Shootouts, again

A couple of changes took place on the black-and-white’s roster as Artyom Penkovsky replaced Derek Roy, Marsel Sholokhov became the 13th forward, Danil Mamayev was the odd seventh defenseman, and Pavel Francouz started the game in between the pipes again.

The first period was won by Lada, and it was reflected not only on the scoreboard, but also in the visitors’ advantage. The only goal scored during these twenty minutes came in a swift counterattack spearheaded by Stanislav Bocharov. Traktor seized the advantage after that, and had a great chance to tie the game up before the break with a two-on-one opportunity, but neither Zinovyev nor Penkovsky could not outplay the iron of Ilya Yezhov’s net.

Early in the second, the black-and-white acquired a power play chance which led to nothing. Then, Lada had their chance at a man advantage, and hosts tied the game. Alexei Petrov delivered a terrific pass to Dmitri Pestunov who broke away, along with Alexander Chernikov, against a Lada defenseman and did all by himself, utilizing his partner as a distraction.

The third period was just a complete frenzy. Traktor was a bit closer to winning this one in regulation, although there was a barrage of attacks on both ends of the ice. Hosts outshot Lada 24 to 8 in the third period, but their attacking efforts did not result in a gee-dubya-gee. When the overtime came about, Traktor committed an almost fatal mistake during the shift, and Lada had a chance to end it right then and there. Man oh man, what a couple of minutes that was; Filatov hit the iron, Francouz was busy a bee, trying to give his team a chance for the shootouts. Somehow, the danger was averted, and the black-and-white had to participate in the postgame lottery for a second consecutive time. Unfortunately, hosts lost once again as the aforementioned Bocharov gave Lada the win.

Traktor closes the home series on Saturday against Neftekhimik.

Game details

TRAKTOR vs. LADA – 1:2 SO (0:1, 1:0, 0:0)
Goals: Bocharov (Vasili Streltsov, Sinitsyn), 6 (0:1); Pestunov (Alexei Petrov), 27 (1:1 – shorthanded); Bocharov, 65 (1:2 – game-winning penalty shot).

Postgame shootouts: Filatov – 0:0 (denied by goalie), Yuri Petrov – 0:0 (denied by goalie), Bocharov – 0:1, Sharov – 0:1 (denied by goalie), Shenfeld – 0:1 (denied by goalie), Yakutsenya – 0:1 (wide).

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

LADA
Yezhov;
Gurkin – Malenkikh (C), Mokshantsev – Krysanov – Ivanov;
Sotnieks (A) – Koryagin, Filatov – Komarov – Shenfeld;
Kostromitin – Aronson, Rybin (A) – Akhmetov – Zernov;
Sinitsyn, Bocharov – Vasili Streltsov – Alexander Streltsov.

Shots on goal: 46 (10+10+24+2) – 40 (10+12+8+10).
Faceoffs won: 28 (8+11+7+2) – 26 (6+12+7+1).
Shots blocked: 8 (1+3+3+1) – 17 (5+6+5+1).
Hits: 12 (5+4+3+0) – 11 (4+3+4+0).
PIM: 8 (0+4+2+2) – 10 (0+8+2+0).
TOI: Koltsov (24:13), Denisov (23:57), Belov (21:59) – Aronson (23:22), Koryagin (23:11), Kostromitin (21:35).

Referees: Vladimir Bukin, Alexei Vasiliev.
Linesmen: Stanislav Raming, Alexander Otmakhov.

November 10, 2016. Traktor Arena n.a. Valeri Belousov, Chelyabinsk, Russia. Attendance – 7350.