timashov, Elo – Koukal (A) – Dostoinov;
Tryamkin – Shchemerov, Mityakin – Alexeyev – Pankov;
Zhuravlyov – Turbin, Yemelin – Torchenyuk – Velichkin.
Shots on goal: 31 (11+12+6+2) – 28 (6+11+11+0).
Faceoffs won: 36 (11+13+11+1) – 26 (11+9+6+0).
PIM: 10 (2+4+4+0) – 10 (6+4+0+0).
Shots blocked: 17 (3+6+3+5) – 16 (4+3+7+2).
Hits: 14 (10+2+2+0) – 10 (7+1+2+0).
PP goals: 0-1.
Referees: Yakov Deyev, Andrei Rogachyov (both – Moscow).
Linesmen: Yakov Paley, Anton Ponamarenko (both – Magnitogorsk).
August 26, 2015. Traktor Arena, Chelyabinsk, Russia. Attendance – 7500.
