Traktor unlucky against Sibir in hockey lottery

First period
Both teams had their fair share of penalties in the first period. Sibir eventually took one shot more than Traktor. But most importantly for the visitors, they managed to open the score at the hands of Sergey Shumakov. Traktor had to pick up momentum which they successfully did; however, it did not bring many goal-scoring chances. Maksim Yakutsenya was the most prolific player in this respect; he gave out passes like hot cakes as well as took shots, but all to no avail; Sibir hung on to the lead and had several opportunities on goal in the power play, but Traktor showed their penalty killing skills and kept the decent goal margin heading to the break.

Second period
Traktor began the period with one-man disadvantage, successfully managed to kill the penalty and had a monstrous three-on-one scoring chance, but Panov failed to execute a pass. The game’s tempo died down a bit, but then the visitors exploded with their second goal when Kudroč blasted a heavy mid-zone shot that found the net. Traktor responded with Bulis’ two crease shots miraculously turned away by Jeff Glass. Sibir reciprocated with a one-on-one that saw Garnett make the save and keep Traktor in the game. The team thanked their goaltender right before the buzzer. Fans were already heading towards concession stands when Vladimir Antipov revived Traktor’s hopes to save the game.

Third period
The final period of the contest was evenly matched, but Traktor was the eventual winner as the home team managed to tie the game. Highlights of the period include Garnett’s jaw-dropping save, Yakutsenya’s injury (Maksim got hit in the face with the puck and left the ice); and of course, Kostitsyn’s goal-scoring effort which received arguably one of the biggest pops in the history of Traktor Arena. Both teams also exchanged goal-scoring chances towards the end of the period; Garnett neutralized a one-on-one, Glinkin hit the bar fractions of seconds before the horn. It was only fitting that both teams had to find out who is better in the overtime.

Overtime and penalty shootouts
Overtime did not bring any substantial chances on goal as the game rolled into penalty shootouts. Traktor once again came up at the short end of the stick in the shootouts; Sibir got the victory after Jonas Enlund’s successful effort.

Stats and details

Traktor vs. Sibir 2:3 SO (0:1, 1:1, 1:0, 0:0, 0:1)

Goals: Shumakov (Fedorov, Drugov), 5 (0:1); Kudroč (Romanov, Lehterä), 29 (0:2 – PP); Antipov (Dugin), 40 (1:2); Kostitsyn (Glinkin, Bulis), 47 (2:2); Enlund, 65 (2:3 – game-winning penalty shot).

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

Sibir (Novosibirsk)
Glass;
Zaytsev (A) – Lekomtsev, Enlund – Lehterä (A) – Krivonozhkin (C),
Kudroč – Kulda, Kopeykin – Nikulin – Drugov,
Kutuzov – Alekseyev, Bobrov – Romanov – Sannikov,
Ignatovich – Karavayev, Shumakov – Fedorov – Malyshev.

Penalty Minutes: 8 (6+2+0) - 14 (4+4+4+2).
Shots: 36 (9+14+10+3) - 28 (10+6+8+4).
Faceoffs Won: 34 (10+12+10+2) - 30 (8+11+8+3).
Time on Ice: Belov (26:27), Kuznetsov (22:30), Ryabykin (22:08) - Zaytsev (24:33), Enlund (23:08), Lehterä (23:07).
Power Play Goals: 0-1.

Referees: Vyacheslav Bulanov (Moscow), Eduard Odins (Riga, Latvia).
Linesmen: Sergey Morozov (Moscow Oblast), Yakov Paley (Magnitogorsk).

December 30, 2012. Traktor Arena, Chelyabinsk, Russia. Attendance – 7000.