Traktor comes away with a second consecutive home victory

First period
Traktor dominated the first period which was reflected in the amount of shots (14-3). Unfortunately for Chelyabinsk faithful the period was goalless. Three minutes into the game Chistov and Popov took shots in one attack, but Amur’s goaltender Aleksey Kuznetsov turned them away. Later on Osnovin could score his first KHL goal, but once again Kuznetsov was not to be outsmarted. Shortly thereafter a molten hot Maksim Karpov executed a terrific hit that made Fisenko believe he could fly. Amur’s only goal-scoring effort of the first period came about when Gusev tried to outplay Garnett twice from the crease, and both times Michael did not allow him to. Traktor’s dominance led to four minutes of power play late in the first, but nothing substantial (except maybe for Glinkin’s solo effort that saw him fool three of Amur’s players) was created.

Second period
Traktor continued to dominate in the second period. First off Maksim Karpov showcased his skills, making Amur’s defensemen look like pins. Soon Traktor was left shorthanded, but did not let Amur create anything that would even remotely resemble a goal-scoring chance. After both teams took a short break Konstantin Panov tried three times to open the score, but Kuznetsov cold-bloodedly prevailed on all of the exchanges. After so many chances that Traktor failed to convert into goals, Amur decided that it was about time they had taken the lead; Lindgren took a shot, and the puck somehow found its way into the net. To home team’s credit, they were able to tie it up quite fast; Kuznetsov made a blind pass from behind the net, and Andrey Popov took a shot that almost pierced Aleksey Kuznetsov. Shortly thereafter Traktor was left four-on-five as Yakutsenya committed a penalty that was worthy of 2+10 according to the referees. Amur did not capitalize. Traktor looked better in the closing moments of the period; Kostitsyn hit the post, and Karpov could not take a shot as Amur’s defensemen were keeping attention. One way or the other, fans were optimistic about the game heading into the third.

Third period
Despite all the trials and tribulations throughout the match, Traktor managed to get the victory. Five minutes after the third period’s starting buzzer Yegor Dugin gave Traktor the lead. Amur had a couple of decent chances to tie the match, but Garnett was on point. Traktor was only getting a head of steam and pulled off another goal; Panov executed a one-on-one opportunity to perfection. 3:1; and both teams played the last minutes of the game in a collected manner. Traktor emerged victorious for the second time in a row and is ready to meet Sibir to close the very successful year of 2012.

Stats and details

Traktor (Chelyabinsk) vs. Amur (Khabarovsk) – 3:1 (0:0, 1:1, 2:0)

Goals: Lindgren (Gusev), 30 (0:1); Popov (Kuznetsov, Ryabykin), 32 (1:1);Dugin (Panov, Antipov), 45 (2:1); Panov (Vasilchenko, Antipov), 50 (3:1).

Traktor (Chelyabinsk)
Garnett;
Belov – Vasilchenko, Yakutsenya – Bulis – Kostitsyn,
Quint – Ryabykin (A), Chistov – Popov – Kuznetsov,
Shinin – Katichev, Panov (A) – Dugin – Antipov (C),
Klimontov – Razin, Glinkin – Osnovin-Karpov.

Amur (Khabarovsk)
Kuznetsov;
Ozhiganov – Osipov (C), Lahti – Hytönen – Yunkov (A),
A. Loginov – Poleshchuk, Shishkanov – Korotkov – Orlov,
Tulupov – V. Loginov (A), Gusev – Lindgren – Shitikov,
Stepanov – Fisenko – Lugin.

Penalty Minutes: 20 (2+14+4) - 10 (6+0+4).
Shots: 36 (14+11+11) - 17 (3+5+9).
Faceoffs Won: 21 (6+6+9) - 25 (8+5+12).
Time on Ice: Ryabykin (23:02), Kuznetsov (20:55), Bulis (20:38)- Ozhiganov (23:19), Osipov (23:10), A. Loginov (23:07).
Power Play Goals: 0-0.

Referees: Aleksey Vasiliyev (Saint-Petersburg), Yakov Deyev (Moscow).
Linesmen: Aleksandr Zakharenkov, Aleksey Medvedev (both – Moscow).

December 28, 2012. Traktor Arena, Chelyabinsk, Russia. Attendance – 6500.