Traktor unlucky in post-match lottery in Donetsk

First period
Donbass had the game advantage throughout the period. The clock did not tick away a measly minute from the starting buzzer when Donbass got the one-man advantage. The home team failed to pose any threat to Garnett during this power play, and shortly after, the teams’ roles were reversed. Traktor was closer to a power play goal than Donbass, but as the saying goes, got no cigar. Gennady Razin was a one-man wrecking crew in this matchup with a lot of vicious hits; probably Gennady was thankful for the opportunity to play in the first line. As the period was rolling along, Karpov rolled away from Donbass’ defense, but Erik Ersberg turned the threat away. A minute later Donbass picked up another power play, and this time it was utilized to perfection – Clay Wilson charged a shot from the blue line that found the net. Having received a boost of confidence, Donbass dominated the rest of the period, including a 5-on-3 power play late in the first. Katichev selflessly threw himself in puck’s way couple of times, Garnett was just Garnett; both players’ contributions allowed Traktor to stay within a reasonable goal margin as both teams went to take a break.

Second period
Just like in the beginning of the first period, Donbass began swinging for the fences early on. Podhradský and Dadonov had decent chances on goal, but Garnett showed why he is #1 goaltender now in Traktor. Ersberg was not resting too easy though when Kuznetsov and Quint could tie the game in the power play; the Swede proved he was still in great shape. Garnett, however, had incommensurably more work to do. Middle-period it was only Garnett’s great skills that kept Traktor in the game after Wirtanen and Ponikarovsky could put visitors’ hopes in serious jeopardy. Couple of moments after Quint in true forward’s fashion threatened Donbass’ goal, but Ersberg made a save. Popov could score momentarily, but alas, he could not do it. Traktor then had to stand their ground during shorthanded play which they successfully did and quickly tied the game – Kuznetsov made Ersberg submit to a turnaround shot. However, much to the chagrin of Chelyabinsk fans, Traktor could not hold to the tie when Wilson converted a two-on-one situation on the ice into two-on-one on the scoreboard.

Third period
For an immeasurable amount of times Traktor bested their opponents’ in third periods in the beginning of the season, and this match did not break the tradition. During the intermission Belousov moved Kuznetsov to the third line and Karpov to the first one. Six minutes into the period Donbass could pretty much put an exclamation point to this matchup, but Garnett miraculously kept the score intact when Nedorost shot the puck from the crease. Ten minutes before the buzzer it occurred to Traktor that the game was slowly slipping away. Visitors jacked up the pace; Kontiola and Yakutsenya did not put the puck away when they had a chance to do it, Kostitsyn, however, did. The score did not change until the buzzer, and the opponents headed into overtime.

Overtime and penalty shootouts

Nothing substantial was created in overtime in terms of scoring chances, so it was the time for the hockey lottery. Unfortunately, Traktor’s 1-1 record in penalty shootouts swung to the L side; Pettersson scored the game-winning shot and prolonged Donbass’ hot streak to three matches; meanwhile, Traktor’s own streak was put to a screeching halt. Traktor’s heading home for the next three-match home series.

Stats and details

Donbass (Donetsk) vs. Traktor (Chelyabinsk) – 3:2 SO (1:0, 1:1, 0:1, 0:0, 1:0)

Goals: Wilson (Dadonov), 9 (1:0 – power play); Kuznetsov, 37 (1:1); Wilson (Kiiskinen), 40 (2:1); Kostitsyn (Kontiola), 52 (2:2); Pettersson, 65 (3:2 – game-winning penalty shot).

Donbass (Donetsk)
Ersberg;
Obšut – Babchuk, Ponikarovsky – Fedotenko (A) – Pettersson,
Wilson – Podhradský, Dadonov – Nedorost – Kiiskinen,
Tereshchenko – Pilař, Tuppurainen – Wirtanen – Kvitchenko,
Silnitsky, Kochetkov – Belukhin – Varlamov (C),
Solovyov.

Traktor (Chelyabinsk)
Garnett;
Razin – Quint, Chistov (A) – Kuznetsov – Antipov (C),
Belov – Vasilchenko, Yakutsenya – Kontiola – Kostitsyn,
Ryabykin (A) – Katichev, Glinkin – Popov – Karpov,
Nesterov – Shinin, Suglobov.

Penalty Minutes: 10 (2+6+2+0) - 12 (8+4+0+0).
Shots: 25 (9+10+4+2) - 25 (6+8+8+3).
Faceoffs Won: 31 (12+9+7+3) - 33 (8+14+10+1).
Time on Ice: Babchuk (25:17), Wilson (24:49), Podhradský (24:00) - Kuznetsov (25:11), Quint (24:11), Razin (21:46).
Power Play Goals: 1-0.

Referees: Vyacheslav Bulanov (Moscow), Rafael Kadyrov (Ufa).
Linesmen: Mikhail Kalinin, Stepan Kapustin (both – Moscow).

October 25, 2012. Druzhba Arena, Donetsk, Ukraine. Attendance – 3951.

Photos courtesy of Donbass’ Press Office