Gagarin Cup Finals. When one goal takes it all

First period
Fans must have enjoyed the opening period of the bout since they witnessed many interesting developments that happened on the ice. First Knyazev took a wrister – swing and a miss; then Kuznetsov couldn’t outdo Yeremenko. Six minutes into the match Kostitsyn garnered a power play chance for Traktor and could capitalize on it by himself; Yeremenko was once again flawless in the net. Both teams then exchanged some mighty heavy hits and concentrated on the attacking efforts. Michael Garnett saved Traktor on two exchanges after Gorokhov and Derlyuk fired hefty blue-line shots on net. Traktor bounced back with Kuznetsov-Bulis and Nichushkin-Dugin attacking combos, both neutralized by Yeremenko. Before the horn Traktor had another power play that didn’t result in anything meaningful; then Petruzalek hit a nice shot that did not find the goal, and that was it for the period.

Second period
The first scoring chance of the period came at minute #27; Nichushkin saw Dugin on the crease, made a nice pass, but Yegor was thwarted by Dynamo’s D-men. In the very next attack Traktor had the best scoring opportunity of the match; Kuznetsov ran for a breakaway and already had Yeremenko outplayed, but the puck traitorously hit the post. Traktor was left shorthanded momentarily, but was able to add another successful PK to their resume. Sometime later Dynamo once again acquired a power play chance; the home team kept the score at nil. Back in full strength, Traktor picked up the pace; the third line gave Dynamo a free pass to a merry-go-round, and when visitors least expected it, Dugin and Nichushkin attacked from the crease. Dynamo withstood the pressure and returned the favor big time – Jakub Petruzalek scored the opening goal of the game with less than two minutes to go in the second.

Third period
Six minutes into the period Traktor got a 2+10 penalty. Dynamo could put an end to Traktor during these two minutes, but Michael Garnett’s superb save prevented that from happening. Traktor then mustered all the strength they could and readied themselves for a final onslaught. Dynamo’s penalty helped matters a lot; Quint could score twice with his heavy blue-liners; Yeremenko was blocked by crazy traffic, but miraculously managed to save his team on both occasions. Traktor had two more decent scoring chances; Chistov’s shot hit Yeremenko’s pad, and Yakutsenya missed the net. As expected, Traktor had to pull the goaltender; the very last flurry of offence was excellent except for one thing – it did not bring the needed goal. 0:1 and 1-3 on the series; the opponents return to Moscow for possibly the final game of the season.


Stats and details

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

Goal: Petruzalek (Granak, Kvapil), 39 (0:1).

Dynamo (Moscow)
Yeremenko;
Granak – Novak, Knyazev – Soin – Babenko (C),
Vishnevskiy – Jalasvaara, Kokarev – Tsvetkov – Mosalyov,
Gorokhov – Derlyuk, Kasyanchuk – Gorovikov – Sopin,
Kvapil, Petruzalek.

Traktor (Chelyabinsk)
Garnett (0:00 – 59:15);
Quint – Ryabykin (A), Chistov – Bulis – Kuznetsov,
Belov – Vasilchenko, Kostitsyn – Kontiola – Yakutsenya,
Katichev – Razin (A), Nichushkin – Dugin – Antipov (C),
Glinkin – Nesterov – Karpov.

Penalty Minutes: 16 (0+4+12) - 6 (4+0+2).
Shots: 25 (10+8+7) - 18 (8+5+5).
Faceoffs Won: 13 (4+7+2) - 29 (7+11+11).
Time on Ice: Ryabykin (30:50), Quint (30:19), Chistov (20:42) - Jalasvaara (22:23), Granak (21:11), Gorokhov (21:08).
Power Play Goals: 0-0.

Referees: Jyri Rӧnn (Juvӓskulӓ, Finland), Roman Gofman (Moscow).
Linesmen: Dmitry Sivov, Sergey Shelyanin (both – Moscow).

April 12, 2013. Traktor Arena, Chelyabinsk, Russia. Attendance – 7500.