Traktor comes up short in Novosibirsk

Valery Belousov made two changes in the line-up as Sayustov replaced Suglobov in the third line, and Nesterov and Shinin changed their respective lines.

First period
Both teams began the match right off the bat, and four minutes after the buzzer Glinkin pulled Traktor ahead after Shinin’s pass. Sibir didn’t flinch, however, and quickly tied the score – Sannikov scored a goal similar to that of Anton Glinkin. Then Belov and Grachev had a little altercation that was quickly put out by referees who sent both to the penalty boxes. Four-on-four game did not turn out to be productive though; some time later Sibir earned a chance at power play. Garnett could not hold for long after Sibir’s barrage of shots, and Kutuzov gave Sibir the lead with a heavy slapshot from the blue line. Visitors could tie the score before the buzzer – Panov made a cunning pass to the goal crease from behind the net, but after a couple of deflections the puck missed the goal.

Second period
Traktor began the period shorthanded as Kuznetsov was sent to the penalty box right before the first break. After Garnett kept his goal intact, catching Zaytsev’s shot dead, Kuznetsov tried to make up for his penalty with two shots; the first one missed the net, the second one was stopped by Jeff Glass. The game took a much softer pace middle-period, despite a handful of penalties. Both teams preferred not to let the opponents build anything in their zone. However, it turned out to be a temporary trend – Enlund exploded with a breakaway six minutes before the buzzer, but Garnett turned the threat away. Traktor had the opportunity to tie the game at two, but the second line, as it sometimes happens, forgot to take a shot at Glass’ net. At the final period’s power play Quint had a couple of goal-scoring chances when he charged two half-zone shots, but got no result out of that.

Third period
Traditionally, third periods are Traktor’s time, and this match was no exception. Sibir, however, threatened Garnett’s goal at the top of the period, but Michael had already dropped his ‘allowing’ mood. Belousov made a serious shake-up of the lines during the period; for example, Kuznetsov appeared on the ice in two lines. The aforementioned Kuznetsov had a perfect chance to put two twos on the scoreboard with a breakaway, but Glass was impenetrable again. And he would stay that way up to the final buzzer. Kontiola, Panov, and Antipov – no one seemingly was destined to score tonight. 2:1 – Sibir takes the overall league lead while Traktor scores only three out of nine possible points from one of the most exhausting away series of the season.

Stats and details

Sibir (Novosibirsk) vs. Traktor (Chelyabinsk) – 2:1 (2:1, 0:0, 0:0)

Goals: Glinkin (Shinin, Popov), 4 (0:1); Sannikov (Shumakov), 5 (1:1); Kutuzov (Kudroč, Sannikov), 11 (2:1 – power play).

Sibir (Novosibirsk)
Glass;
Zaytsev (A) – Kulda, Enlund – Lehterä (A) – Krivonozhkin (C),
Kudroč – Alekseev, Kopeykin – Osipov – Drugov,
Kutuzov – Safronov, Stepanov – Fisenko – Solodukhin,
Shumakov – Voroshilo – Sannikov, Grachev.

Traktor (Chelyabinsk)
Garnett (0:00 – 59:00);
Quint – Ryabykin (A), Chistov – Bulis – Kuznetsov,
Belov – Vasilchenko, Yakutsenya – Kontiola – Kostitsyn,
Nesterov – Katichev, Panov (A) – Sayustov – Antipov (C),
Razin – Shinin, Glinkin – Popov – Karpov.

Penalty Minutes: 8 (4+4+0) - 20 (6+4+10).
Shots: 27 (13+7+7) - 29 (12+4+13).
Faceoffs Won: 28 (13+8+7) - 33 (13+6+14).
Time on Ice: Kulda (25:37), Zaytsev (24:02), Enlund (22:06) - Kuznetsov (23:43), Quint (21:12), Kontiola (21:05).
Power Play Goals: 1-0.

Referees: Sergey Kulakov (Tver), Sergey Belyayev (Voskresensk).
Linesmen: Petr Aleshin, Yury Ivanov (both – Saint-Petersburg).

October 8, 2012. Sibir Stadium, Novosibirsk, Russia. Attendance – 7000.

Photo courtesy of Sibir’s Press Office