It’s not that simple, Lokomotiv! Avangard turned around the fifth game and returned the series to Yaroslavl
Dmitry Storozhev March 26, 2024, 18:59 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
The Hawks took advantage of the opponent’s mistakes and were able to beat the railroaders for the second time.
Lokomotiv today had every chance to join Traktor and Avtomobilist among the semi-finalists of the Gagarin Cup: the team from Yaroslavl arrived in Omsk to close the series with Avangard. The residents of Chelyabinsk are already waiting for the winners of this confrontation, and they will be able to find out their future opponent based on the results of the fifth match.
From the first seconds, the railway workers demonstrated their determination to solve all problems in these 60 minutes: Igor Nikitin’s charges increased the pressure that the “hawks” could not withstand in previous meetings. It worked pretty quickly: midway through the first half, Reed Boucher went to the penalty area and the guests only had nine seconds to take advantage of their numerical advantage. Maxim Berezkin opened the scoring in the match, hitting Pavel Khomchenko’s empty goal.
Video rights belong to KHL LLC. The video can be seen on the league’s official website.
Avangard was expected to fly away to recover, but for most of the time the hosts were barely noticeable. In the first 20 minutes, the NHL East team only had one shot on goal, while Lokomotiv tested Khomchenko 12 times. However, apart from Berezkin, no one managed to distinguish themselves.
All things being equal, the “hawks” could do almost nothing, but the first opportunity to play with an extra player ended in their favor. It is true that it seemed that Tomás Jurcho sent the puck into the goal with an accentuated hit with his skate. However, the judges did not review the episode and count the goal.
Video rights belong to KHL LLC. The video can be seen on the league’s official website.
Lokomotiv quickly regained the lead on the scoreboard, but discipline again failed the Yaroslavl team: the second elimination of the railway workers was also carried out by Avangard. Ryan Spooner’s first goal in these playoffs increased the intrigue before the third period: the last 20 minutes of regulation time promised to be very interesting.
They started with the majority of the guests and for the first time in this match the minority managed to hold on and not give in. And this was one of the key moments of the match: Avangard felt more confident and was able to turn the match around, taking the lead for the first time. Semyon Chistyakov took Daniil Isaev by surprise, as he had previously taken care of Loko’s defense: 12 minutes before the final siren, the Hawks found themselves in the lead.
Video rights belong to KHL LLC. The video can be seen on the league’s official website.
Lokomotiv tried to take revenge, but instead lost another goal: Martin Gernat gave the puck to the Omsk team in their own zone and the hosts took advantage of this. Boucher scored 4-2 and intensified the fight in this series that once again moves to Yaroslavl. Avangard will not give up victory so easily.
