Traktor suffers defeat in Yaroslavl

First period
Traktor voluntarily left the initiative for Lokomotiv’s taking and played second fiddle for the better part of the period. Two minutes into the game Aleksey Kaluyzhny hit the post, and that was the only chance on goal for quite some time. After the 10-minute mark the business has picked up; Yakutsenya and Kuznetsov both tried to outdo Sanford with backhanders, but Curtis stood tall. Loko responded with an offensive flurry that ended in a goal-scoring effort; Garnett could not see the puck as he was blocked by Anisimov, and the latter deflected it into the net after Averin’s shot. Visitors quickly regained themselves and reciprocated with an onslaught of their own; Yakutsenya miraculously missed the already empty net; then Kontiola fooled every single one of Loko’s defensemen (and Sanford for that matter), but could not outsmart the post. The period ended with Garnett’s save after a one-on-one from Trunev. Lokomotiv hung on to the lead, but Traktor showed they were not intent on giving in.

Second period
Second period began with a penalty for Traktor that did not change the score. After being back in full strength, Traktor managed to garner a couple of scoring chances which were all thwarted by Curtis Sanford. Alas, shortly thereafter Loko doubled the lead – Sergey Plotnikov added the puck into the net from the crease, thus using a delayed penalty to his team’s advantage. The four-on-four game middle-period did not change the complexion of the match. Soon Traktor could pull one back at the hands of either Yakutsenya or Glinkin, but the former missed the goal while the latter could not outplay Sanford.

Third period
Traktor gave Loko a wake-up call in the beginning of the period when Kuznetsov pulled one back and brought Traktor right back into contention. Traktor had another offensive flurry momentarily during which Kuznetsov, Chistov and Quint all had their scoring opportunities, but the puck just did not find the way in the net. The closest chance to tie the game for Traktor came at the hands of Glinkin, but the post of Sanford’s net had another opinion. Both teams then took a small breather to explode in the closing minutes of the contest. Garnett saved Traktor on several exchanges after some of Loko’s offensive efforts. Konstantin Klimontov could very well become Traktor’s messiah, but his shot was turned by away by Sanford who was truly God-like in this match. The very last scoring chance for Traktor came about when visitors pulled the goalie, but Chistov was unlucky once again. In what was an evenly matched game, Traktor suffered a stinging defeat; next of Traktor’s opponents, Atlant, awaits the team on Friday.

Stats and details

Lokomotiv (Yaroslavl) vs. Traktor (Chelyabinsk) – 2:1 (1:0, 1:0, 0:1)

Goals: Anisimov (Averin), 14 (1:0); Plotnikov (Anisimov, Kalyuzhny), 27 (2:0); Kuznetsov (Chistov, Razin), 41 (2:1).

Lokomotiv (Yaroslavl)
Sanford;
Kronwall – Flood, Plotnikov – Anisimov – Galimov,
Guskov – Kulikov, Redlihs – Kozlov – Kalyuzhny (C),
Vishnevsky – Pashnin, Chernikov – Averin – Kartaev,
Lepistö, Trunev – Apalkov – Hagman,
Maltsev.

Traktor (Chelyabinsk)
Garnett (0:00 – 59:19);
Ryabykin (A) – Quint, Chistov – Bulis – Yakutsenya,
Belov – Mukhachev, Panov (A) – Kontiola – Kostitsyn,
Shinin – Katichev, Antipov (C) – Popov – Kuznetsov,
Klimontov – Razin, Glinkin – Dugin – Karpov.

Penalty Minutes :4 (2+2+0) - 4 (0+4+0).
Shots: 27 (13+9+5) - 29 (8+11+10).
Faceoffs Won: 35(8+16+11) - 25 (10+9+6).
Power Play Goals: 0-0.
Time on Ice: Kronwall (21:06), Guskov (19:26), Anisimov (17:59) - Quint (20:48), Ryabykin (20:25), Chistov (18:20), Bulis (18:20).

Referees: Viktor Gashilov (Perm), Rafael Kadyrov (Ufa).
Linesmen: Viktor Tomilov, Konstantin Gordenko (both – Ufa).

December 19, 2012. Arena-2000, Yaroslavl, Russia. Attendance – 9000.