United we stand

This was a special night for Chelyabinsk. Before the game, one of the most famous Traktor alumni Yevgeni Kuznetsov wished Traktor good luck; then, the fans took part in the Star Sky flash mob that has become a tradition at Traktor Arena.

Two changes took place in the black-and-white’s lineup as Ryan Vesce was replaced by Artyom Penkovsky, and Vasili Demchenko was the starting goalie.

The first twenty was all about the goalies. Dominik Furch and Vasili Demchenko were unbeatable throughout these twenty minutes. The match was really intense, and something had to give in the second.

Much to the delight of the fans, the second twenty was not goalless. However, it was Avangard that opened the score as Jonas Ahnelöv scored a PP goal from the faceoff circle. After this goal, the black-and-white seized the advantage and started organizing one attack after another. Five minutes before the horn, Dmitri Pestunov tied the game by beating two Avangard D-men and Dominik Furch to boot.

The third period started with a rare snow shower penalty against Avangard, and hosts punished the Hawks for such an unnecessary infraction; Artyom Borodkin pulled Traktor ahead in a fast attack off of a Paul Szczechura pass. Avangard did not give up just yet and had two sure-fire scoring chances, but neither former Sabre Derek Roy nor Nikolai Lemtyugov were able to beat Demchenko from close range. Eventually, Nikolai Belov tallied an empty net goal to secure the fourth straight victory for the black-and-white.

Game details

TRAKTOR vs. AVANGARD – 3:1 (0:0, 1:1, 2:0)
Goals: Ahnelöv (Pestushko, Sobotka), 23 (0:1 – PP goal); Pestunov, 35 (1:1 – PP goal); Borodkin (Szczechura, Kruchinin), 43 (2:1 – PP goal); Belov (Szczechura), 60 (3:1 – empty net goal).

TRAKTOR
Demchenko;
Borodkin – Belov, Kruchinin – Szczechura – Yakutsenya;
Koltsov – Denisov (C), Chernikov – Yuri Petrov – Pankov;
Alexei Petrov (A) – Klimontov, Afonasyevsky – Pestunov – Penkovsky;
Mamayev, Gubarev – Sharov – Zinovyev, Sholokhov.

AVANGARD
Furch (58:50-59:21 – empty net);
Gustafsson – Ahnelöv, Pestushko – Sobotka – Pyanov;
Martynov – Medvedev (C), Parshin – Zubov (A) – Lemtyugov;
Nikitin – Lisov, Roy – Kucheryavenko – Perezhogin (A);
Dervuk, Fishchenko – Yunkov – Mikheyev.

Shots on goal: 29 (9+9+11) – 26 (12+7+7).
Faceoffs won: 25 (7+6+12) – 30 (10+14+6).
Shots blocked: 11 (0+4+7) – 12 (4+6+2).
Hits: 12 (3+7+2) – 9 (2+5+2).
PIM: 8 (2+2+4) – 10 (2+4+4).
PP goals: 2-1.
TOI: Belov (24:57), Borodkin (23:23), Denisov (21:41) – Martynov (21:50), Gustafsson (21:44), Medvedev (21:23).

Referees: Maxim Sidorenko, Daniel Konc (Slovakia).
Linesmen: Eduard Metalnikov, Alexander Sirotkin.

October 28, 2016. Traktor Arena, Chelyabinsk, Russia. Attendance – 7500.