Traktor defeated in an evenly fought contest against Dynamo Moscow

First period
Traktor completely outplayed Dynamo in the first twenty minutes of the game. Traktor’s first line had two great shifts at the top of the period with several goal-scoring chances created mostly at the hands of Yevgeny Kuznetsov. Dynamo was clearly playing a second fiddle and was focused on the defense. Mid-period Traktor gained a power play; Ryabykin and Quint had their chances to open the score from the blue line, but the scoreboard still displayed two zeroes after Dynamo was back in full strength. The home team responded with a chance of its own; Mosalyov was left alone on the crease, but Garnett neutralized the threat this time. After a series of penalties the best moment of the period took place; Kuznetsov received Chistov’s pass, got in the zone, outplayed Yeremenko but unfortunately did not have enough wiggle room to the put the puck in the net.

Second period
At the top of the period Traktor’s coaching staff switched Lemtyugov’s and Panov’s position on the line-up. However, these two were not the ones who was in the spotlight, Marek Kvapil was. First Dynamo’s forward accidentally fell on the ice, and the referees decided to give Dynamo the power play; and then Kvapil himself made it a 1:0 game. Traktor did not faze and rushed to tie the match; Yeremenko was able to fend off the opponents for the time being. Dynamo shortly got another power play, and if it wasn’t for Vasilchenko, Traktor’s trouble would have been much more serious. Sometime later visitors had to face a two-man disadvantage, but they did it to perfection. Before the horn Glinkin hit the bar, and Nesterov fired a great shot turned aside by Yeremenko. Traktor finished the period shorthanded but once again stood tall as Dynamo failed to create any substantial offensive chances.

Third period
Valery Nichushkin was the undisputed star of the period. To begin with, Valery in his typical manner pushed through the opponent’s defense but could not quite take a shot. Shortly thereafter Denis Mosalyov doubled Dynamo’s lead with a nice shot to the far corner of Garnett’s net. Traktor had nothing to lose, and this fact seemingly blew the wind into Traktor’s sails; Yakutsenya hit the bar, Antipov was stopped by Yeremenko at the last second of his solo effort; finally Nichushkin fired a heavy shot after Kuznetsov’s pass, but Yeremenko was not intent on allowing anything tonight. Traktor suffers defeat and heads to Saint-Petersburg for what is shaping up to be another tough game against SKA.

Stats and details

Dynamo Moscow vs. Traktor – 2:0 (0:0, 1:0, 1:0)

Goals: Kvapil (Gorokhov), 22 (1:0 – PP); Mosalyov (Gorokhov, Tsvetkov), 45 (2:0).

Dynamo (Moscow)
Yeremenko;
Gorokhov – Granak, Konkov – Soin – Babenko (C),
Solovyov – Derlyuk, Kokarev – Pestunov – Petruzalek,
Shchadilov – Vishnevsky, Kvapil – Tsvetkov – Mosalyov,
Mironov, Kasyanchuk – Lukin – Volkov.

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

Penalty Minutes: 8 (6+0+2) - 10 (2+8+0).
Shots: 25 (7+11+5) - 22 (7+6+9).
Faceoffs Won: 27 (7+6+14) - 25 (7+13+5).
Power Play Goals: 1-0.
Time on Ice: Gorokhov (21:52), Granak (21:05), Derlyuk (21:02) - Kuznetsov (21:43), Bulis (18:40), Ryabykin (17:52).
Referees: Sergey Kulakov (Tver), Sergey Gusev (Serov).
Linesmen: Konstantin Gordenko, Viktor Tomilov (both – Ufa).

January 26, 2013. Luzhniki Sports Arena, Moscow, Russia. Attendance – 6300.

Photo courtesy of Dynamo’s Press Office