Very, very odd game

A lot of changes took place in Traktor’s lineup as the top line consisted of Alexander Chernikov, Paul Szczechura and Derek Roy, the second line was Kruchinin, Pestunov and Yakutsenya. Yuri Petrov centered the third line, and his wingers were Danil Gubarev and Alexander Pankov. Pavel Francouz was the #1 goalie.

Both teams had some attacking troubles before the head-to-head game. Traktor managed to scrap up two goals in the last two games, while Dynamo lost two goalless games to Lokomotiv and Magnitka. This trend boiled over to this game as the first twenty went on without goals, even though the opponents had several combined scoring chances.

The second period started in an even less impressive manner. Closer to the middle of the segment, Dynamo started seizing the initiative, organizing one attack after another. Pavel Francouz was his usual confident self until an accident happened; Ilya Nikulin had the puck behind the net, and as he passed it towards the crease, it rebounded off the sticks of both Borodkin and Francouz and found its way in. This easy goal did not faze Traktor, and the black-and-white managed to tie this game at one apiece as Koltsov assisted Max Yakutsenya, and the latter beat the returning Dynamo goalie Alexander Yeryomenko.

Traktor started the third period in well-known combinations, and this led to several straight flurries that miraculously result in a go-ahead goal. On the other end of the ice, Pavel Francouz did not just sit there doing nothing as he had to neutralize a breakaway chance by Martins Karsums. Less than two minutes before the horn, Konstantin Klimontov was ejected for kneeing, and Chelyabinsk faithful were biting their nails in anguish. Fortunately, there were no more goals in regulation...

...but it was not the case for the OT. The penalty was already killed off when Dugin beat Francouz to give visitors a two-point win. A fun trivia fact that Yegor Duginand his assistant Maxim Karpov are Chelyabinsk natives and Traktor and Mechel hockey school alums is not even that surprising anymore.

Game details

TRAKTOR vs. DYNAMO Moscow – 1:2 OT (0:0, 1:1, 0:0)
Goals: Nikulin, 38 (0:1); Yakutsenya (Koltsov), 39 (1:1); Dugin (Karpov), 62 (1:2).

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

DYNAMO
Yeryomenko;
Kuteikin – Robinson, Karsums – Tsvetkov – Galimov;
Rylov – Nikulin, Tarasov – Dugin – Karpov;
Maklyukov – Hietanen, Kokarev – Gorovikov – Bryukvin;
Igumnov – Chebykin, Sopin – Rybakov – Kokuyov.

Shots on goal: 22 (10+4+8+0) – 33 (8+12+12+1).
Faceoffs won: 22 (7+5+10+0) – 20 (7+7+5+1).
Shots blocked: 15 (5+4+5+1) – 4 (1+2+1+0).
Hits: 9 (3+2+4+0) – 12 (2+4+6+1).
PIM: 6 (2+2+2+0) – 6 (2+4+0+0).
TOI: Belov (22:21), Yakutsenya (20:42), Denisov (19:28), Klimontov (19:28) – Robinson (24:00), Kuteikin (22:07), Nikulin (20:32).

Referees: Alexander Sergeyev, Denis Naumov.
Linesmen: Eduard Metalnikov, Alexander Sirotkin.

November 23, 2016. Traktor Arena n.a. Valeri Belousov, Chelyabinsk, Russia. Attendance – 7200.