Combination of skill and concentration

Konstantin Klimontov returned to the lineup, taking a spot in the third D pair. Marsel Sholokhov replaced Denis Mosharov in the young’uns line. Vasya Demchenko started the game in the net.

This game was actually played in Tallinn, not in Riga. This was due to floorball world championship taking place in the capital city of Latvia.

Traktor began this game in a very active manner, creating a ton of scoring chances. Interestingly enough, it was during the subsequent cooldown period that the black-and-white scored the opening goal of the game. Derek Roy entered the attacking zone, beat several opposition players and beat Janis Kalnins.

Dinamo seized the advantage early in the second and made Traktor focus more on the defensive actions. However, this spurt ended with a penalty by Oskars Cibulskis. Visitors brilliantly capitalized on the opportunity. Dmitri Pestunov made an accurate pass to Paul Szczechura who found the near corner of the net while falling down on the ice. Shortly thereafter, Szczechura assisted Kruchinin who further increased the Chelyabinsk team’s lead.

Third period carried on in the same vein: Dinamo attacked more, Traktor successfully thwarted all their attempts on goal. However, five minutes before the horn Riga got back into it with a Lauris Darzins goal. Dinamo head coach Normunds Sejejs went all-in and pulled the goalie, but it only led to an empty-netted tallied by Max Yakutsenya. Forty seconds before the final buzzer, Indrasis sweetened the pill of defeat for Dinamo, setting the final score of this game in the process.

Traktor boasts a plentiful harvest of seven points out of possible nine in this European voyage. On December 8 and 10, the black-and-white will face Amur and Admiral respectively in the last two regular season home games of 2016.

Game details

DINAMO Riga vs. TRAKTOR – 2:4 (0:1, 0:2, 2:1)
Goals: Roy (Pestunov), 13 (0:1); Szczechura (Pestunov), 28 (0:2 – PP goal); Kruchinin (Szczechura), 34 (0:3); Darzins (Jerofejevs), 56 (1:3); Yakutsenya (Chernikov, Demchenko), 58 (1:4 – empty net goal); Indrasis (Galvins, Cibulskis), 60 (2:4).

DINAMO
Kalnins (00:00 – 40:00), Sedlacek (40:00 – 60:00);
K. Redlihs – Mullen, Shugg – Gillies – Meija;
Jerofejevs – J. Redlihs, Skvorcovs – Schastlivy – Kulda;
Cibulskis – Galvins, Darzins – Bicevskis – Indrasis;
Pavlovs – Lipsbergs – Saulietis.

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

Shots on goal: 40 (6+15+19) – 17 (5+7+5).
Faceoffs won: 22 (7+7+8) – 36 (10+12+14).
Shots blocked: 11 (6+4+1) – 16 (4+6+6).
Hits: 19 (5+5+9) – 11 (3+5+3).
PIM: 14 (0+12+2) – 4 (0+2+2).
PP goals: 0-1.
TOI: K. Redlihs (24:43), Mullen (21:45), Indrasis (20:33) – Yakutsenya (19:10), Szczechura (18:26), Klimontov (18:14).

Referees: Sergei Gusev, Sergei Kulakov.
Linesmen: Dmitri Sivov, Sergei Shelyanin.

December 4, 2016. Tondiraba Jaahall Tallin, Tallinn, Estonia. Attendance – 5718.