Hats off to Petri Kontiola!

Once again, no changes were made to team's lineup. Ian White was expected to make his long-awaited debut, but for whatever reason the coaching staff decided not to insert him into the match.

First period
The match began with a well-paced action. Five minutes into the contest visitors took a couple of shots on Garnett's net; Michael stopped them. CSKA garnered a power play chance momentarily; during these minutes Jan Bulis was given a standing ovation by the Chelyabinsk faithful when he selflessly blocked a powerful shot by Zaytsev. Having killed a penalty, Traktor picked up the pace. After the midway mark Mikhail Mokin hit the post, and moments later Bulis found Kontiola with a from-behind-the-net pass, and Petri opened the score. After a short breather Traktor riled up the pace yet again, and it led to the second goal by Kontiola who this time used Kostitsyn's pass to hit the back of the net.

Second period
After a rather unsuccessful first twenty, CSKA kicked it into another gear in the second period. During these 20 minutes Michael Garnett turned aside a total of 16 (!) shots on his net. This includes three close range shots by Morozov, Saprykin and Filppula; a savage two-minute penalty when CSKA players took a good dozen shots, the most dangerous being the one that hit the post. After this madness was over, Traktor had a chance to take a breath and somewhat recovered with a couple of scoring chances. Nonetheless, the score remained unchanged, and it certainly favored the hosts.

Third period
The final twenty began with a two-on-one by Mokin and Abdullin; the former passed, but Denis could not hit the puck. Traktor could put the game away momentarily; Kostitsyn took a crease shot that was stopped by Proskuryakov, then Glinkin sent the rubber wide of the goal in a similar situation. The nerve of the game was feeling as strong as ever when Saprykin pulled one back for CSKA. But on this very night there was no stopping Traktor; CSKA pulled the goalie, and this was when the future participant of 2014 Olympics Petri Kontiola completed the hat trick with an empty net goal. Hats went flying onto the ice surface, and the game did not restart for several minutes. When it did, it was academic from that point on. Traktor gets the victory in a very thrilling contest, concurrently earning a second win in a row. The black-and-white are now looking to extend the hot streak on January 9 against Dinamo Riga.

Game details

TRAKTOR vs. CSKA – 3:1 (2:0, 0:0, 1:1)

Goals: Kontiola (Bulis, Kostitsyn), 13 (1:0); Kontiola (Vasilchenko, Kostitsyn), 18 (2:0); Saprykin (Nepryayev), 54 (2:1); Kontiola (Vasilchenko, Kostitsyn), 60 (3:1 – empty net).

TRAKTOR
Garnett;
Ryabykin (C) – Bondarev, Bulis (A) – Kontiola (A) – Kostitsyn;
Kondratyev – Vasilchenko, Glinkin – Popov – Kokuyov;
Katichev – Borodkin, Chistov – Zavarukhin – Panov;
Khlystov – Klimontov, Abdullin – Valeyev – Mokin.

CSKA
Proskuryakov (0:00 – 58:53, 59:41 – 60:00);
Misharin (A) – Rylov, Lisin – Nepryayev – Murshak;
Denisov – Zaytsev, Grigorenko – Prokhorkin – Radulov (A);
Gimayev – Yegorshev, Frolov – Fefelov – Zharkov;
Eminger, Saprykin – Filppula – Morozov (C);
Lyubimov.

PIM: 6 (2+2+2) - 0 (0+0+0).
Shots: 21 (9+9+3) - 30 (6+16+8).
Faceoffs won: 25 (9+9+7) - 28 (7+9+12).
TOI: Ryabykin (18:50), Bondarev (18:50), Popov (18:27) - Rylov (24:47), Radulov (23:15), Zaytsev (21:40).
PP goals: 0-0.

January 7, 2014. Traktor Arena, Chelyabinsk, Russia. Attendance - 7500.