2012/2013 Playoffs. Glinkin stuns Ak Bars to ensure Traktor’s comeback to Kazan
Vyacheslav Osnovin replaced
Nikolay Lemtyugov as the 13th forward, though he never appeared on
the ice. Dugin and Panov were still on the injured list, thus a nominal
defenseman Nesterov had to play a center in fourth line.
First period
First 20 minutes of the game pretty much resembled game 2 – Ak Bars offered
Traktor a lulling pace with few scoring opportunities. First Yakutsenya’s pass did not find a recipient;
Ak Bars replied with the shot taken by Medvedev – Garnett not without effort turned
it away. Around mid-period Karpov turned the puck away center of the rink and constructed a one-on-one chance for
himself, but could not hit the goal. Ak Bars once again reciprocated; this time Kirill Petrov tried to hit the top
corner, but Garnett was on guard. At one point Kuznetsov was
Traktor’s savior; Morozov hit a backhander, puck went up and over Garnett,
but Kuzya was there to prevent the goal, dragging the puck away from underneath
the bar. Couple of minutes before the horn Traktor was left shorthanded, but
the visitors could not extract any dividends out of this opportunity.
Second period
The complexion of the game changed drastically in the second period as Traktor
jacked up the pace and had a substantial advantage. With one-man disadvantage
at the top of the period, the home team still looked better and had a couple of
decent chances which seemed to have thrown Ak Bars off their game. Then Traktor
completely took the game under control with a little help of couple of power
plays. Lady Luck was certainly in Ak Bars’ corner during these moments; Quint hit the bar, Kontiola, Kostitsyn and
many others took countless shots, created crease traffic, but all to no avail
as the horn signaled the end of another goalless period.
Third period
Michael Garnett saved Traktor on three
occasions at the top of the period. Traktor then got back the initiative; during
one minute Barulin had to save his
net after a couple of home team’s scoring chances. Mid-period Popov spurted through the wing and
passed the puck to Antipov, but it
treacherously jumped wide of the net. Visitors responded when Lukoyanov, standing all alone beside
Traktor’s goal, tried three times to likely give his team a victory; Garnett didn’t flinch and turned all
three shots away. Later on Karpov made the fans in attendance sigh in disappointment when Barulin was able to cover the seemingly empty corner of his net.
Minutes before the horn Deron Quint ran for a breakaway, but Ak Bars’
D-men managed to chase him down and did not let Deron score.
Overtime 1
The nerve of the game became palpable as ever in overtime number 1. Goal-scoring chances changed each other kaleidoscopically. Bulis-Chistov-wide of the goal; Glinkin-Antipov-wide of the goal; Pesonen-saved
by Garnett; Zaripov ready to hit the net-Kontiola turns the puck over. One minute before the horn Traktor had another flurry of
offense; first Kostitsyn could not
outplay Barulin, then Glinkin and Antipov had a two-on-one, but the execution let both players down.
Overtime 2
Overtime number 2 could be easily called "Nichushkin OT’. First Valery in his trademark fashion outplayed virtually the whole Ak
Bars’ line, and only Barulin stopped
him (later in the period Valery had similar chances). Traktor was on roll and created
not less than a dozen of scoring chances; Popov, Quint and Antipov had super chances, but either Lady Luck or Konstantin Barulin got involved. Ak Bars had their 100% chance when Medvedev sent the puck to the top
corner only to get frustrated after Garnett’s scintillating save. The game was seemingly rolling into third overtime, but
there was one man on the ice who decided otherwise. Dozens of seconds before
the 100-minute mark Anton Glinkin received the puck on the blue line, sprinted
into the zone and took an astounding shot that finally found the net. Traktor
cuts the series deficit and faces Ak Bars again tonight.
Stats and details
Traktor vs. Ak Bars – 1:0 2OT (0:0, 0:0, 0:0, 0:0, 1:0)
Goal: Glinkin, 99 (1:0).
Traktor (Chelyabinsk)
Garnett;
Quint – Ryabykin (A), Chistov – Bulis – Kuznetsov,
Belov – Vasilchenko, Kostitsyn – Kontiola – Yakutsenya,
Katichev – Razin (A), Antipov (C) – Popov – Glinkin,
Nichushkin – Nesterov – Karpov.
Ak Bars (Kazan)
Barulin;
Korneyev – Nikulin (A), Zaripov – Kapanen – Morozov (C),
Medvedev – Kulyash, Pesonen – Immonen – Obukhov,
Zakharchuk – Khomitsky, Lukoyanov – Tereshchenko (A) – Petrov,
Zherdev – Bodrov – Golubev.
Penalty Minutes: 4 (2+2+0+0+0) - 6 (0+4+2+0+0).
Shots: 48 (7+13+8+9+11) - 39 (8+7+9+5+10).
Faceoffs Won: 37 (3+9+4+12+9) - 38 (12+6+10+4+6).
Time on Ice: Quint (38:26), Ryabykin (37:37), Kuznetsov (32:04) - Nikulin
(39:13), Medvedev (37:38), Korneyev (34:58).
Power Play Goals: 0-0.
Referees: Roman Gofman (Moscow), Eduard Odins (Riga, Latvia).
Linesmen: Aleksandr Zakharenkov, Aleksandr Sadovnikov (both –
Moscow).
March 27, 2013. Traktor Arena, Chelyabinsk, Russia. Attendance – 7500.
