Traktor routs Spartak

First period
Cool and calm are the two words that can describe the first period. Both teams took a collective total of 17 shots, but only a handful of them posed serious threat to respective goaltenders. Not even a minute after the starting buzzer Chistov could give Traktor the lead but hit the post. Spartak bounced back with a series of shots by Lewandowski and Radivojevic that were stopped by Fokin. Other notable moments of the period include Ryabykin’s slapshot turned aside by Borisov, Kuznetsov’s solo effort also ruined by Spartak’s goalie and Shinin’s rare attacking effort that ended with the same result as the aforementioned exchanges.

Second period
Traktor did not hesitate to take the game under control early in the second. Petri Kontiola opened the score three minutes after the period began when he was the first to add the puck into Borisov’s net after it bounced off the post. Two minutes later Yevgeny Kuznetsov sneaked behind one of Spartak’s defensemen, turned the puck over and doubled home team’s lead. Shortly after that both teams had identical two-man power plays, and while Spartak could not score their first goal of the game, Traktor brilliantly used the two-man advantage, tripling up the score; Stanislav Chistov carbon-copied Kontiola’s goal from earlier in the match. Spartak could pull one back when visitors got a power play, but Fokin did not concur as he made two perfect saves and kept his sheet clean.

Third period
Traktor confidently kept the lead in the third period while creating more goal-scoring chances, but Borisov held on for the time being. Later on Spartak began to show signs of frustration which translated into three consecutive penalties one of which Traktor converted into a goal-scoring effort; Kuznetsov waited for the best chance to strike and found it, hitting the top corner with a pinpoint wrist shot. Towards the end of the game fans in attendance launched a live wave as a sign of appreciation for their favorite team. Vladislav Fokin came off with his first shutout victory in three years. 4:0 is the final score; Traktor is still third in the East trailing mere two points to Avangard and Ak Bars.


Stats and details

Traktor (Chelyabinsk) vs. Spartak (Moscow) – 4:0 (0:0, 3:0, 1:0)

Goals: Kontiola (Kuznetsov, Belov), 23 (1:0 – PP); Kuznetsov, 25 (2:0); Chistov (Bulis, Ryabykin), 37 (3:0 – PP);Kuznetsov (Bulis), 53 (4:0 – PP).

Traktor (Chelyabinsk)
Fokin;
Quint – Ryabykin (C), Chistov (A) – Bulis – Kuznetsov,
Belov – Shinin, Yakutsenya – Kontiola – Kostitsyn,
Nesterov – Razin, Panov (A) – Popov – Glinkin,
Nichushkin – Dugin – Karpov.

Spartak (Moscow)
Borisov;
Nakladal – Shefer, Petrov (A) – Gubin – Suglobov,
Shchitov (A) – Budkin, Radivojevic (C) – Yunkov – Lewandowski,
Mamkin – Morrisonn, Khokhlachev – Bushuev – Nikontsev,
Zheldakov – Pokrovsky, Medvedev – Voronin – Mikhaylov.

Penalty Minutes: 12 (0+8+4) - 24 (0+6+18).
Shots: 27 (7+12+8) - 31 (10+14+7).
Faceoffs Won: 30 (5+14+11) - 32 (8+14+10).
Time on Ice: Ryabykin (22:03), Quint (21:22), Bulis (19:54)- Nakladal (21:19), Radivojevic (20:07), Shefer (19:26).
Power Play Goals: 3-0.
Referees: Sergey Gusev (Serov), Vladimir Nalivayko (Minsk, Belarus).
Linesmen: Sergey Misyur (Nizhny Tagil), Stanislav Raming (Yekaterinburg).

December 7, 2012. Traktor Arena, Chelyabinsk, Russia. Attendance – 7500.