Misha, we are sorry

Chistov and Pare were left off the lineup and replaced by Martin Ruzicka and Semyon Afonasyevsky respectively. In Stanislav’s absence, it was Deron Quint who wore letter C on his jersey; Osnovin and Petrov became alternate captains.

Traktor looked better at the top of the first twenty. The first shift of Traktor’s third line turned into a power play chance when Patrik Luza was sent to the penalty box. Deron Quint became the playmaker during this one, feeding his partners with passes and hitting the post after one of his shots. Slovan, however, withstood the pressure. Nonetheless, the next Slovan penalty turned into a one nothing lead for Traktor when Ilya Davydov took a blistering slapshot that beat Garnett. The black-and-white killed off a penalty in brilliant fashion and still allowed the tying goal scored by Miklik some 20 seconds before the horn.

Slovan evaded heavy trouble early in the second. First, Osnovin and Ruzicka could not score after a two-on-one; then, Popov hit the post in a power play situation while the aforementioned Ruzicka sent the puck just wide of the net off the rebound. Then, the creativity was replaced with some power game, and the next scoring chance came some two minutes before the buzzer; Slovan players all threw their hands in the air, assuming the puck crossed the line, but Demchenko miraculously made a pad save and denied a sure-fire goal. Right after that, the black-and-white grabbed the lead again when Kokuyov deflected a Quint shot into the net mere seconds before the horn sounded.

Slovan spent the third period in countless attempts to tie the game once more, but Vasili Demchenko neutralized all the encroachments on his net. After Vasya’s heroic efforts, Traktor got a little breather which was used by the molten hot Alexander Rybakov who increased the goal margin between the teams to two with a stiff wrist shot that hit the far corner of Michael Garnett’s net. Slovan pulled the goalie in order to try and pull at least one goal back, but all to no avail. Traktor brings home six points out of possible 12 as the mood around the black-and-white lightens up a bit.

Game details

SLOVAN vs. TRAKTOR – 1:3 (1:1, 0:1, 0:1)
Goals: Davydov (Popov, Glinkin), 14 (0:1 – PP goal); Miklik (Surovy), 20 (1:1); Kokuyov (Quint), 40 (1:2); Rybakov (Petrov), 50 (1:3).

SLOVAN
Garnett (0:00 - 57:28);
Barker – Novak, Kaspar – Nedorost – Nagy (A);
Starosta – Svarny, Jeglic – Ticar – Stastny;
Mihalik – Sersen (A), Miklik – Surovy (C) – Bartovic;
Luza, Skalicky – Viedensky – Pulis.

TRAKTOR
Demchenko;
Quint (C) – Borodkin, Ruzicka – Osnovin (A) – Yakutsenya;
Martynov – Davydov, Glinkin – Pestunov – Popov;
Petrov (A) – Zhuldikov, Afonasyevsky – Glovatsky – Mokin;
Gubarev – Rybakov – Kokuyov.

Shots on goal: 43 (10+11+22) – 17 (7+6+4).
Faceoffs won: 23 (10+6+7) – 30 (8+8+14).
PIM: 12 (6+2+4) – 4 (2+2+0).
Shots blocked: 7 (6+0+1) – 18 (7+8+3).
Hits: 14 (7+4+3) – 19 (6+6+7).
PP goals: 0-1.
Ice time: Sersen (21:27), Novak (19:04), Barker (18:59) – Borodkin (24:27), Quint (23:27), Martynov (22:03).

Referees: Mikhail Buturlin (Moscow), Sergei Kulakov (Tver).
Linesmen: Eduard Metalnikov, Alexander Sirotkin (both – Samara).

September 30, 2015. Slovnaft Arena, Bratislava, Slovakia. Attendance – 6883.