Veni, vidi, vici

Former Salavat Yulaev forward Alexander Pankov debuted for Traktor, taking a spot in the third line along with Yuri Petrov and Alexander Chernikov. Therefore, Dmitry Pestunov was lifted to the top line while Alexander Sharov was moved to the young guns’ line.

After reaching a couple of milestones in the Dinamo Riga game, Max Yakutsenya gets another one as this game was his 500th in the Kontinental Hockey League.

Both teams kicked it into fifth gear early on; the debuting Pankov could upset his team early but found the iron instead of the net. However, it was a harbinger of things to come as he opened the score a couple of minutes later off of a scintillating pass by Shinin. Visitors quickly managed to tie the game up when Denis Kulyash loaded up his cannon and damn near tore the net of Demchenko’s goal.

After a rather quiet segment at the start of the second, Traktor completely tore the house down with three unanswered goals. First, Kirill Koltsov upset his former partners by finishing a beautiful combination. Later on, Max Yakutsenya caught Niklas Svedberg off guard with a backhander from a sharp angle that found the back of the net. Another goal by Pankovsent the Swedish goalie onto the bench.

The third period was all about Salavat trying to cut the goal differential and Traktor stinging the Bashkir team with sharp counters. To visitors’ credit, some of their attacks were very dangerous and close to a goal, but they only scored once at the hands of Igor Makarov. Nonetheless, the black-and-white get a 4:2 victory and climb to the top of Kharlamov Division.

Game details

TRAKTOR vs. SALAVAT YULAEV – 4:2 (1:1, 3:0, 0:1)
Goals: Pankov (Shinin), 15 (1:0); Kulyash (Engqvist, Ömark), 17 (1:1 – PP goal); Koltsov (Yakutsenya, Belov), 26 (2:1); Yakutsenya (Pestunov, Yuri Petrov), 32 (3:1); Pankov (Chernikov), 33 (4:1); Makarov, 43 (Dmitry Vorobyov, Yevgeny Bodrov).

TRAKTOR
Demchenko;
Koltsov – Belov, Mirnov – Pestunov (A) – Yakutsenya;
Denisov (A) – Borodkin, Kruchinin – Szczechura – Sevankayev;
Shinin (C) – Zhuldikov, Chernikov – Yuri Petrov – Pankov;
Alexey Petrov – Klimontov, Penkovsky – Sharov – Sholokhov.

SALAVAT YULAEV
Svedberg;
Korneyev – Kulyash, Ömark – Engqvist (А) – Hartikainen;
Denis Bodrov – Goncharov, Lisin (A) – Yevgeny Bodrov – Makarov;
Gareyev – Loginov, Nesterov – Khripunov – Lazarev;
Dmitry Vorobyov – Arzamastsev, Kaprizov – Mikhail Vorobyov – Grigorenko (C).

Shots on goal: 39 (14+14+11) – 41 (15+13+13).
Faceoffs won: 20 (6+8+6) – 33 (15+10+8).
Shots blocked: 16 (4+7+5) – 8 (5+2+1).
Hits: 22 (8+6+8) – 19 (8+5+6).
PIM: 10 (4+4+2) – 39 (35+4+0).
PP goals: 0-1.
TOI: Yakutsenya (22:41), Belov (20:45), Borodkin (20:40) – Hartikainen (22:43), Kulyash (22:19), Korneyev (22:00).

Referees: Martin Frano (Czech Republic), Alexey Belov.
Linesmen: Alexander Sadovnikov, Ivan Sazonov.

September 17, 2016. Traktor Arena, Chelyabinsk, Russia. Attendance – 7500.